Nixon defends withholds from 2012

ST. LOUIS, MO (ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO) - Governor Jay Nixon is defending his decision to withhold more than $170 million from Missouri’s 2012 budget, despite a state lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.

Before the start of the current budget year, the Democrat announced that his administration would withhold funds from more than 40 state programs, partially to help pay for disaster relief.

State auditor Tom Schweich, a Republican, filed suit, saying that the governor can only do so if revenue is coming in below projections.

Speaking after a ribbon cutting in north St. Louis County, Nixon called such withholdings a common practice.

"Spending your accounts to zero is not the way to start a fiscally prudent year," Nixon said. "In order to have the resources to meet the obligations we have, me and governors over the last 40 years have done the exact same thing."

Nixon said he reached the $170 million figure by cutting out revenue that lawmakers included but never passed legislation to collect.

Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio

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Schweich sharply critical of budget withholdings for disasters

ST. LOUIS, MO (ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO) - A new report from the Missouri state auditor says Gov. Jay Nixon did not follow the Missouri Constitution when he withheld $170 million from the current budget to help fund disaster relief.

Auditor Tom Schweich says withholdings can only be made if actual revenues come in below what’s estimated. That wasn’t possible in this case because the fiscal year hadn’t even started.

Schweich also said his office was "startled" by the fact that Nixon’s office could not demonstrate how it reached the 170 million number.

"We would have expected spreadsheets, estimates, projections, comparative scenarios of possible revenue," Schweich says. "We would have expected the typical things any auditor would expect."

Schweich says the governor should have worked with lawmakers instead of taking unilateral action.

"There’s a supplemental budget coming up, there are future fiscal years coming up, those budgets can account for Joplin," Schweich says. "And also there’s a rainy day fund with $500 million in it that’s never one time been tapped for disasters. Now if there was ever a rainy day, it’s what happened in Joplin."

In a statement, Nixon spokesman Scott Holste called the auditor’s letter “wrong,” and said the withholdings are a further example of Nixon’s fiscal responsibility.

Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio

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Scweich says Division of Finance is obstructing investigation

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (KRCU) - Missouri's Auditor says the state's Division of Finance is obstructing his investigation into how they're examining banks.

Auditor Tom Schweich has sent subpoenas for bank examination documents to the Division of Finance.

Schweich says records will show whether the Division of Finance is following the right procedures when it's checking up on banks.

In a written statement, the Division said it's against the law to release those records.

But Schweich says his office is allowed to look at them.

"At one point they're saying they can't get us this performance audit, one point they're saying they can't give it to us because they'll go to jail, then they give some of it to us; I mean, what they're doing is obstructing our investigation, there's no other word for it," Schweich said.

Schweich says his office frequently works with confidential records and would enter into a confidentiality agreement.

Andrew Weil, Missouri Digital News

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