By Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio
Jefferson City, Mo. – Governor Jay Nixon tonight will deliver his State of the State Address before the Missouri General Assembly.
The state is facing a revenue shortfall of about $200 million dollars over the next few months. And as a result, the Democratic governor is expected to announce more budget cuts during tonight's address.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Kevin Engler (R, Farmington) says he wants the governor to be more upfront about how he intends to balance the budget.
"Let's try to work together because there's going to be enough suffering to go around, if he wants to spread it around...if he wants to bear it all himself and let us say, 'I can't believe he's cutting (this); I can't believe he's going to cut that,' that's great...but why don't we try to work on this together? I just wish he'd work with the legislature and say, 'Here is how we're going to balance the budget,'" Engler said.
Nixon is also expected to talk about economic incentives designed to draw new employers to Missouri and keep current ones here, as well as ethics reform, tougher drunk driving laws, and improving water quality at the Lake of the Ozarks.
The address is scheduled to start at 7:00. It will be followed by the Republican Response, which will be delivered by Lt. Governor Peter Kinder.
Both can be heard live on St. Louis Public Radio or online at stlpublicradio.org.