Missouri governor to propose budget amid financial strain

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens is laying out his plans for the state budget amid financial strain and lagging revenue. Greitens is to announce his proposed budget Thursday at a Nixa public school. He broke from tradition by not outlining his budget during his January State of the State address. Greitens’ budget proposal will come during what’s shaping up to be a challenging time for state finances. Revenues so far this fiscal year have been lower than expected, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been cut to balance this year’s budget. Greitens took office in January and already has cut roughly $146 million. His predecessor, Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, cut about $200 million from this year’s budget before leaving office. Lawmakers will consider Greitens’ proposal as they work to craft next fiscal year’s budget. ABC 17 News will have a team in Nixa Thursday morning to listen in on the budget announcement. We’ll carry it live on KMIZ and on abc17news.com.