Missouri State Treasurer Eric Schmitt is urging state lawmakers to avoid the budget pitfalls that have befallen neighboring Illinois.
The first-term Republican said in a conference in St. Louis on Tuesday that lawmakers must act now to avoid a similar crisis in the future.
He said Missouri has a pension liability that could eventually result in severe cuts of services and higher taxes. He also said the state must work to protect its triple-A credit rating and continue to shrink the size of the government.
Illinois recently approved a $36 billion budget that ended a two-year stalemate. The budget includes a $five-billion income tax increase.
