####Gov. Nixon condemns cuts to public safety, emergency response funding

In a speech Thursday, in front of hundreds of emergency responders, planners and volunteer agency representatives, Gov. Jay Nixon called on the General Assembly to overturn cuts to public safety and emergency response funding.

“On countless occasions, here in Missouri and across the nation, we have seen the importance of local communities being able to effectively and rapidly respond to natural and man-made disasters,” Nixon said. “Cutting by 50 percent the federal funds that help our communities respond to these challenges, as the Missouri Senate’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget would do, is simply wrong. I urge the General Assembly to take the House position to support public safety and ensure our emergency responders have the resources they need to keep our communities safe.” 

####Gov. Nixon announces dramatic decline in energy use since 2008

Since Gov. Jay Nixon signed an executive order mandating state agencies to cut energy use by two percent each year, state agencies have reduced energy use by more than 21 percent.

“My administration is committed to making state government more efficient, effective and responsive,” Nixon said. “By reducing energy use in state buildings through innovation and conservation, we are protecting our natural resources and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

Nixon’s office of administration executed many energy-reduction efforts to reduce the percentage, including using incentives to entice utility companies to make upgrades, employing in-house staff to upgrade lighting, adjusting thermostats, working on systems to eliminate concurrent heating and cooling.