The two-year legislation bill the governor signed in January proposed to spend $600 million, and that will no longer be possible for the 2010 fiscal year.

Missouri currently has a 25-year high employment rate, and this new plan will mean almost 1500 more jobs will be lost when the new program takes effect July 1st. Although Nixon and his team were aware of 1244 cuts when the plan was first created in January, an additional 200 state jobs will be lost next year.

But Jay Nixon and his team say Missouri is in good shape compared to the rest of the country, thanks to what they call responsible setbacks. "I am confident that this fiscally responsible budget will help Missouri come out of this recession more rapidly than other states," Nixon said.

And Democratic State Representative Chris Kelly agrees. "In an objective sense the state budget is really hurting because the economy is hurting. But the state budget in Missouri is better than many many other states."

"These near record amount line item vetoes were not made lightly. The decision was made to ensure that Missourians have a government we can afford," Nixon added during his announcement to the press Wednesday morning.

Nixon did emphasize that he made these cuts without sacrificing health care, education, or raising taxes.