Documents reveal Nixon charged state agencies $400,000 for his travel
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Documents reveal Nixon charged state agencies $400,000 for his travel

Date: February 18, 2011
By: Theo Keith
State Capitol Bureau

Intro: 
Documents obtained by KMOX indicate Missouri's governor has billed other state agencies almost $400,000 for him to fly around the state.
RunTime:  0:42
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: Jay Nixon's administration turned over records of more than 250 flights the governor took over his first two years in office.

They reveal Nixon was flying on taxpayer-financed airplanes an average of one out of every three days in 2009 and 2010.

The governor's office has a budget to cover his travel.

But the documents indicate Nixon has started exclusively billed other agencies shortly after he became governor.

Even though often, no one from the agencies are shown on the flight records.

Instead, it's just Nixon, staff aides, personal security, and sometimes his wife.

Nixon's communications director, Christy Bertelson, refused comment until at least Wednesday.

From the state Capitol, I'm Theo Keith, NewsRadio 1120 KMOX.

Intro: 
On the day Missouri's governor flew around the state to attend events, KMOX obtained documents showing how much he's billed other agencies for his travel.
RunTime:  0:43
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: This is Theo Keith in Jefferson City, where Republican House Budget committee chair Ryan Silvey is criticizing the governor.

He says the $400,000 that Jay Nixon has charged other agencies for his flights over the past two years is...

Actuality:  SILVEY12.WAV
Run Time:  00:01
Description: "It's more than I expected."

The records indicate Nixon stopped paying for flights out of his own budget shortly after he took office two years ago.

Silvey says that's wrong.

Actuality:  SILVEY11.WAV
Run Time:  00:06
Description: "It's like somebody got to him and said, 'Hey, you don't have to do it this way, and you can probably fly around a lot more if you did it on everybody else's dime instead of your own."

Nixon's communications director refused comment until Wednesday.

House Republicans and Democrats have endorsed a plan that would prohibit Nixon from continuing the practice.

From the state Capitol, I'm Theo Keith, NewsRadio 1120 KMOX.