budget
Missouri governor pushing hard to sell lawmakers on his $700 million tax cut plan
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is hoping to avoid any special session drama. As he prepares to reconvene the legislature next month to debate a $700 million tax cut — with details about the plan expected to be announced as early as this week — Parson is hoping to avoid pitfalls that undermined a pair of […]
Missouri budget makes smart investment in community health centers
Each year, National Health Center Week presents an opportunity to spotlight the contributions that community health centers make to our communities. This year, we are celebrating not only the outstanding care that community health centers provide, but also the investment Missourians are making to keep this infrastructure strong. As the medical home to more than […]
Missouri governor proposes special session to cut taxes after vetoing rebate plan
Missouri would have a flat income tax that exempts many lower income earners under a proposal floated Friday by Gov. Mike Parson after he vetoed a tax rebate plan overwhelmingly approved by lawmakers. Parson vetoed four bills in all, including a bill extending a variety of tax incentives important to farmers and rural businesses, such […]
Missouri governor vetoes tax rebate plan from record $49 billion state budget
An avalanche of tax revenue is bulging Missouri’s treasury, but tax rebates approved by lawmakers won’t be coming to taxpayer bank accounts. The record surplus does, however, mean schools get more for transportation, college students get more money in scholarships and many Medicaid providers will see a rate increase in the fiscal year that begins […]
Missouri Senate signs off on $3 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds
The path to passage for a bill spending almost $3 billion in federal COVID-19 relief was paved with money Thursday. But about 20 minutes of discussion was all it took to win a 26-5 vote from the upper chamber after 18 new projects were added along with a $500 million set-aside from general revenue for […]
Missouri Senate committee slashes funds for building Rock Island Trail
Opponents of a new cross-state recreation trail along the old Rock Island Railroad corridor have the upper hand in the General Assembly after the state Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday cut the funds needed to develop it for use. The committee approved four spending bills for the coming year to pay for new construction, repair […]
Tending pea patches: Senators add dozens of small items for districts to Missouri state budget
Conservative Cassville Republican Emory Melton, a state senator from 1973 to 1997, didn’t like it when new programs with ongoing costs ended up in Missouri’s budget. “There’s nothing that approaches eternal life on this earth like a government program,” he told an oral history interviewer in 1996. But when fellow Missouri lawmakers tapped the treasury […]
Missouri House signs off on $46.2 billion budget, leaves most of huge state surplus untouched
The Missouri House gave first round approval Tuesday to a package of budget bills spending $46.2 billion, with Republicans defeating repeated Democratic efforts to tap the state’s record surplus. The budget includes boosts to higher education funding, both for institutions and scholarships, as well as funding one of last year’s most controversial issues, Medicaid expansion. […]
5 questions about COVID-19 funding that’s stuck in D.C.
WASHINGTON — Congress remains undecided over how exactly to provide billions more to fight the COVID-19 pandemic as a new variant spreads throughout states and public health officials caution the virus doesn’t show signs of fading away. Negotiators were close to an agreement for about $10 billion in federal spending, but as of Friday, several […]
Budget committee restores funding for Missouri water projects, including lead pipe removal
The House Budget Committee on Thursday reversed a $360 million cut to a program to improve water infrastructure, including removing lead pipes, as it completed a plan for using federal stimulus funds. Budget Chairman Cody Smith had planned to cut $51 million from the program, but said objections from Rep. Don Mayhew, an engineer by […]
House Budget Committee rejects adding surplus revenue to Missouri public schools, colleges
Missouri’s record general revenue surplus was off-limits for spending plans as the House Budget Committee worked Thursday, defeating Democratic efforts to give boost money for public schools and state colleges. The only significant addition to education budgets approved by the committee was to restart the teacher Career Ladder program, providing $21 million to give experienced […]
U.S. House speaker hints at bigger COVID aid push after $15 billion yanked from spending bill
The need for federal funding to address COVID-19 may be greater after lawmakers removed a $15 billion relief package from an omnibus spending bill last week, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. Amid reports of rising case levels overseas, Pelosi said the United States may need more than the amount negotiated with Republicans that congressional […]