Governor Jay Nixon (D) has signed into law two budget bills outlining more than $454-million in renovations to nearly 500 state facilities. About $262 million in upgrades will be made to Missouri higher education buildings and about $192 million in improvements will be made to other state facilities.
Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick
House budget vice chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob) says the improvements will make a difference, especially to higher education buildings.
“People on both sides of the aisle want to take care of state facilities and help our higher education institutions remain top notch to help attract good talent to Missouri,” said Fitzpatrick. “We’re making a dent in the backlog. That being said, the backlog is only going to continue to grow. The more state facilities there are, the more there is to maintain. It’s going to be one of those things that we just have to be diligent in prioritizing,” said Fitzpatrick.
The bills include:
- $29 million for the Department of Conservation
- $20 million for Missouri National Guard facilities
- $12 million for the Department of Natural Resources
- $7 million for Missouri’s port system
- $7 million for the Department of Public Safety
- $16 million for Missouri State University
- $5 million for the University of Missouri’s Thompson Center for Autism
- $5 million for Missouri Southern University
- $2 million for Southeast Missouri State University
- $2 million for the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Program
- $2 million for the Department of Economic Development
- $1 million for Northwest Missouri State University
- $1 million for Metropolitan Community College
- $1 million for State Technical College of Missouri
Fitzpatrick says the improvements will be a boost to the economy, especially the construction industry.