Despite coronavirus concerns, Gov. Mike Parson says the Missouri Legislature will finish its state budget work for the next fiscal year – but maybe not the usual way. During today’s Capitol press briefing, Parson signaled calling a special session to wrap up the budget for the fiscal year that begins in July.
Governor Mike Parson speaks at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on April 4, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flicker page)
“We have until June the 30th to get that done – the end of June to get that done. I do believe there will be time in there that we’ll have the opportunity to come back, says Parson. “I think by then hopefully we’re going to be on the downside of this virus. But, the Constitution says we’ve got to do that. So, frankly me and the legislators got to figure out a way to do that. It’s the only we can move forward in the state of Missouri. We don’t have the luxury of printing our own money and we just can’t start over with not abiding by the Constitution. So I really believe by the end of June, we’ll be able at some point to call a special session, bring the legislators back in and to be able to work on the 2021 budget.”
Parson has said that his original budget proposal – about $30.5 billion – will have to be reworked due to the toll the coronavirus is taking on the state.
The Legislature gets back to work this week for something else – to consider a request for additional spending. Most all other legislative business could be up in the air for a while.
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