Line item vetoes in the Missouri Legislature’s state budget proposal are on the horizon. Gov. Mike Parson says he’s still thumbing through the $49 billion plan but he’s getting his veto pen ready.
“There’s a lot of special interest type issues that are in there,” said Parson. “There’s a lot of vendor issues in there, so there are definitely going to be some changes. Things won’t make it across the finish line.”
He has until the end of this month to make his budget decisions.
“Really for the next several weeks, it’ll be full attention on legislative issues and the budget, working daily through those. Yes, there will be many vetoes probably in that budget,” said Parson.
Highlights of the plan include:
•$3.6 billion in state aid to schools
•$2.8 billion to widen I-70 to at least three lanes from Wentzville to Blue Springs
•$300 million to build a psychiatric hospital in Kansas City
•$233 million to fully fund public school transportation costs
•$171 million to boost pay for workers caring for the developmentally disabled
•$78 million to increase rates for childcare providers
•$56 million for pre-K programs
•$50 million to help Jackson County Sports Authority organize the 2026 World Cup in Kansas City
•$50 million in school safety grants
•$43 million to build a veterinary hospital and lab
•$32 million to boost pay for experienced teachers doing extra work through the Career Ladder Program
•$29 million to raise the minimum public school teacher salary to $38,000
•$25 million to build a meat laboratory
•$13.7 million to add 100 Children’s Division employees to help keep families together
•$11.5 million to fight Missouri’s black vulture problems
•$11 million for Imagination Library, a reading program to provide a book monthly to Missouri children up to ag 5 at no charge
•$4.6 million in state funding to Missouri’s public libraries
•$2 million to help with Missouri National Guard recruitment
•$20% pay increase for Missouri State Highway patrol officers to deal with staffing shortages
•$7% funding increase for the state’s public colleges and universities
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