If Missouri continues to spend at the levels it has over the past five years, the state can kiss its savings account goodbye.
“The years of really being able to fund whatever we wanted to in state government are coming to an end,” State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said on Monday.
Missouri has had billions of extra cash in the bank over the past few years, largely due to federal covid funds and increased tax collections. It has led to lawmakers spending more than the state is making. For at least the past two or three budget years, state legislators have been able to fund many new pet projects through one-time funding.
But Fitzpatrick said Missouri’s revenue is expected to slow down. He also said recent changes in federal and state tax laws will reduce the money that Missouri brings in.
“Increases in the standard deduction contained in the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ (OBBB) Act, and the elimination of the state tax on capital gains, will put downward pressure on revenue to the General Revenue Fund in the near term,” according to a new release from his office.
Fitzpatrick has lived through tough budget years. Before becoming the State Auditor, he served as Missouri House Budget Committee chairman for a few years.
Fitzpatrick, a Republican, said next year’s budget will force Missouri legislators to wake up.
“We’re approaching the point where significant corrective action needs to be taken to rebalance expenses and revenue so that the state doesn’t run out of money in the next couple of years and have a serious financial crisis on its hands,” he said.
He said while revenue grew by 45% over five years, state spending grew even more. According to Fitzpatrick, if spending habits don’t change, the state’s savings account will be completely empty by 2028.
“We need to cut around a billion and a half dollars in the next budget in order to balance the budget,” he said.
The full report is available here.
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