Missouri will enter the new budget year with a record budget surplus and no restrictions on appropriations.
The $35.6 billion budget includes , higher funding for colleges and universities and new mental health crisis centers.
A few hours after lawmakers passed an , Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday signed the 13 bills for operating state government and three bills setting spending for construction and building maintenance.
The final numbers aren鈥檛 in, but by Tuesday, general revenue exceeded projections made in January by $972 million, adding to the $1.1 billion surplus Parson .
And while he isn鈥檛 holding back any spending, Parson vetoed $115 million in spending from 26 appropriations, including $50 million to insulate hospitals from revenue losses and $302,500 to hire two security officers each for the Missouri House and state Senate.
Lawmakers will review the vetoes when they meet in September.
Parson warned June 21 that he would , including all new spending for higher education and Medicaid providers, if lawmakers did not extend the federal reimbursement allowance taxes that will supply $1.6 billion for the state鈥檚 share of the program.
Lawmakers passed a three-year extension Wednesday afternoon, and in his news release about the budget, Parson thanked them and praised the additions to the budget the action allows.
鈥淲ithout their efforts, we would be announcing unprecedented budget restrictions rather than these historic investments,鈥� Parson said. 鈥淭o all those who helped get FRA across the finish line: we appreciate your work.鈥�
The new higher education items include $20.2 million more in operating funds for four-year universities, $10 million extra for community colleges and $2 million for the State Technical College, along with $13.2 million to allow for growth in the A+ Schools Scholarship Program and $3.9 million more for the 鈥淏right Flight鈥� scholarship program for high-achieving students.
鈥淢issouri鈥檚 financial situation is vastly different from what we faced in 2020, and we applaud the General Assembly for recognizing this historic opportunity to make critical investments in the future of our state,鈥� Parson said.
One item vetoed from every budget bill was 鈥減erformance incentives for high-achieving department employees.鈥� The $5.2 million in vetoes were made, Parson wrote in the letters describing his budget actions, because the state is studying 鈥渁lternative performance-based incentives.鈥�
In many instances, Parson wrote that he was vetoing spending because he did not recommend it in his budget message. The $50 million for hospitals was designed to protect them from potential losses from a new payment method based on the way Medicare pays for outpatient services, with a set fee for each type of service.
The money 鈥渋s contrary to the Medicaid reforms included as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget,鈥� Parson wrote.
The extra security for the House and Senate isn鈥檛 needed, Parson wrote. It 鈥渦nnecessarily duplicates services already provided by the Capitol Police.鈥�
While he cut the incentive pay lines, Parson signed off on spending to hire and recruit new employees. There is $5.3 million for 50 additional Community Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder liaisons, $3.6 million and 53 employees to and $21.5 million to recruit and retain employees in the Department of Corrections.
Rudi Keller is a reporter for the Missouri Independent, a news partner of 漏 2024 外网天堂.
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a network of news outlets supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.
