JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Parson on Friday cut $1 billion out of lawmakers’ suggested spending plan, including trims to ºüÀêÊÓƵ-area projects like airport renovation plans, university building construction and regional bike paths.
In all, he vetoed 173 line items, saying the projects represent “a lot of overspending.â€
“These vetoes represent the elimination of unnecessary pet projects and the protection of the taxpayer dime,†Parson said in a statement.
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Among the cuts from the $50 billion budget: $4 million to demolish abandoned properties in Kinloch, $7 million to rehabilitate ºüÀêÊÓƵ Lambert International Airport, $10 million for sewer work in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, and a $10 million cut to a $25 million plan for an engineering building at the University of Missouri-ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Lawmakers had inserted $10 million to help the Great Rivers Greenway build more bike and pedestrian paths in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region. Parson cut that amount in half, saying the money was needed to offset the cost of $700 million in additional education spending.
Great Rivers CEO Susan Trautman nonetheless cheered the additional money, saying it will go toward a $245 million project linking Fairground Park, Forest Park, Tower Grove Park and Gateway Arch National Park.
“This $5 million investment provides powerful momentum for the Brickline Greenway, which is being brought to life with input from thousands of residents, businesses and organizations who understand how civic infrastructure boosts the economy and vibrancy of our city and our state,†Trautman said.
Parson also took a hammer to a sweeping plan to renovate the century-old state Capitol building where he’s worked for two decades. He reduced money for the project to $100 million from nearly $600 million, blowing a major hole in a long-sought plan to preserve and modernize the seat of state government.
“Without a detailed plan for the next phase of renovations of the Capitol building, the full transfer is not needed at this time,†the governor wrote.
The governor also threw a dig at the St. Charles County delegation, where its two senators are members of a hard-right splinter faction called the Freedom Caucus that helped slow action in the upper chamber to a crawl in the past two years. One of them, Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, is running for governor against Parson’s favored candidate, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe.
Parson cut money for stormwater projects there to $2.5 million from $5 million and eliminated $8 million in funding for the construction of a police training facility in O’Fallon.
“That project is built on a partnership that includes commitments from five different counties from the region. Whereas the state senators that represent the county in which this facility is located voted against (the bill,) this leads my administration to believe that there is not widespread, regional support for this training facility,†Parson wrote.
Among the larger cuts, Parson reduced spending on a future widening of Interstate 44 by $150 million. He said the $213 million he left intact was enough to complete a number of projects on the cross-state highway.
And for now, there will be no new state park in McDonald County, home to the vice chairman of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Noel.
“If acquired, necessary expenses for the park’s conceptual development planning, future development, and future operations are unfunded,†Parson said.
Democratic state Rep. Deb Lavender of Kirkwood bemoaned the reductions, including a $2.5 million cut to a program that investigates seniors’ complaints of abuse and neglect in nursing homes.
“As one of the worst states in the nation to provide protection for our seniors in nursing homes, this veto is catastrophic,†Lavender said in a statement Friday.
The governor’s actions mirrored the vetoes he issued last year, when he axed more than 200 pet projects worth $555 million inserted into the spending plan by lawmakers.
Parson said Thursday the administration had identified more than 600 such items this year, some of which were not ready to begin in the upcoming fiscal year.
Parson, who is in his final months as chief executive, said the spending plan did not fully fund some state services, forcing him to set aside the projects so lawmakers can fill in the gaps with a supplemental budget next year.
A massive new education law already signed by the governor is expected to drive up spending at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, resulting in the need for a mid-year budget adjustment, state school board officials said after the budget was sent to the governor.
Other spending pressures include Department of Social Services programs that help low-income Missourians with health care and food costs, which the Republican-controlled House and Senate reduced by more than $500 million from what the Senate had initially sought.
At the Department of Mental Health, lawmakers reduced by $27 million a plan to boost the pay for workers who care for the state’s developmentally disabled residents.
“I’m gonna make sure that there is enough finances available for the next administration,†Parson said. “You’ll see one of the largest supplementals at the beginning of next year that you’ve seen.â€
That would wipe out the claim by House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, that the budget approved by lawmakers was smaller than what Parson had requested in January.
Smith, a candidate for state treasurer, had worked for years to reduce spending by the state. Parson linked the plan to election-year politics.
“That was more of a political gesture than it was anything,†Parson told reporters.
Left intact by the governor is a plan to fully fund the formula for the distribution of state aid to public school districts and a 3% boost for universities.
The minimum rate of teacher pay also will rise from $25,000 to $40,000.
The budget includes $111 million to provide a 3.2 % salary increase for all state employees — marking a 27 % pay increase during Parson’s six years in office.
The new budget also calls for $100 million in spending to improve rural roads.
The legislation is House Bill