JEFFERSON CITY — The top House budget negotiator unveiled a pared-down version of Gov. Mike Parson’s spending proposal Thursday, saying his plan funnels less money to colleges and universities in exchange for more money for road building.
Rep. Cody Smith, a Carthage Republican, said the proposed $50 billion package focuses on “fiscally conservative policies that highlight the importance of spending within our means.â€
A year after the Legislature put nearly $3 billion into the long-sought widening of Interstate 70, the House budget earmarks $727 million to rebuild the Interstate 44 corridor, which runs southwest from ºüÀêÊÓƵ to Joplin on Missouri’s western border.
Smith, a candidate for state treasurer, said initial work on the interstate likely will focus on the Springfield and Joplin areas before moving eastward toward Rolla.
People are also reading…
“Through collaborative efforts and thorough analysis, we are addressing Missouri’s pressing needs while ensuring accountability and transparency in our budgetary decisions,†Smith said.
In January, Parson called on lawmakers to approve a $53 billion spending blueprint that includes raises for Missouri school teachers, a 3% boost in funding for colleges and universities and more money for child care programs.
After funneling millions into raises for the state’s low-paid government workers in prior years, Parson is seeking another 3.2% increase for salaries, as well as money to begin studying improvements on I-44.
Parson’s plan also calls for $314.7 million for new construction on college campuses.
Smith said much of the Republican governor’s spending goals remain intact in the House plan, except for money that helps pay for the state’s higher education institutions.
Rather than a 3% bump, Smith is calling for a 2% increase.
“We need to keep an eye on sustainability here,†Smith said.
The proposal also contains fewer dollars to expand child care availability in the state. Smith suggested that there is less need for child care than the governor and business groups believe.
The spending plan also includes $4 million to boost minimum teacher pay to $40,000 annually, up from the current national low of $25,000.
Smith also inserted $8 million in the package to pay for Parson’s decision to send Missouri National Guard troops to help patrol the nation’s southern border in Texas.
The House version was released on the Legislature’s final day before a weeklong spring break that marks the unofficial midpoint of an annual session scheduled to end May 17.
House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, launched budget talks one month earlier this year in an attempt to allow time for more fruitful negotiations with the Senate.
But the gambit failed to result in any significant added time.
“We didn’t want to rush through the process,†Smith said.
Democrats attributed the slow pace to Smith’s methodical approach to spending.
“The budget chair likes to rewrite the governor’s budget, and that takes a long time,†said Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Manchester. “I believe the time we spent here in December was mostly a waste of everybody’s time. What was done in December could have been done in January.â€
Rep. Peter Merideth, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, also said Smith is the cause of delays in moving the budget to the Senate.
“The only reason we’ve ever had for a delay in the House — every year and it’s gotten worse every year — is the budget chair, because he spends so much time behind closed doors writing his version of the budget,†said Merideth, the ranking minority member of the budget panel.