Updated at 7 p.m. Jan. 24 with reaction from legislators
With his time in office coming to an end in less than a year, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson spent his final State of the State speech recounting his tenure in office — a roughly five-year period that he says transformed the way the state looked at transportation policy and reshaped how the government responded to a multitude of crises.
“In every decision we make, we must look to the effects on the next generations and the ability for them to achieve their American Dream,” Parson said Wednesday. “In every decision, we must put people first. It's a simple idea that has been our guiding principle since the very beginning. And that’s our final commitment to you. Until our final day we’ll continue to put people first.”
During his speech, Parson pointed out that the state has paid down $600 million worth of debt and that he had signed several tax cuts into law.
He also noted that the state’s unemployment rate remains paltry at around 2.1%, which he said was the lowest figure ever recorded in Missouri history.
“Actually, it has been so low that our problem is not creating jobs but filling jobs,” Parson said. “Since becoming governor, we’ve added more than 110,000 jobs to our economy and closed out the year ranked 15th nationally for job creation.”
Parson’s State of the State address coincided with the release of his proposed $52.7 billion budget, which for the most part shows a relatively normal financial priorities after several years of significant revenue growth and a bounty of federal funds.
One key aspect of his budgetary plan is a 3.2% pay raise for state employees as well as a higher boost for state workers in places like juvenile detention centers and mental health facilities.
“When I became governor, state government was quickly becoming underappreciated, understaffed, and underpaid,” Parson said. “That’s why we approved three historic pay increases to recruit and retain quality talent across state government — raising team member pay by over 20% since 2018.”
Parson also pointed out that he’s appointed more than 100 judges and filled an unprecedented five statewide office vacancies. He’s also made three picks to the Missouri Supreme Court to make it majority female for the first time. And he picked Gabe Gore, who attended Wednesday's speech, to become St. Louis circuit attorney; Parson said the “level of professionalism between the circuit attorney’s office, metro police, the courts, the attorney general’s office, and our office is greater than I have ever experienced.”
He added that he’s worked through the state’s clemency backlog, which he said showed that his administration is embracing the concept of giving second chances to people.
“When I became governor, we also inherited nearly 4,000 pending clemency applications. While I’m a law and order governor, 4,000 people in limbo waiting for an answer is not how we do good business,” Parson said. “Whether approved or denied, we set out to provide answers. Today, I’m proud to announce that the clemency backlog we inherited has been totally cleared for the first time in decades.”
Transportation movement
One of the big focuses of Parson’s speech was his record on infrastructure and workforce development — two broad priorities that have been a key part of his gubernatorial messaging since he was sworn into office in June 2018.
In addition to recounting how lawmakers made a historic investment in expanding the number of lanes on Interstate 70, he said his budget will lay the groundwork to expand Interstate 44 — something that’s been a priority for lawmakers in south central and southwest Missouri.
Parson said U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, who heads the House Transportation Committee, told him the state will receive over $90 million in additional funds to put toward projects on I-70. With these additional funds and those savings, Parson then announced the establishment of the I-44 Improvement Fund.
“This fund will build on the nearly $150 million already included in the current [state transportation plan],” Parson said. “That’s right, we aren’t just laying the foundation to expand and improve one interstate across our state but two interstates.”
Parson reiterated his desire to pass tax credits to help child care centers, something that was a priority in his 2023 State of the State speech but failed to get over the legislative finish line.
He said those “programs will help improve access and affordability for families seeking child care across the state of Missouri.”
“When it comes to preparing Missourians for the workforce, we know we are on solid ground. The biggest thing we can do is simply continue,” Parson said. “But today our state is in critical need of quality early learning programs. Business leaders estimate that lack of early learning programs is costing our state over $1 billion annually. And over 85% of Missourians believe early childhood learning supports a child’s success, parents’ success and business success.”
A long public service career
Parson used his speech to reflect on his lengthy career in public service, which began as Polk County sheriff and continued as a member of the Missouri House and Senate. He became lieutenant governor in 2016 – and ultimately ascended to the governorship after Eric Greitens left office under a cloud of scandal.
“After serving six sessions in the House, six sessions in the Senate, two sessions as lieutenant governor, and now my sixth and final session as your 57th governor, I am expected to say this is a bittersweet moment,” Parson said. “But while the view from this dais facing all of you is a fine sight to see, it's no comparison to the view of the Polk County fields behind the windshield of my John Deere tractor. But look, I promise to think of all of you — on occasion.”
While Parson’s relationship with the legislature was an improvement from the stormy discord under the Greitens administration, he did have to contend with criticism — particularly from some members of his own party.
Some legislators have decried how the state budget went up during his tenure. And even though the GOP has large majorities in both chambers, infighting within the Missouri GOP caucus often stymied some of the governor’s priorities.
He’s also been criticized by Democrats for his decision to sign legislation that banned most abortions in the state and for supporting restrictions on transgender minors obtaining puberty blockers and hormone therapy. And he faced numerous challenges steering the state through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parson didn’t address any of his critics directly, but he did note that his administration wasn’t always universally beloved.
“Have there been critics? Sure, but critics are a dime a dozen,” Parson said. “One thing I’ve learned in life, you’ll never be criticized by someone doing more than you. It will always be the person doing less who makes the most noise. Through all the criticism, we never stopped working for the people of Missouri.”
He highlighted the state’s ban on most abortions, which went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“When I came to Jefferson City, nearly 8,000 elective abortions were performed annually in Missouri,” Parson said. “As I stand before you today, I’m proud to report that number is zero.”
Whether that statistic remains the same in the future is in flux, as proponents of abortion rights are seeking to put a constitutional amendment before voters that would legalize abortion up to fetal viability.
After ticking off various accomplishments of his administration, Parson then said: “No one and I mean no one has gone to bat for the people of Missouri like this administration and you. And today we have won.”
Legislators react to speech
On multiple occasions during Parson’s speech, House Democrats were the first to stand up and applaud proposed policies.
After the address, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, who's running for governor, said Parson offered several strong proposals that House Democrats can get behind.
That includes expanding access to child care, a topic on which Quade said she’s encountered resistance from Republicans.
“We're glad the governor understands that ensuring parents have safe and affordable child care options is vital for those parents to be able to work, provide for their families and help grow our economy,” Quade said.
Other proposals from Parson that Quade praised included $120 million in additional funding to the state’s K-12 foundation formula, $1.5 billion for broadband infrastructure and $7.2 million for combating maternal mortality.
“We want to see bills on these issues hit the governor's desk, and we'll do our part to make that happen,” Quade said.
But Quade said the dysfunction caused by far-right Republicans means prospects are not good for the legislature to pass anything important this session.
“Just like in D.C., a small group of GOP extremists are holding the legislative process hostage in an attempt to bully through legislation that's unpopular with most lawmakers and definitely most Missourians,” Quade said.
Despite agreeing with many of Parson’s proposals, Quade disagreed with his comments on abortion, in which the governor celebrated the lack of abortions happening in Missouri.
“Where this speech fell flat is absolutely around women's access to reproductive health care,” Quade said. “That is going to be on the ballot this fall. We're very excited about that, and we know absolutely it is going to pass.”
Some lawmakers from both parties were disappointed by what Parson didn’t talk about in the speech.
Sen. Bill Eigel, R-St. Charles County, who also is running for governor, said Parson should have used some of his address to push for a ballot initiative to make the Missouri Constitution more difficult to amend.
“I'm really disappointed that we didn't hear one word about initiative petition reform coming from the governor tonight,” Eigel said.
Some of Eigel’s GOP colleagues from a faction known as the Freedom Caucus have held up the governor’s appointments over the issue. That move prompted Senate leaders Tuesday to strip those lawmakers of committee chairmanships and vice chairmanships.
Eigel also continued his criticism of Parson for allowing the budget to increase under his watch.
And while Parson’s budget will increase employee pay, Rep. Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson, said that isn’t a big enough boost to persuade people to work for or stay in the state’s Children’s Division, which has struggled for years to attract and retain employees. Most recently, the agency’s St. Louis branch has dealt with a shortage of child abuse and neglect investigators, which in turn created a backlog of cases.
Proudie, a member of the House Budget Committee and the ranking member of the Children and Families Committee, said she’ll push to get a bigger pay increase for Children’s Division employees. Currently, the starting salary for child abuse investigators is around $43,000.
“If I can go down by the local Walmart and get tuition assistance and health care and other things on Day One," Proudie said, "why am I going to work at such a hard job and be overworked and overburdened for $40,000?”
