The Missouri House gave initial approval Tuesday to a $47.9 billion state operating budget, which is roughly $2 billion less than Gov. Mike Kehoe suggested.
Members discussed the budget for over five hours on Tuesday. It must still go through another vote for it to move to the Senate.
This session, the legislature is no longer flush with the federal dollars that have defined the past few budgets. Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act had to be allocated at the end of last year and must be spent by the end of 2026.
In addition to speaking on the expenses, House Budget Chair Dirk Deaton, R-Seneca, highlighted what the legislature was not spending, including a surplus in the state’s general revenue.
“We're leaving nearly $2 billion, over $1.9 billion, on the bottom line to help us weather the storm, the fiscal challenges of the coming years,” Deaton said.
The largest points of consternation between House Democrats and Republicans were over both public and private education funding.
While Republicans touted investing $200 million more for the state’s K-12 funding formula, it still falls roughly $300 million short of fully funding what the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education asked for.
Kehoe and House Republicans are on the same page regarding the foundation formula, with Kehoe back in January announcing that shortfall. He also talked about his intent to redo the formula.
Within the education budget is over $375 million toward school transportation as well as almost $67 million in grants that will provide a $40,000 baseline salary for teachers.
The budget also fully funds the financial obligations put forth by a wide-reaching education bill lawmakers passed last session.
Democrats repeatedly spoke against not fully funding the formula.
“Two things can be true at the same time. We can be making significant investments in K-12, and also we cannot be fully funding the foundation formula as laid out by state statute,” said Rep. Betsy Fogle, D-Springfield.
The House version of the budget also takes out tens of millions of federal dollars meant to go toward child care subsidies. This was an item that Kehoe included in his requested budget.
An amendment attempting to restore that funding sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Hein, D-Springfield, later failed.
Deaton said the federal dollars asked for these subsidies were one-time funds and expressed concern over it being an ongoing cost.
“It gets us to next year, and then we've got to come back and look at a $160 million pickup. I'd ask my friends on the other side of the aisle or anybody in this room, ‘Where will it come from?’” Deaton said.
Another lengthy debate on Tuesday was over $50 million slated to go toward scholarships for private schools in Missouri. Kehoe made this request during his State of the State address.
The money is a transfer from the state treasury to the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Fund.
The account allows families to get funding to send their children to the school of their choice, including private schools.
The account is funded by private donors, who then receive tax credits from the state.
Fogle sponsored an amendment that would have removed the $50 million from the budget. That amendment failed.
“To sit here on this floor and underfund the foundation formula by $300 million, which is a commitment that this body and this General Assembly has made to our public schools, and then turn around and give $50 million of that general revenue to private schools that don't have any local accountability, that don't have any oversight, that mandate, some of these schools, how often a family has to go to church and how often they pray and to what God they pray. I can't think of anything more frustrating to me, personally,” Fogle said.
Rep. Ben Backer, R-Neosho, said this will help families who believe public education is not the best choice for their children as well as others looking for options in education.
“This is a historic investment, Mr. Speaker, in our children's future, fostering flexibility, parental involvement and educational freedom for our kids,” Baker said.
The 13 budget bills discussed Tuesday must go through another vote in the House before it moves on the Senate. In prior years, the budget bills shrank in the House, only to grow again in the Senate.
Last year’s budget ended up being $51.7 billion.
The House has three other budget bills it will discuss in committee beginning tomorrow. Those bills include funding for capital improvement projects as well as funding for projects under the American Rescue Plan Act.
