JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Mid-Missouri can expect millions of dollars worth of new investments from the state under a budget advanced by the Missouri House.
The House on Tuesday perfected four budget bills, allocating more than $78 million for the One Health lab in development near the old Missouri State Penitentiary site, $10 million for Lincoln University to develop its health sciences and crisis center and $5 million for development of the Rock Island Trail.
Lawmakers in the General Assembly are finalizing the state budget, made up of 20 appropriation bills, facing a May 5 constitutional deadline. So far, the supplemental appropriation bill containing a pay raise for state employees is the only one to be fully passed and signed into law.
The House, where budget bills start, has fully approved 15 appropriation bills and perfected the remaining four budget bills Tuesday.
The Senate received the initial tranche of appropriation bills from the House at the end of March. The 15 bills, HBs 1-13 and HB 15, contain core appropriations for the state’s 17 executive agencies, elected officials and judicial system, and funding to service state debt.
The Senate Appropriations Committee began reviewing those bills Tuesday and deciding whether to follow allocations proposed by the House, the Governor’s Office or take a new Senate position.
House Budget Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, said the final four budget bills invest heavily in the state’s infrastructure, in many cases requiring local matches.
The funding appropriated to Lincoln for the development of its health sciences and crisis center doesn’t have any strings attached.
Lincoln President John Moseley said it’s a welcome boost along with the proposed 7 percent increase to the university’s core funding. Under the House budget, the university is also getting funding through the MoExcels program to help turn paraprofessional teachers into professional teachers, he said.
“We’ve really seen an increase in participation in that program so it’s great to see the state put some support behind it,” Moseley said. “Right now, we’ve got a number of teachers in the St. Louis market that are taking advantage of that through online courses, so we’re excited about the potential for continued growth as result of these commitments from the state.”
The House budget also includes $10 million for campus development at State Technical College of Missouri in Linn.
There’s been a lot of discussion surrounding higher education funding this session, but Moseley said there seems to be consensus around the final numbers, and he’s expecting “the House and Senate will get to an agreement to continue to support higher education.”
Rep. Bruce Sassmann, R-Bland, successfully added an amendment to HB 19, the same budget bill funding Lincoln’s health sciences center, to allocate $5 million for development of the Rock Island Trail.
Gov. Mike Parson in 2021 accepted the Rock Island corridor as part of the state parks system, kicking off development in some areas around the trail, such as Belle, Versailles and Eldon. The trail, once fully developed, will connect to the Katy Trail to create a 43-mile loop.
State funding to develop the Rock Island Trail has been proposed several times but has never made it to the governor’s desk. Last year, the House approved the governor’s recommended $69 million appropriation for the trail, but the Senate removed it.
Sassmann’s amendment allocates $5 million to specifically develop the trail west of Eldon and east of Belle. None of the money will be spent developing the trail between Belle and Eldon. Sassmann said several municipalities targeted with the funding have received or applied grants to develop the trail. Eldon and Versailles have received a grant, he said.
“This amendment is respectful to those portions along the trail that are excited and enthusiastic about trail development and it also respectful to those folks that are not ready for the trail to be developed,” Sassmann said from the House floor.
The amendment narrowly passed 72-71.
The House budget includes additional funding for the One Health lab planned for Jefferson City as well.
The 260,000-square-foot lab will house five state agencies, including the Department of Health and Senior Services, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Department of Conservation and the Missouri Highway Patrol, housed under Department of Public Safety.
More than $78.6 million is allocated to the DHSS for the lab’s development in HB 20 and more than $104.6 million is allocated to DPS for development of a crime lab “as part of a multi-agency laboratory campus.”
The state is currently working with a design consulting firm to identify each agency’s requirements for the lab.
The House budget also includes tens of millions for upgrades at state buildings within the Capital City.
Members of the House voted to spend $2.7 million to repair the Capitol bronze doors, $4 million for other Capitol building improvements, $1.6 million for construction of a judicial learning center at the Missouri Supreme Court Library and $2.1 million for additional improvements throughout the building.
The House budget also includes $14.3 million for the Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center and nearly $16 million for the Biggs Building at Fulton State Hospital.
All spending is still subject to approval by the Senate and governor.
Josh Cobb/News Tribune photo: State Sen. Sandy Crawford, a Buffalo Republican, looks over a Missouri House bill during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing held to discuss House budget bills Tuesday afternoon, April 18, 2023.
Josh Cobb/News Tribune photo: A Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee hearing was held at the state Capitol Tuesday afternoon, April 18, 2023, to discuss a series of budget bills the House passed last week.