$26.4B budget headed to Nixon's desk

The Missouri General Assembly passed a $26.4 billion fiscal 2015 budget yesterday, sending the measure to Gov. Jay Nixon's desk for approval.

The measure, which would take effect July 1, includes $114.8 million in additional money for K-12 education, less than half of Nixon's $278 million proposal during January's State of the State address. The budget also fails to expand the state's Medicaid program to some 300,000 adults.

“While making progress in many areas, in other respects the legislature missed the mark by failing to make K-12 education the priority and refusing to strengthen Medicaid,” Nixon said in a news release. “In the coming days and weeks, this budget will get a careful, line-by-line review to ensure we maintain fiscal discipline and keep the state moving forward.”

An increase of about $556 million is needed to fully fund the education foundation formula, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

The budget also includes Nixon’s proposals to eliminate the waiting list for in-home developmental disability services under Medicaid, freeze tuition for Missouri undergraduates at public universities for the upcoming school year, a bond issuance to rebuild Fulton State Mental Hospital and funding for technology and career support for staff at the Children’s Division of the Missouri Department of Social Services, according to the release.

Nixon originally proposed a $27.7 billion fiscal 2015 budget.