YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Although Missouri’s 2024 legislative session had some notable accomplishments, such as passage of a major education bill and a state budget that includes nearly $730 million in Interstate 44 improvements, the past few months in Jefferson City saw fewer than 30 nonbudget bills receive approval from legislators.
The 28 bills passed by the Missouri General Assembly by the end of its session on May 17 is considered by state officials as a modern-day low. The previous low was 31 in 2020 during a legislative session marred by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, legislators passed 18 appropriations bills, which comprise the $51.7 billion budget that was sent May 10 for Gov. Mike Parson to review.
State Rep. Stephanie Hein, D-Springfield, said she defined the session as “lackluster.”
“This session was filled with a lot of frustration,” she said. “We saw a record low number of bills pass in the session, and a lot of it is simply due to infighting that was happening and people choosing to air personal grievances rather than do the work of the people.”
GOP infighting cropped up at various times during the session, which included a 41-hour filibuster earlier this month by the Freedom Caucus that unsuccessfully tried to block a bill renewing a tax for Missouri’s Medicaid program. The Freedom Caucus is made up of Republican legislators who aim to push their party further to the right on issues such as immigration and voting access, according to media reports. Missouri is one of 11 state legislatures that have chapters of the State Freedom Caucus Network, based on a similar group in Washington, D.C.
Interstate investment
Following the high-profile investment last year of nearly $2.8 billion to expand Interstate 70 to three lanes across the state in the fiscal 2024 budget, infrastructure was another top priority for this year’s spending plan. The fiscal 2025 budget includes $727.5 million to expand and improve stretches of I-44 in Springfield, Joplin and Rolla. Part of the work involves I-44 and Highway 13/Kansas Expressway interchange improvements, such as a flyover for traffic traveling southbound on Kansas Expressway onto eastbound I-44, as well as widening portions of the interstate to six lanes.
The I-44 funding comes after Parson approved an environmental study of the entirety of I-44 in Missouri in last year’s budget. In 2023, the governor vetoed $28 million for improvements to the I-44 and Kansas Expressway interchange, one of over 200 line-item vetoes he made in the fiscal 2024 budget.
Matt Morrow, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce president, said he was glad to see the commitment to transportation infrastructure funding – particularly in southwest Missouri – back in this year’s budget. While Parson didn’t include the $727.5 expenditure for I-44 as part of his budget proposal submitted to legislators in January, Morrow said he’s “cautiously optimistic” that the governor will green light the interstate improvements.
“Overall, the budget is responsible, and certainly we know that this governor in particular has been very committed to transportation infrastructure and workforce development the whole time that he’s been there,” Morrow said. “So, I believe and hope that this will be the kind of thing that’s very much in line with his priorities, even if it commits more resources than he originally envisioned.”
Hein also supports the I-44 work and hopes the expenditure will survive the governor’s budget review process, which will be complete before the next fiscal year begins July 1.
“That’s investment in our state,” she said. “It’s an investment in our infrastructure, but it’s also investment in jobs.”
A $3.4 million project to improve LeCompte Road in northeast Springfield also is in this year’s budget. It would help fund LeCompte and Division Street intersection improvements and widen the road to handle traffic demands. Springfield Underground Inc. is among frequent users of LeCompte.
“It’s one we actually had in the budget last year, but there was a clerical error and it said $34 million instead of $3.4 million, and so the governor vetoed that understandably,” Morrow said. “That really helps us address a very significant safety issue in our community, but it also tees up multiple potential sites for industrial development, which is really, really good for attracting and competing effectively for business investment, capital expenditures and job creation on those sites.”
The process to complete this year’s budget, approved just hours before the constitutional mandated deadline, received bipartisan criticism due to closed-door negotiations between House Budget Chair Cody Smith, R-Carthage, and Senate Appropriations Chair Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, to work out the final spending totals.
Hough said in a news release that the approved budget is fiscally responsible.
“Despite having to start later than usual, the Senate was able to craft a conservative, balanced budget that reflects our state’s values and ensures our tax dollars are spent responsibly,” he said in the release. “I’m very proud of the work we have done to meet the needs of our citizens and our state.”
Hough did not return messages seeking additional comment by press time.
Legislative disappointment
In a news release, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry officials expressed disappointment that lawmakers failed to pass legislation to increase access to child care, noting it is one of the business community’s top concerns. The chamber was critical that despite the issue also being a priority of the governor, the Freedom Caucus blocked the Senate from voting on a tax credit package to increase the capacity of child care providers and help businesses offer child care benefits to support employee retention and attraction.
House Bill 1488, sponsored by Rep. Brenda Shields, R-St. Joseph, and Senate Bill 742, sponsored by Sen. Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City, each proposed the creation of three new tax credits designed to increase access to affordable child care.
“The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is disappointed that factional fighting stood in the way of effective governance,” said Dan Mehan, state chamber president and CEO, in the release. “While we commend the leaders who worked tirelessly to defend Missouri’s interests against the chaos, their efforts were overshadowed by a small group of obstructionists who chose personal ambition over the people they were elected to serve.”
Morrow and Hein also both said they were disappointed child care legislation again failed to cross the finish line, much like in the 2023 session. Hein noted she was a co-sponsor with Shields on HB 1488.
“We had bipartisan support; the governor supported it. It was one of his main initiatives,” Hein said. “We got it through the House, and then it just died in the Senate.”
Hein said she won’t give up fighting for the issue, as the child care crisis continues.
“We’ll see if we can get it accomplished next session and what happens there. But by far, that was the biggest disappointment for me,” she said. “I had invested a lot of energy and hope into that one.”
Education boost
One piece of legislation that did reach the finish line was a $468 million education bill that, in part, boosts the minimum salary for teachers, changes the formula for funding public schools and expands a tax-credit scholarship for private schools. The legislation permanently increases baseline teacher pay to $40,000 from $25,000, incentivizes five-day school weeks, increases support for early childhood education programs and increases funding for small schools, among other provisions.
Additionally, the budget includes $120 million more in baseline funding for public K-12 education, and higher education institutions would get a 3% increase in core funding.
“That’s really important, and it’s one of our big advantages in being able to continue to grow and create jobs in the area is that higher ed infrastructure here, particularly through (Ozarks Technical Community College) and Missouri State University, and also our private higher ed,” Morrow said.
Hein said she’s hopeful voters are paying attention to what is and isn’t working when it comes to lawmaking and budget priorities among state legislators. For her, that means constituents should hold people accountable when things aren’t progressing as they hope.
While this year’s session is complete, Hein said she maintains a positive attitude, adding lessons from the past few months can be learned by officeholders, including herself.
“If you remain pessimistic, that would be just a dreadful place to live,” she said. “But am I optimistic that we can do better? Absolutely, I am.”
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