Senate committee calls for $3.5M in area appropriations

“There was a large number of issues of great importance to our community, and I am pleased to report that most of these items were funded,” said committee member Sen. Norma Champion, R-Springfield, in a news release.

The committee’s recommended appropriations include:

• $96,000 for a new county family court commissioner;

• $52,356 for a new county drug court administrator;

• $500,000 to cover operation costs of a new joint engineering degree program between Missouri State University and University of Missouri–Rolla; UMR will receive an additional $500,000 in new money;

• $250,000 in new money for the Children’s Crisis Nursery for Springfield;

• $1 million in new money to increase funding for area law enforcement to fight sexual predators on the Internet;

• $800,000 for home-health monitoring for Medicaid recipients who are chronically ill or pregnant;

• $150,000 in new money for Springfield public transportation;

• $150,000 for operations at Jordan Valley Innovation Center in downtown Springfield;

• $300,000 in new money for Court Appointed Special Advocates; and

• $75,000 for Regional Arthritis Centers.

There also would be an increase of between $1.25 and $2.50 per day to Greene County’s reimbursement rate for housing in the county jail.

The recommendations will return to the Senate and the House of Representatives for final approval before heading to Gov. Matt Blunt for his signature.