Lawmakers pass budget bill before Friday deadline

Lawmakers have passed a more than $28 billion budget proposal ahead of their Friday deadline.

The proposal includes, $99 million more for Missouri K-12 public schools next fiscal year and stable higher education funding.

If the Governor approves the budget, the plan would meet funding goals for elementary and secondary education as outlined in state law. It also would add another $10 million for school busing, and $50 million more for early childhood education.

The budget proposal applies to state spending for the fiscal year beginning in July.

Republican House Budget Committee Chairman, Scott Fitzpatrick lauded Missouri for funding K-12 education “at record levels, while we have teachers protesting in capitols in Oklahoma, Arizona and Kentucky and a constitutional funding crisis in Kansas.”

Some Democrats argued the budget plan still wouldn’t give schools enough money, even though the final allocation is $50 million more than what senators initially voted for.

The full budget plan also includes a pay raise for state workers. Employees making less than $70,000 a year are set to get $700 raises, and those making more are budgeted for 1 percent raises.

While House lawmakers initially slated the raises to take effect in July, budgeters later agreed to delay the pay hikes until January 2019. The savings will go toward preventing premium hikes for state worker health insurance, although deductibles are still set to go up.

The House and Senate will meet in conference to negotiate a final budget, before sending it to the governor’s desk for his consideration.