House and Senate lawmakers cancel joint committee meeting on budget differences
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
UPDATE: The committee has canceled its Tuesday hearing. The deadline to pass a budget is 6 p.m. Friday.
ORIGINAL: On Tuesday, lawmakers from the House and Senate will hold a joint committee meeting to discuss their budget differences.
This meeting comes less than a week after the Senate passed a much larger budget than the House proposed adding $4 billion to the state budget.
Lawmakers will work together and decide how they'll plan to disburse those funds.
The budget covers a wide variety of items that include things like infrastructure improvements, education and workforce development. These items will return value to the state in the long term, according to Springfield Republican Lincoln Hough.
Other additions to the budget by the Senate include:
Additions to the state budget:
- $2.8 billion to widen I-70 across the state
- $81 million for Pre-K programs
- $7 million for teacher pay
- $4.5 million for state aid to libraries
- $460 million to raise the Department of Mental Health Direct Service Employees' pay to $17 an hour
- $300 million dollars for a new psychiatric hospital in Kansas City
Tuesday's joint hearing is set to begin at 3:10 p.m. at the State Capitol.