Missouri lawmakers pass budget boosting funding for education and infrastructure

By DAVID A. LIEB and SUMMER BALLENTINE
Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have passed a roughly $51 billion budget that boosts funding for education and infrastructure. The GOP-led House finished work on the budget just hours before a 6 p.m. Friday deadline. Senators passed the budget Thursday after a full day of sometimes tense debate among Republicans. The budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 includes $120 million more in baseline funding for public K-12 education, plus hundreds of millions of dollars more for roads and building projects. It now goes to Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who had originally proposed spending more than lawmakers approved.