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Missouri Senate Passes Budget Bills For K-12, Higher Education

Credit Marshall Griffin/St. Louis Public Radio

The Missouri Senate has so far passed five of the 13 bills that make up the state budget for next year.

Among those five is the budget for K-12 schools (HB 2002), which is still structured in a two-tiered format because of the disagreement between GOP lawmakers and , a Democrat, over the expected revenue for next year.  The governor has proposed a $278 million increase to public schools, while the Senate budget raises funding by $114.8 million.   State Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, says he thinks the Senate's estimates are more accurate.

"When we say $114.8 million increase to K-12 education, that is a real increase, that is solid (general revenue)," Schaefer said.

Meanwhile, the Senate passed a 5 percent funding increase for higher education (HB 2003), as opposed to the House's 3 percent spending hike. Senate Republicans also defeated an amendment to strip out language barring in-state tuition to college students who are illegally in the United States.

The Senate also passed House Bill 2001 (various state bonds), House Bill 2004 (Department of Revenue, part of MoDOT), and House Bill 2005 (the governor's Office of Administration, part of the Department of Public Safety, and the rest of MoDOT's budget).

Senate leaders plan to pass the eight remaining budget bills Tuesday.

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter:   @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2020 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit .

Marshall Griffin is the Statehouse reporter for St. Louis Public Radio.
Marshall Griffin
St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.
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