budget

Despite the Missouri House voting to overturn multiple budget vetoes — including on funding for law enforcement — the Senate did not take any further action, leaving those vetoes intact.

In its last legislative session of the term, the Kansas City Council passed pay raises for council members and the mayor, allocated millions of dollars for 2026 World Cup preparations and created a municipal ID program. The next time the body meets in August, it will welcome seven new faces.

Included in the budget passed by lawmakers this session and signed by Gov. Mike Parson in June was around $2.8 billion to expand I-70 to three lanes in each direction. On Wednesday, commissioners approved the first steps of acquiring that money.

Gov. Mike Parson vetoed roughly 200 line items in the Missouri budget, primarily contending that he wanted to prevent financial difficulties in future years.

Both parties claimed successes in a state budget that increased spending on roads and education. But a great deal of time was spent on Republican efforts to restrict the rights of transgender residents, while other priorities never made it to a vote.

The state funding is divided into two pots; more than $55 million is set aside for school districts and charter schools, while about $26 million is available for community-based child care providers. The programs are supposed to prioritize low-income families.

The budget includes a $2.8 billion plan to fully expand Interstate 70 to three lanes in each direction, funding for teacher raises as well as money for public libraries. It also has $50 million to go toward stadium improvements for the World Cup in Kansas City.

The Senate’s proposed budget is $4.2 billion more than what the Missouri House passed weeks ago. Like in the House, most of the debate in the Senate was spent over an amendment that would have inserted language against diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Missouri House had voted to prohibit spending for “staffing, vendors, consultants, or programs associated with diversity, equity and inclusion.” But Senate Appropriations Chair Lincoln Hough said after speaking with departments, businesses and vendors, he recommended removing that language.

Gov. Mike Parson requested $859 million from the Missouri legislature to widen three sections of Interstate 70, including from Blue Springs to Odessa. But House Budget Committee chair Cody Smith says there's little chance of federal aid for the project.

Missouri library leaders say a plan by state legislators to strip funding for public libraries across the state would weaken rural libraries, and likely violates the state constitution.

Instead of speaking on the billions of dollars within the Missouri budget, House Democrats repeatedly spoke out against language added to each bill that prohibits spending on anything associated with diversity, equity and inclusion. That language is expected to be stripped out in the Senate.