state budget

Since its launch in 2022, the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has responded to nearly 13 million calls. But many states have been slow to spend their own dollars on the program.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has proposed deep cuts to art funding across the state as part of an austerity initiative emphasizing smaller government and fiscal discipline. Artists and arts advocates say their cultural contributions help drive economic investment.

When lawmakers return to Jefferson City in June to debate Gov. Kehoe's plan to finance stadium projects for the Chiefs and Royals in Kansas City, more than 60 groups slated for funding want him to revisit spending for items spiked in the Missouri House.

Missouri's 2025 state budget includes less than a third of the federal funding the state received for Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program grants. More than a dozen producers with selected projects are without funding for now.

This year’s budget process was criticized by the governor and lawmakers over a lack of transparency.

Missouri's 2024 legislative session is back after spring break. The annual state budget and a tax that funds the bulk of Missouri’s Medicaid program are two things that must pass this session. Plus: Some Kansas lawmakers say improving their compensation is key to recruiting young and working class people to run for office.

The annual state budget and a tax that funds the bulk of Missouri’s Medicaid program are two things that must pass this session. And before the break, senators passed a major education bill that included priorities for both Republicans and Democrats.

The number of Kansas students who are chronically missing school has nearly doubled in the past two years. Plus: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson vetoed more than a half a billion dollars in spending from the state budget, but lawmakers have a chance to override.

Gov. Mike Parson slashed more than $555 million from the state’s $51 billion budget last week, despite the state’s record-setting $8 billion surplus. Here’s what got axed locally.

The court ruled that the Missouri Conservation Commission — not lawmakers — has the power to spend appropriated funds. The decision could influence a pending Cole County case over how much Department of Transportation employees get paid.

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 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.