The Missouri State Legislature this week gave final approval to a $26 billion budget that includes more money for education, but cuts spending for the Department of Social Services.
The budget was passed about two weeks ahead of its deadline date. If the governor wants to veto budget line items, he must do so while legislators are still in session, giving them an opportunity to override his vetoes before the deadline for working on appropriations bills. By our calculation, the governor must return his vetoes by May 7 and the legislature must conclude work on appropriations bills by May 8.
The budget allocates an $84 million increase to elementary and secondary education over the current fiscal year and an additional $12 million to the higher education line.
The budget for the Department of Social Services comes in at about $8.6 billion, but includes $550,000 less in spending than the current fiscal year. Those cuts include $620,000 less for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program – which provides monthly assistance to low-income families.
The Economic Development budget line includes about an $8 million raise over the current budget to bring its total to $370,604,690. Funding for the Department of Labor drops by about $5 million to $185,640,013.
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