Missouri Governor Mike Parson made his State of the State address on Wednesday. As expected Governor Parson stressed workforce development and infrastructure in his State of the State address. This included his support for increased broadband coverage, $75 million in increased funding for workforce development programs and an infrastructure plan for transportation funded by budget savings. “Over the years, we have seen proposals go before the voters and fail, but this cannot and does not mean we are expected to do nothing,” Parson said. “This is why I am asking you to consider an infrastructure plan. While funded through our budget savings, it will give us the ability to begin immediate work on nearly 250 bridges across the state of Missouri, all in need of critical repair or replacement.” The bonds would be paid for by using approximately $30 million in general revenue per year over the course of 15 years.
In addition to announcing his legislative priorities, the Governor released his budget recommendations for the next fiscal year. A link to the full budget follows. https://oa.mo.gov/budget-planning/budget-information/2020-budget-information
Speaker Elijah Haahr and President Pro Tem Dave Schatz released committee assignments this week. Senator Doug Libla (R-Poplar Bluff) and Representative Becky Ruth (R-Festus) will chair the transportation committees in their respective chambers during the 2019 legislative session. Senator Libla is serving his second term as chairman of the Senate Transportation Infrastructure & Public Safety Committee. Representative Ruth is serving as chair of the House Transportation committee after serving as vice chair of the committee during the previous legislative session. She replaces former Representative Bill Reiboldt, who was term-limited. With this now done, bills will begin being referred to committees for hearing. Here is a link to the House and Senate websites.
https://house.mo.gov/Committees.aspx?cluster=true
https://www.senate.mo.gov/standing-committees/
Continue to check back for updates on bills that may impact transit.