Promoting Local Infrastructure Development
This year, the governor and leaders in the Missouri General Assembly have made it a priority to increase the state’s investment in infrastructure maintenance and construction. As part of that effort, the State Legislature authorized a bonding plan to fund repairs for 215 bridges throughout the state, a measure the governor officially signed into law.
Additionally, the governor and legislative leaders have increased funding for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s (MoDOT) Cost Share Program. This program allows municipal governments to more easily engage in local infrastructure improvements by providing state grants of up to 50 percent of a project’s total cost.
Local governments often know best what their individual communities need, and MoDOT’s 50/50 matching grants have proven to be cost-effective ways of promoting infrastructure development. That’s why Missouri’s state operating budget for the 2020 fiscal year appropriates $50 million toward the Cost Share Program — the largest amount that has been allocated to this program in recent memory.
I believe in the principle of limited government, but I also believe the state has certain obligations that need to be taken seriously. Maintaining proper infrastructure is an essential responsibility of state government, because nearly everyone relies on our highways, roads and bridges in some capacity. By increasing funding for MoDOT’s Cost Share Program, we are investing in the future of one of Missouri’s most important assets.
As always, please feel free to call, email or write with your ideas or concerns. My Capitol office number is (573) 751-1415, my email is dan.hegeman@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 332, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.