Senate Budget Passes

While you were sleeping this week, the Missouri Senate voted to spend $50 billion of your money. Yes, it’s budget time in the Missouri Legislature and, once again, we’re spending what I believe is an obscene amount of money.

In a late-night session that didn’t finish until nearly 4 a.m., the Senate made changes to 14 budget bills drafted by the House, increasing planned state spending by more than $4 billion. Shortly after senators left the building Wednesday morning, the House of Representatives convened and promptly rejected the Senate’s changes. The differences between the two chambers’ budgets will need to be resolved prior to 6 p.m. Friday, May 5, this year’s constitutional deadline for passing the budget.

While the Senate budget bills contained increased spending for highways, higher pay for teachers and construction of several new state facilities, one thing missing was language preventing spending on so-called DEI, or “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives. Each of the House budget bills specifically forbade the state from funding DEI programs, or doing business with entities governed by DEI policies. The Senate Appropriations Committee stripped the House language out of the Senate budget, but I attempted to put these provisions back in as the budget was debated on the Senate floor.

The anti-DEI amendment I proposed didn’t go as far as the House language. My legislation would have only prevented DEI efforts in state government, without imposing the same restriction on private businesses. Even this proposal was blocked in the Senate by a procedural move. I then offered a more-modest amendment, but it was defeated on a roll call vote. I firmly believe we should judge people by the content of their character. I do not think we should make staffing decisions to fill quotas. We especially should not be spending the taxpayers’ hard-earning money to promote fashionable ideas of diversity, equity and inclusion. If the conference committees won’t block them, these policies will continue.

Year after year, Missouri’s state budget continues to grow at an alarming rate. Five years ago, the General Assembly approved a $28.7 billion budget. This year, the budget has ballooned to almost twice that, at just under $50 billion. The Department of Social Services will spend 35% more in 2024 than it did in 2023, largely due to Medicaid expansion. The state workforce will grow by nearly 700 jobs next year. Included in the Senate budget is $2.8 billion to improve Interstate 70, nearly a half-billion dollars to boost pay for people who care for Missourians with developmental disabilities, $300 million for a new psychiatric hospital in Kansas City, $78 million in additional money for childcare subsidies, $50 million to help Kansas City prepare for a soccer World Cup event and $11 million to combat vultures. The list of new spending items goes on and on.

To be fair, there many expenditures in the budget I support. The $233 million we budgeted for school transportation will certainly benefit rural districts, where kids rely on buses to get to class. I also support the $50 million the Senate wants to spend on school security measures. Certainly, I support appropriations for programs within the 21st Senatorial District. Two examples are $1 million for a port serving Cooper and Howard counties, and a $3.9 million appropriation for drinking water system improvements in Marshall. But, no matter how worthy the budget items are, it all adds up. The state spends more and more and our government gets bigger and bigger. When will it end?

The Legislature will continue negotiations over the budget for a few more days. Once that’s done, we’ll have one week left to carry priority legislation across the finish line. There are a number of important issues we promised to address this year. We’re going to have to get busy if we’re going to fulfill those promises.

As always, I appreciate hearing your comments, opinions and concerns. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-4302. You may also email me at Denny.Hoskins@senate.mo.gov.