General Assembly Gives Final Approval to Bonding Authority Legislation

JEFFERSON CITY — Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar announced the passage of Senate Bill 723 by the Missouri Legislature.  Senate Bill 723 authorizes up to $600 million in new bonding authority by the state.  Of this amount $400 million is to be dedicated to maintenance and repairs of state owned buildings.

Parson said, “Year after year these maintenance and repair projects have been deferred to the point that it is becoming critical.  The people of Missouri have sent us to Jefferson City to do a job.  Part of that job is taking care of the assets of the people.  Passage of this bill is the first step in catching up on the backlog of projects to make certain these buildings are in condition to continue housing the operations of state government and higher education.” 

Of the $400 million for deferred maintenance and repairs, $200 million is to be used on the campuses of Missouri’s colleges and universities.  The other $200 million are for projects on other state owned facilities.  The remaining $200 million was dedicated for the construction of a new Fulton State Hospital.  Because funding for this project is contained in the recently passed FY2015 budget, the potential exists for this money to be used for other projects in the future. 

“This action by the Legislature will move the state forward in terms of taking care of what we already have,” said Parson, “Anyone in the construction industry will tell you that taking care of maintenance issues as they arise instead of putting them off saves money and adds to the useful life of a structure.  We will also realize an immediate savings on utility bills as some of the systems being replaced have been in place for several decades.  It is important we be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money.  Today the Legislature showed its commitment to that kind of stewardship.”