Governor Signs second budget bill

Governor Mike Parson has signed House Bill 15, a second supplemental budget bill for Fiscal Year 2023, into law. HB 15 appropriates more than $2 billion to ensure state government operations continue uninterrupted through the end of the current fiscal year, ending June 30, 2023. The appropriates critical funding for K-12 education, higher education, public safety, mental health, and transportation, among others. Funding includes $217 million for school nutrition programs, $75 million for state aid to charter schools, $3 million for career and technical education programs in K-12 schools, $800,000 for the Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant Program, and $175-thousand for the Missouri Blue Scholarship. The more than $2 billion package includes $427 million in general revenue, $1.45 billion in federal funds, and $176 million in other funds. Governor Parson issued one line item veto in House Bill 15 for $25-thousand to the Missouri Department of Transportation for audit costs.