Missouri Gov. Mike Parson touts spending plans, COVID-19 response in State of the State address
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JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson delivered his annual State of the State address Wednesday, outlining a wide range of desired investments funded by both state and federal stimulus dollars that would raise teacher and state worker salaries, repair and renovate infrastructure projects and expand grant programs for education and the workforce.
Parson, a Republican in his second term as head of state, struck an optimistic tone in his remarks to the General Assembly. While Missouri navigates the newest COVID-19 surge in the omicron variant — marked by closing schools and record-high hospitalizations — Parson said the state "accepted the challenges and prevailed" in the pandemic.
"While there will always be endless critics to tell us how we could have done it better, the facts are we were the ones in the arena," Parson said, pointing to vaccination rates for older populations in Missouri.
As of Wednesday, 54.7% of Missourians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Parson, who ended Missouri's state of emergency on Jan. 1, did not indicate he would enact any new measures in regard to the virus. He said he believed "the people should have say through their local representatives and not be dictated by needless executive action or any one person." He also reaffirmed his decision to cut off federal pandemic aid, one of the earliest governors to do so, calling it "the right call and the right thing to do."
Governor wants to raise pay for teachers
The governor pointed to a state surplus and billions of federal dollars waiting for allocation, calling on the state and lawmakers to make "investments in the future." Missouri's tax rate will be reduced to 5.3% this year, he announced, a new low. The 2023 fiscal year begins July 1.
"Government should invest, not waste," Parson said. "Government should lead, not dictate. Government should support, not mandate. And we must all remember that."
Among his top legislative priorities is to establish a fund where 2.5% of the state's general revenue would be set aside every year to "mitigate budget cuts and provide greater flexibility during emergencies."
Teachers in Missouri, which currently receive the smallest starting pay of any U.S. state and often leave the state for other opportunities, would receive a pay bump to $38,000 per year under Parson's proposed budget, alongside a fully funded K-12 education formula.
"We know the vast majority of Missouri educators get it right day-in and day-out," Parson said. "No one in this chamber would be where they are today without quality educators in their lives, myself included."
Bolstering workforce among Parson's top priorities
Parson also asked lawmakers to approve investments to shore up the state's workforce, a consistent priority of his administration and highlighted by a labor market requesting higher wages and better benefits.
He called on the legislature to make the Fast Track Incentive Grant Program, which sends residents to college for high-need areas with financial aid, permanent. The extension of that program, set to expire this year, is the subject of a Springfield senator's proposed bill and one recommendation made by a task force commissioned by Parson.
He also reiterated his request made late last year for the General Assembly to approve a raise for all state workers, currently under consideration by the House budget committee.
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Sitting on $2.8 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act, Parson outlined his administration's spending priorities for those dollars.
The primary targets will be one-time infrastructure investments. Major projects on college and university campuses would receive $470 million total; water systems for drinking, storm and wastewater would see a $411 million investment; $250 million would go to towns and cities for local development. Parson has also asked for $400 million for broadband expansion into rural areas.
Governor vows to invest in law enforcement
Public safety is also an area of focus for Parson's budget, he said Wednesday, criticizing efforts in other cities and states to reallocate funding for law enforcement. He is requesting $11 million to upgrade training academies, along with bolstering recruitment and retention efforts, as well as funding to upgrade the state's crime lab.
"In Missouri, we defend law enforcement, not defund them," Parson said, while promising to protect Second Amendment rights in the state.
A multiagency state health laboratory headlines Parson's budget recommendations in health care, alongside funding for telehealth services in rural communities and an additional $140 million for mental health centers around the state.
"We must always keep pushing forward in this state," Parson ended his address, "because no one is coming to do it for us."
Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Replay State of State address: Parson touts Missouri's COVID response
