Missouri Gov. Mike Parson lauded the progress made on some of his priorities, both since he took office in 2018 and during the 2023 legislative session.
Parson delivered remarks July 27 in Springfield at Great Southern Bank Arena on the Missouri State University campus. The speech was directed to city officials, business leaders, elected representatives and many others for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual “State of the State” address.
Parson reflected on many of the projects and initiatives funded in the $51.8 billion state budget, defended the spending and the surplus, commended the work of Springfield area legislators and encouraged governments to start thinking about the “long term.”
“We know our administration has received some criticism for an increased budget and while we fully agree investments in the people in Missouri have grown, we are using our revenue surplus to target areas that have long been neglected or overlooked — infrastructure and workforce development,” Parson said.
“That means investing in low volume roads and bridges, broadband, childcare, mental health, improving state government, supporting law enforcement and the list goes on and on. But I dare any politician to say that these priorities aren’t necessary and don’t work.”
Parson praises Missouri’s investment, leadership in key areas
At the beginning of the legislative session in January, Parson laid out his priorities to the Missouri General Assembly. On July 27, he recognized many of those priorities that the legislature included in the state budget, and hinted at more projects and investments in the years ahead.
“While we can't discuss in too much detail[...] our state is also in the running — now listen to me — for several billion-dollar projects, which has never happened before in our state,” Parson said.
He touted the funding allocated for education, infrastructure projects, semiconductor research, first responders and workforce development, and specifically praised the investments made in the state’s K-12 Foundation Formula, Interstate 70 and paying down the state’s debt.
“The $2.8 billion to rebuild and expand I-70 to six lanes across our entire state from St. Louis to Kansas City was a dream idea,” he said. “Not too many years ago, nobody thought that was even possible.”
The governor said the funding allocated in the Missouri budget for childcare and pre-kindergarten programs was “just a start” in addressing an issue that has “lacked the most in across the state.”
With these investments — among others — Parson said Missouri has become a leader in several economic categories, including job training programs, cost of doing business, new manufacturing facilities, business creation and cost of living.
“When our administration began, we were in the middle of the pack in just about everything,” Parson said.
At a Republican Governors Association meeting, Parson said he was being asked what Missouri is doing to be successful, while leading panel discussions.
“It is a great honor for me to sit up there and tell the other governors across the United States why what we’re doing works, and how they can do it,” he said.
Governor sets “record straight” on I-44 funding
As $2.8 billion was pumped into I-70, $28 million was vetoed for Interstate 44 when Parson signed the budget bills on June 30, leaving some disappointed. While some funds were nixed from the budget for improvements specific to the Springfield portion of the interstate highway, $20 million was approved for an environmental study of I-44 between the Oklahoma and Illinois state lines.
The 4.7-mile stretch of interstate between Kansas Expressway and U.S. Highway 65 is slated to be widened to six lanes, with federal funds already allocated for the project. Additionally, plans have been made to add a flyover for traffic traveling southbound from Kansas Expressway onto eastbound I-44 — removing the diverging diamond, tunneling Norton Road under Kansas Expressway, repaving that 4.7-mile stretch of interstate and restoring the bridges at National Avenue, Grant Avenue and Broadway Avenue.
The push for $28 million was spearheaded by Rep. Bill Owen, R-Springfield, and was seen as essential to accelerate the multi-pronged project.
Parson pushed back on some of the criticism he’s received for vetoing the I-44 funding.
“Let me set the record straight,” he said. “This year’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program is nearly $14 billion[…] through this plan we are funding the I-44 widening project from Glenstone [Avenue] to [Highway] 65.
“We are funding an I-44 environmental study for a six-lane widening and improvement plan along the entirety of the interstate, which must be completed before we can move forward. And we are making critical interchange improvements, bridge replacements along I-44. That’s over $125 million for I-44, and to lay the groundwork for larger projects in the future.”
In total, Parson estimated the Springfield area would receive more than $500 million for infrastructure projects in the next several years.
Pushing back, Parson criticizes federal government, other states
The $28 million vetoed for I-44 was one of 201 items Parson nixed from the state budget, totaling more than $555 million, despite an $8 billion surplus. However, the governor pushed back on the notion that the state government is flush with cash, and said $5 billion of that $8 billion has already been obligated.
“There is no extra money,” Parson said. “The budget this year was over $1.7 billion more than what we recommended, including over $700 million in ongoing core spending, which means that goes on forever. Once you take all those planned expenses into account…you see the $8 billion disappear pretty quickly, and not at all represent an actual fund balance. Times are good, but we must never stop being responsible, especially when it comes to taxpayer dollars.”
Meanwhile, the governor criticized how Washington D.C. — and Democrat-led states — are handling their responsibilities. He said steps made in Missouri help blunt the impact of the “inflation crisis we have seen at the federal level.”
“You see states like California, New York and Illinois — you're seeing more and more people flee those states, leave those states,” Parson said.
He praised Springfield’s state legislators, especially Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, who he later joined at a Springfield fire station to sign Senate Bill 24, a piece of legislation Hough sponsored with multiple provisions aimed at providing mental health services for first responders.
Parson also recognized Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, who was also in attendance, and is running for governor in 2024 as Parson terms out of office. Parson stopped short of endorsing Kehoe, and instead focused on his desire to finish his agenda amid an election year.
He emphasized the need to vote at the state and local levels, and said they were the “firewall” from the federal government.
Parson referenced federal requirements that raised the number of people eligible for Missouri’s Medicaid program from less than 900,000 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to 1.5 million, which he said was a result of an unsustainable number of people out of the workforce.
He said he wants to provide assistance when people truly need it, but wants to help “hundreds of thousands of others get back to work and get a job to support themselves and their families,” which he said was the difference-maker that contributed to Missouri’s population growth.
“We can offer people a good job, safe roads, quality education for the kids and good communities,” Parson said. “And we can do it all while providing three income tax cuts, including the largest in our state's history last year.”
