At 6 p.m. on Friday, May 14, the Missouri GeneralAssembly will adjourn Sine Die. This means that our regular 2021 legislative session is over.
As I listened to the floor debate on Thursday, I …
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At 6 p.m. on Friday, May 14, the Missouri GeneralAssembly will adjourn Sine Die. This means that our regular 2021 legislative session is over.
As I listened to the floor debate on Thursday, I can’t help but wonder if we couldn’t make better use of our time.
On Thursday, I sat and listened as the House debated a bill to rename highways and create special designations for many famous Missourians. Many of these state designations honor fine people.
We added amendments to honor Mark Twain and George Washington Carver.
You may have already heard about the amendment to honor Rush Limbaugh, the great conservative talk show host from Missouri.
But with the end of session rapidly approaching, it was frustrating to listen to floor debate regarding “Christmas in July” and other frivolous state designations. I hope the remaining time in our last week of Session is put to better use.
Our work on Friday was much more fulfilling and substantive. The House gave final approval to a fiscally responsible spending plan that balances the budget while prioritizing needy Missourians. In total, the budget contains $35.6 billion of state and federal spending authority. The appropriation bills that make up the spending plan will now head to the governor’s office for his consideration.
The final version of the budget makes a significant investment in the state’s system of education.
The legislature has fully funded the K-12 School Foundation Formula. The record investment for early childhood education and K-12 education is nearly $7.5 billion. The final version of the state operating budget also includes a $20 million increase for K-12 school transportation.
Our Budget Committee Chairman is Representative Cody Smith. He was elected in 2016. His staff and committee have labored for months over a $35 billion budget. It is a daunting task. Cody is a talented, intelligent, articulate gentleman and will remain the Budget Chair for the next couple of years. Every day, Cody grows with the experience and responsibility. His term ends in 2024.
My office will be open all year. Please use our email address as your best tool to communicate with us. I’ll look forward to hearing from you at Bruce.Sassmann@ house.mo.gov.
