Missouri’s $51 billion state budget proposal reaches halfway point

Missouri’s nearly 51-billion dollar state budget proposal has cleared the state House of Representatives. 

The spending plan would widen I-44 to six lanes in Springfield, Joplin, and Rolla. 

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, a Republican from Carthage, says his proposal would also dedicate 100 million dollars to upgrade Missouri’s low-volume roads… 

“Largely, we're catching up for lost time with our transportation infrastructure network. We're appropriating upwards of a billion dollars, about three quarters of a billion dollars, all to rebuild I-44. So, lots of exciting things are happening here for our state's transportation infrastructure network,” says Smith. 

The proposed budget also includes a 3.2-percent pay increase for state workers and it would boost funding for Missouri’s nursing homes. 

The plan has more hoops to jump through in the Senate.