Missouri Governor Mike Parson delivered his first State of the State address this afternoon [Wednesday] laying out his priorities for the Governor’s budget.
Parson began by discussing workforce development, and training workers for high demand jobs, saying $75 million will go towards various development programs.
Infrastructure continues to be one of Parson’s priorities, and among those is broadband internet access for rural Missourians. The state recently secured $255 million in federal funding to expand broadband, and to close the gap, the Governor has budgeted an additional $5 million for broadband services.
Parson is asking legislature to begin working on a plan for repairs on approximately 250 bridges in the state that have substantial damage. That plan would include cost sharing programs with counties and cities.
Parson, a former sheriff, is including the Department of Corrections in problems that need to be addressed, focusing on re-entry programs. Parson said he is not interested in building more prisons, and intends to provide pay raises to DOC workers.
Parson wants to work on streamlining government, and eliminating approximately 430 jobs.
Additionally, the governor has allocated $1 million for autism resources, and says the Medicaid budget needs to be cut.