JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri lawmakers plan to cut the state spending plan by about $700 million because of the toll the coronavirus has taken on the state’s economy, a top Republican budget leader said Friday.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman said lawmakers are aiming to cut $700 million from the governor’s original $30 billion spending proposal when they return to the Capitol Monday.
The budget covers next fiscal year, which begins in July.
Gov. Mike Parson made his spending recommendations weeks weeks before the coronavirus hit Missouri, so lawmakers now need to slash it to keep it in check with declining state revenues.
Lawmakers have been off work for weeks because of the virus. They’re returning to the Capitol in an attempt to pass a budget plan by their constitutional May 8 deadline.
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