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Included in Kehoe’s $53.7 billion spending proposal is a $50 million outlay to jump-start the state’s private school voucher program, a Republican-backed program originally designed to run on volunteer contributions and tax credits, not general revenue.

Kehoe said that to expand school choice, legislators should also approve that would allow students to transfer to schools in districts where they don’t reside.

In addition, while his administration planned to put a record $4 billion toward the K-12 education foundation formula he said he was not proposing to fully fund the state’s K-12 education foundation formula.

The governor’s plan, which increases public school aid by $200 million, calls for about $300 million less than the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requested.

“While it’s clear our support for K-12 education is a record investment and the largest we’ve ever seen, we are not fully funding the formula,� Kehoe told legislators.

He said his team is committed to funding additional commitments to education lawmakers approved last year. But he called for a new foundation formula, which was last revised in 2005.

“The Foundation Formula in its current form has gotten out of control,� Kehoe said. “We must find a better solution that does a better job of incentivizing performance and managing unrealistic annual adjustments.�

House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said she was disappointed with Kehoe’s remarks regarding education.

“We are disheartened that right out of the gate, the new administration is planning to retreat from its commitment to public education by failing to fully fund K-12 schools,� Aune said.

Kehoe, a native of north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, also called on legislators to approve bills that would place the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Metropolitan Police Department under state control.

“The current status quo in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ is unacceptable,â€� Kehoe said. “As the economic powerhouse of our state, we can’t continue to let crime kill growth in the region and drive businesses and families to move outside of our state’s borders.â€�

In response, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones called the attempt at a state takeover “pure politics� and said taking away local control wouldn’t make the city safer, increase the population or help grow city revenue.

In his speech, Kehoe did not offer a roadmap for Republicans to follow to address the repeal of the state’s abortion ban by voters in November.

Rather, he promoted $4 million to funding pregnancy resource centers, an over 50% increase.

Federal freeze

Kehoe’s budget plan is heavily reliant on federal funding — despite the threat of a wide-ranging federal funding freeze by the Trump administration.

A White House memo said Medicare and Social Security wouldn’t be affected by the pause, though it was initially unclear how the executive action would affect federal Medicaid funding.

Aides to Kehoe said the effect of Trump’s decision on state spending is not yet known.

In Missouri’s , about 70% of the state’s $18.2 billion Medicaid budget is covered by federal funds.

At the University of Missouri, officials told researchers who have federal grants to continue working while they try to clarify the order.

“We recognize that these interruptions may create challenges, particularly for researchers who rely on federal funding. Unless you receive an official stop order, please continue your operations as normal,� wrote Thomas Spencer, vice chancellor for research, in a memo to employees issued Tuesday.

Among federal agencies that have ties to Mizzou research are the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy.

Spending package

Kehoe laid out his vision before a packed House chamber, with senators, Supreme Court judges and state department heads in attendance.

Kehoe acknowledged the state’s financial landscape is changing after an influx of federal pandemic aid helped lawmakers and former Gov. Mike Parson launch a building spree that includes the long-sought widening of Interstate 70 across Missouri’s mid-section.

Of the current $51.6 billion budget, more than $24 billion is to be in the form of federal aid for Medicaid, public schools and universities and road building.

The spending package includes higher pay to recruit and retain police officers, more money for teachers and raises up to 10% for most of the state’s historically underpaid workforce of about 49,000 employees.

The pay plan calls for 1% raises for every two years of services, with a maximum of 20 years.

The governor is seeking $161 million to boost child care subsidies for low-income families and another $10 million to promote partnerships with companies that provide child care to employees.

The blueprint also would steer $149 million to provide more funding for the developmentally disabled. The money also will eliminate waiting lists for in-home care.

Kehoe also wants $60 million to help fix the state’s rural highways, down from $100 million earmarked by Parson.

The governor also wants to launch a $4 million program to test wastewater from schools for fentanyl and spend $12.8 million to build a new crime lab in Cape Girardeau.

At the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Kehoe wants to issue $55 million in bonds to build more livestock facilities to go along with a new arena being built.

The plan will direct $200 million into the state’s school funding formula, representing the largest single-year increase in two decades.

Kehoe wants to spend $33 million to boost teacher salaries and $30 million for small school grants, up from $15 million that was approved last year.

Higher education will get a 1.5% increase.

The governor wants to leave a fund balance at the end of the year of about $1.5 billion.

Despite a reduction in federal aid, Kehoe also advocated for continued cuts to the state’s individual income tax.

He said he had directed the Department of Revenue to work with his staff on a “sustainable and comprehensive� plan to eliminate the tax.

“While we task our best and brightest with developing a responsible plan to eliminate the income tax, the Legislature must continue with success we’ve seen from cutting taxes so far,� Kehoe said.

Kehoe also wants to eliminate the state portion of the capital gains tax, which could remove more than $330 million in revenue from the equation.