To the Constituents of the 125th District,

The first full week of April was a very busy and productive one, here in the House Chamber! We third read and passed over 25 bills and sent to the Senate for their consideration, along with it being budget week! We spent over 9 hours on the House floor Tuesday going over the states $46.5 billion budget, yes billion with a B, and debating those issues. There is quite a bit of that money that is federal ARPA money that was sent to us from the Federal government, for us to put to good use in lots of different areas. I believe that nearly all departments received an increase in their FY23 budget.
There is money for rural broadband and infrastructure needed for that. This is a huge rural issue and a priority for our caucus and with the past two years exposing how much this is needed and how far behind we are in getting this to rural Missouri. I’m so excited and appreciative of what our rural electrical co-op’s (Osage Valley & Sac-Osage Electric) are doing in this area and we all are going to have the options of fiber optic in our homes soon!
Elementary and secondary education was, as always, a big topic of conversation, and they also received additional money. Career Ladder was reinserted back in the House budget for increasing teacher’s pay. That is something that was needed and this seemed to be the best answer now, for local districts budgets and for the state budget. Again, this year the foundation formula was fully funded as well. Higher education, A+ program and bright flight scholarship programs were both increased.
Social Services and Medicaid, which encompasses around 40% of our budget also received increases for health and mental health departments, Area Agency on Aging (who provides many senior services), home and community based home health providers and Medicaid expansion.
Below is bullets points on some of the highlights of the budget:
• Full funding for the K-12 School Foundation Formula
• $1.96 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III funds, as well as $443 million in ESSER II funds, for K-12 education
$37.4 million to bring back the Teacher Career Ladder program
• $6 million increase for the A+ Scholarship Program
$3.5 million increase to fully fund the Bright Flight Scholarship Program
• $42.2 million in federal funds for the Rural Broadband Grant Program
• $299 million for rate increases for home and community-based service providers
• $26.2 million in new federal funding for the state’s Area Agencies on Aging
• $15.1 million in funding for the Area Agencies on Aging to expand meal production capacity
• $6.2 million for the Missouri Veterans Health and Care Fund to increase funding for the state’s veterans’ homes
• Nearly $3 billion in new funding for the state’s Medicaid program, which helps cover the cost of Medicaid expansion
• $410.7 million for water infrastructure grants
• $104.7 million for a new crime lab for the Missouri State Highway Patrol
• $88 million for a new training academy for the Missouri State Highway Patrol
I enjoyed visiting with the students and teachers from El Dorado Springs Christian School. They visited the Capitol on Wednesday and I was able to introduce them to the House of Representatives.
I am honored to serve as your Representative in the Missouri House. If at any time, you have questions, concerns or ideas regarding state government, please feel free to contact me at 573-751-4065 or Jim.Kalberloh@house.mo.gov.
State Representative Jim Kalberloh