GOP-controlled Missouri House delays vote on Gov. Parson’s $859M plan to expand I-70
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Missouri lawmakers are temporarily punting on whether to fund Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s proposal for an $859 million expansion of I-70 near Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis.
The Missouri House approved a state transportation budget on Thursday that doesn’t include the funding, which Parson proposed in January during his State of the State address. The top GOP budget representative has instead promised that the House will debate the proposed expansion in a separate bill next week.
“We will shift that conversation to another bill and continue to work on it,” state Rep. Cody Smith, a Carthage Republican who chairs the House Budget Committee, told lawmakers.
Asked about the funding shift, Kelli Jones, Parson’s spokesperson, sent The Star an excerpt from the Republican governor’s State of the State address, highlighting safety issues on I-70.
“To those who say we can’t afford it, I say we can’t afford not to. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and the time is now,” Parson said.
The decision to delay consideration of the I-70 project comes as some Republican lawmakers are opposed to spending hundreds of millions on I-70 amid concerns that I-44 and other highways are being overlooked.
The Missouri Department of Transportation, led by a governor-appointed commission, also faces a backlash from Republican lawmakers who say the commission is trying to exclude the General Assembly from decisions over how to spend money in a state roads fund. The commission is seeking a decision in state court giving it control over how to spend the fund.
In response, the Missouri House has approved a state constitutional amendment that would require MODOT to obtain legislative approval to spend money from the fund. The state Senate hasn’t acted on the amendment.
House Democrats this week tried unsuccessfully to add the full funding for the I-70 project back into the transportation budget.
State Rep. Peter Merideth, a St. Louis Democrat and ranking minority member on the House Budget Committee, told The Star in a text that he felt Smith was holding the transportation funding hostage to negotiate with lawmakers.
“I-70 currently doesn’t touch his district directly,” Meredith said, referring to Smith. “And he’s a libertarian that wants a smaller budget.”
State Rep. Doug Richey, an Excelsior Springs Republican who also serves on the committee, told The Star that the funding was moved to the other budget because it was a “massive undertaking.”
If the Missouri House eventually approves highway expansion funding, the Missouri Senate will also debate the spending. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans.
The House plan is expected to change when it gets to the Senate, where some lawmakers are proposing longer-term expansions for I-70. Some lawmakers said it’s possible the Senate will add the project back into the transportation budget.
