JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Senate Wednesday sent a midyear budget adjustment to Gov. Mike Kehoe that will keep the state’s senior meal program afloat. The $1.9 billion supplemental budget also adds in funding for public schools and boosts spending at the Department of Mental Health in a bid to end long waiting times for Missourians needing treatment. The overall plan will keep state government programs operating through the rest of the fiscal year amid inflationary increases not accounted for when the spending was approved in May 2024. “Sometimes the dollar amounts come up short,” Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, said. “All those costs are going up.” The measure, which was previously approved in the House, was sent to the governor on a 26-8 vote. The “no” votes were all Republicans, meaning the chamber’s 10 Democrats were needed to advance the measure.
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The package was put on a fast track earlier this year amid concerns that Area Agency on Aging
meals programs across the state would run out of money at the end of March. In a message to supporters, the aging agencies issued an alert calling on seniors to contact lawmakers. “Without immediate legislative action, these vital services face disruption, potentially forcing seniors into costly institutional care, a far less desirable and significantly more expensive alternative to aging in place,” the alert noted. Each year, the program provides
food, rides and other services, including 7.5 million meals to more than 150,000 individuals around the state. Under the program, a person must be 60 or disabled to receive a free midday meal. If a person is not on Medicaid, they are asked for a contribution to help offset costs, but it is not a requirement to receive the service. Action by lawmakers would funnel $14 million to the program, keeping it solvent for the final three months of the state’s fiscal year, which ends June 30. Kehoe has signaled he supports adding money for the program. The spending plan also includes money to make sure
public schools receive their full allocation under the state’s foundation formula. Summer food programs would receive $103 million, and the Department of Mental Health would receive funding
to eliminate waiting lists for developmental disability and behavioral health services. The bulk of the spending package, $941 million, will go toward the state’s MO HealthNet health insurance program. Of that money, nearly all of it is federal funding, Hough said. Also included is $100 million for wastewater treatment plant loans for cities and towns through a program administered by the Department of Natural Resources. The proposal includes money to help launch the state’s new sports betting program.
The legislation is House Bill 14.
