On Wednesday, Missouri Governor Mike Parson delivered his sixth State of the State Address to the General Assembly, outlining his budget priorities for Fiscal Year 2025. He called for a cost of living increase for all state employees, for raising the baseline teacher pay, and for expanding funding for pre-kindergarten and K-12 programs. In addition, Governor Parson announced a federal grant of over $90 million for his plan to expand I-70. As for his legislative priorities, he mentioned child care tax credits and stricter punishments for exposing minors to fentanyl.
In an emotional speech, he expressed gratitude to his wife and family, thanked his team in the Governor’s Office, and showed appreciation to the people of Missouri. “If I’m honored enough to be considered by Missourians as a ‘pretty good Governor’, ‘decent guy’, or ‘someone who never forgot where he came from’, then it will all be worth it”, he said.
The Governor also highlighted several achievements that his administration has accomplished with the collaboration of the General Assembly. For instance, reducing the number of elective abortions in Missouri to zero annually, creating over 110,000 jobs and bringing $14.5 billion in new business investments, reducing state income tax burdens by over 20 percent, building over 1,000 bridges and repairing 50 percent of Missouri’s highway system, achieving the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded at 2.1 percent, growing state revenues by 40 percent since 2018, and leaving the state with 53 percent less debt than when his administration began.
The press release, the full speech, and the FY2025 Budget are all available here.