The Missouri House on Thursday advanced a plan to give state employees a raise to address worsening worker shortages. The supplemental budget, approved by a 148-2 vote, would give an 8.7% raise to state employees and a $2 per hour raise for overnight shift workers and prisons and nursing facilities. Governor Parson had called on lawmakers to approve the raises during his State of the State address, asking them to have a bill on his desk by March 1. The raises constitute around $180 million of the $627 million spending package.
The budget bill needs a final vote in the House before it can be considered by the Senate.