It’s that time of year when much of our external focus turns to Jefferson City and the legislative session.

The Missouri legislative session began on Jan. 4. There are many opening weeks activities as committee assignments are made, bills are filed and the governor delivers a State of the State Address.

We spend time in the fall developing our legislative plan and priorities. Actions during that time included meeting with Gov. Mike Parson and our legislators to advocate for these priorities.

Our plan for the 2023 session

Our priorities for the university include:

• A 7% core operating appropriation increase.
• A $2 million one-time appropriation to establish a construction education and training hub through the MoExcels program.
• A $17.5 million capital appropriation to partially fund the renovation of Roy Blunt Hall and Cheek Hall.

All three priorities were included in Gov. Parson’s budget recommendations.

The budget will now move to the various House subcommittees and committees before heading to the Senate. The budget must be finalized and sent to the governor by 5 p.m. May 5. We will monitor that process throughout the session.

Additionally, as noted above, there are many bills that are filed. Few actually make it to committees and the floor, but we also closely monitor those that impact the university and higher education.

On the federal side, on Dec. 29, President Joe Biden signed all 12 appropriations bills for FY2023.

These bills included the following appropriations for MSU championed by now retired Sen. Roy Blunt:

• $35 million for renovations to Blunt Hall, Cheek Hall, and other STEM and health facilities on the Springfield campus.
• An additional $3 million for endowed faculty chairs in CNAS.
• $1.5 million for the ASCEND program in West Plains.

The bills also include $2 million for the Brewer Science Annex at JVIC. Now retired Rep. Billy Long championed this appropriation.

I’ll be reporting on our proposed budget for FY2024 in the coming weeks. The actions in Jefferson City directly impact this budget.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif