JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Mike Kehoe delivered his first State of the State address Tuesday maintaining his committment to controlling crime, a promise to eventually eliminate the individual income tax and outlining a $53.7 billion budget proposal.
The spending plan is slightly larger than the current fiscal year budget, which will be augmented by a supplemental budget that will be released later this week.
In his address, Kehoe touted $4 billion in education spending for K-12 districts and charter schools, including fully funding school transportation and $200 million more than the previous budget did to fund the state's foundation formula, which would still be $300 million short of full funding. He also announced an executive order to create a task force that will look to modernize the foundation formula.
Kehoe reiterated his support for public safety legislation that passed a State Senate committee on Monday which would return control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to a state-appointed board.
"The current status quo in St. Louis is unacceptable. As the economic powerhouse of our state, we cannot continue to let crime kill growth in the region and drive businesses and families to move outside of our state’s borders," he said.
A similar bill faces a House committee vote Wednesday.
Kehoe's remarks drew a quick response from St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones.
“Taking away local control of SLMPD will not make the City of St. Louis safer, will not help increase our population, and will not help to grow the revenue of our City, which is the economic engine for our state,” she said in a statement. “This attempt at a state takeover is pure politics, driven by elected officials who do not live in our City and the special interests that funded their campaigns.”
House Democrats were also largely critical of the SLMPD bills and the lack of support from Missouri Republicans to address gun laws in the state.
"As long as governor and his party continue to not do anything about gun violence their tough on crime talk will never lead to action that reduces violent crime," said State Rep. Ashley Aune, D-House Minority Leader.
Democrats said there is room for agreement to address struggles for access to childcare in Missouri.
Kehoe's budget includes $161 million to help low income families access childcare, and $10 million to support childcare partnerships between employers, community partners and others. Another executive order announced Tuesday will look at cutting childcare industry regulations without impacting safety in a way that would make requirements easier to comply with and understand.