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Missouri Senate panel begins line-by-line review of House FY2026 operating budget
Summary
The Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee spent most of Tuesday reviewing thousands of line items in the Missouri House's version of the fiscal 2026 state operating budget, committee Chair Sen. Lincoln Hough of Springfield said.
The Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee spent most of Tuesday reviewing thousands of line items in the Missouri House's version of the fiscal 2026 state operating budget, committee Chair Sen. Lincoln Hough of Springfield said.
The committee set aside three days for a detailed review and intends to "go through and mark up as many of the operating bills as we can," Hough said, noting it might not finish its work on the first day.
Why it matters: by law the budget must be delivered to the executive branch no later than 6 p.m. on Friday, May 9, a deadline committee members cited as a driver of the accelerated schedule and a reason the panel may need to continue work or enter negotiations with the House.
Committee discussion and timeline Sen. Hough said the committee's aim is to process as many line items as possible during the allotted review window but acknowledged the workload could extend beyond a single day. Committee members said that work on the House version could lead to a Senate-House conference committee if differences remain between the chambers.
Education funding concerns Sen. Maggie Nirenburn of Kansas City, who serves on the panel, criticized the governor's budget proposal for reducing education funding. "The proposed budget is nearly $300,000,000 short of what we need to fully fund our neighborhood schools. My priority will be to restore the full funding that our foundation formula requires," Nirenburn said.
No formal votes were reported in the transcript excerpt provided. Committee members described the session as a markup and review process rather than a series of final votes; staff and members will continue line-item review and may return to unresolved issues in subsequent days or in interchamber negotiations.
Next steps Committee members said they will continue to mark up the House operating budget and resolve differences as time allows; unresolved items could be handled in later sessions or, if necessary, in a conference committee with House members. By law the budget must be delivered to the executive branch by 6 p.m. Friday, May 9, a deadline members cited during discussion.
Reporting from the state capital, Dean Morgan.
