Missouri Senate takes up 12-bill FY2026 operating budget; committee boosts school funding by about $300 million

Missouri senators on the floor considered 12 measures that together make up the fiscal year 2026 state operating budget, with one early focus on K-12 funding.

Senator Lincoln Huff of Springfield, chair of the Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee, said the package now begins with House Bill 2, which carries elementary and secondary education funding after the state paid off its public debt a couple of years ago and House Bill 1 no longer serves as the debt vehicle. Huff said the committee did not fully fund the education foundation formula and "saw it necessary" to increase the formula by about $300,000,000.

The budget package covers a dozen separate measures that senators must reconcile with the House. Senator Maggie Nirenburn of Kansas City said part of the upcoming budget focuses on job retention, noting an anecdote about seeing a state employee using food stamps at a grocery store as an example of why retaining state workers matters for household stability. If differences remain between the Senate and House versions, conference committees will be formed to resolve them.

The discussion on the floor did not record final votes in the transcript provided. The measures described represent the Senate’s starting point for floor debate and for any ensuing negotiations with the House.

Reporting from the State Capitol, Dean Morgan.