Missouri’s next state budget year that begins in July is expected to have a revenue decline of about 419 million dollars. Senate Majority Floor Leader Caleb Rowden of Columbia thinks the projection of state revenue is very conservative. He says budget leaders are viewing the state’s finances through a two-year lens this time around because the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are still hard to fully understand.
Rowden, a Republican, says Missouri is never in as bad of a financial position as 95 percent of other U.S. states because we balance our budget each year. He thinks the state’s revenue projection is very conservative for the budget year beginning in July because he says the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic is still hard to know at this point.
