93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
Missouri Governor Mike Parson will step up to a podium in mid-January in the Missouri House chamber to deliver his final State of the State address. The Bolivar Republican will once again have GOP supermajorities in both chambers. State Sen. Mike Bernskoetter (R-Jefferson City) joined us live in-studio on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” to preview the session and to discuss the governor’s state of the state address. Senator Bernskoetter would like to see Governor Parson propose another pay raise for state employees and wants him to discuss fixing the inside of the Capitol in Jefferson City. Governor Parson proposed a bipartisan 8.7 percent pay raise for Jefferson City’s 14,000 state employees in January, which received strong bipartisan support and was quickly sent to the governor’s desk. Governor Parson signed it in February. Senator Bernskoetter praises the January plan and hopes state employees receive another raise in 2024. Senator Bernskoetter also notes lawmakers have set aside $600-million for capitol improvements and wants to see some of that money go toward repairs inside the Capitol in Jefferson City. He says there is tape in parts of the Capitol, along with peeling paint in the legislative library:
State employees packed Jefferson City's Truman Building for the February 27, 2023 state employee pay bill-signing ceremony (file photo courtesy of Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe's Twitter page)
