Voters rejected Gov. Parson’s gas tax. Now he’s hoping to borrow millions instead.

Gov. Mike Parson wants lawmakers to borrow $351 million to help mend the state’s ailing bridges, his latest attempt to repair state infrastructure after his gas tax proposal was beaten back at the polls last fall.

Parson unveiled his proposal during his first State of the State Address to a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly on Wednesday, just six months after taking over as governor following the resignation of Eric Greitens.

“Over the years, we have seen proposals go before the voters and fail, but this cannot and does not mean we are expected to do nothing,” Parson said.

The $351 million bond package, which will cost the state roughly $30 million a year for the next 15 years, will be used to repair or replace 251 bridges. Parson also hopes the borrowed cash will create thousands of jobs while freeing up existing revenue in the department of transportation for other infrastructure projects.

Parson’s $10.1 billion general fund budget, which would increase spending by more than $492 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, assumes healthy revenue growth to pay for the uptick in government spending. The state’s tax collections are lagging significantly behind this time last year.

Parson proposed fully funding the state’s K-12 education formula and keeping core higher education spending from being cut. Missouri’s public schools would see core funding rise from $3.49 billion to $3.55 billion. There will also be a $10 million increase in funding for public school transportation.

The state’s public universities and colleges will not see an increase to their core funding under Parson’s proposed budget, but several scholarship programs will see a slight bump. The governor’s budget also allocates $20 million for maintenance at four-year universities.

Officials said his plan for the 2020 fiscal year will set aside $161.7 million in “budget savings” in case of emergency.

“Just like families across Missouri having a responsible budget is important and a way of life,” Parson said. “For the first time in more than a decade, the governor’s budget does not plan to spend every tax dollar.”

Parson also announced several reductions to make the spending plan work. The troubled Crossroads Correctional Facility in Cameron will close, with staff and prisoners transferred to either nearby Western Missouri Correctional Center or other facilities around the state.

“If we are to deliver on meaningful priorities to the people of Missouri, tough decisions must be made,” Parson said.

Under his proposal, 436 full-time government jobs in Missouri would be eliminated. The Parson administration said the cuts would not come from layoffs, but instead be made through retirements, vacancies and resignations.

In his speech, the governor touted the move as happening “all while maintaining our conservative approach to managing and streamlining government services.”

The governor’s budget and annual speech comes as the state continues to see sluggish tax collections. As of Tuesday night, the state was $438 million behind in individual income tax collections from the same time last year, while net general revenue collections as a whole are down more than $449 million.

Democrats did not share Parson’s optimistic expectations for the state’s budget.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said the governor “highlighted a lot of programs that Democrats care about. But he neglected to say how he planned to pay for it.”

Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, the ranking member on the House budget committee, said he has very little confidence that the state will reach revenue goals needed to fund Parson’s budget.And he placed the blame on tax cuts enacted by the GOP-led legislature in recent years.

“I don’t want to start the alarm bells, but it’s probably time to start doing it,” he said. “We’re not the federal government. We can’t pass tax cuts, blow up a deficit and just print more money. We can’t do that.”

The GOP controlled Missouri General Assembly passed a phased in tax cut in 2014 and added another tax slashing measure on top of it last year, drawing comparisons from some to the curtailed tax cuts done in nearby Kansas by former Gov. Sam Brownback.

After the speech, the House speaker applauded Parson for talking about not raising taxes and attempting to leave money on the bottom line of the budget.

“Those are really good fiscal ideas,” said House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield.

Parson suffered a loss at the ballot box in November when voters rejected the gas tax hike he championed for funding repairs to Missouri’s roads and bridges. Heading into the session, Parson said voters have spoken on a tax hike for infrastructure and that the legislature shouldn’t bother trying to place another on the ballot.

Senate President Dave Schatz dubbed the governor’s infrastructure idea “a different approach,” and said lawmakers can’t “just sit on our hands and do nothing,” when it comes to the state’s bridges.

“Obviously we will see how the process works,” Schatz said.

The program eating up the largest chunk of revenue growth in the budget is Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor. Medicaid spending, which is largely funded by the federal government, will grow from $10.6 billion this fiscal year to $11.2 billion.

Parson isn’t proposing any changes to eligibility for Medicaid, which in the past have proven controversial.

Parson’s budget also includes cost of living increases for many state employees and a $22 million workforce development grant program to train workers in high-demand skills.

“In today’s world, a higher level of education should not simply mean getting college degrees,” Parson said.

This story was originally published January 16, 2019 at 3:54 PM.