KWOS Jefferson City News Authority
AP –The Governor includes state worker pay in his State of the State address.
Under Governor Mike Parson’s proposal, all state employees would get a substantial cost of living pay raise,(8.7) and an additional $2 per hour shift differential would be paid to employees working nights or evenings in facilities such as prisons, mental health facilities and veterans nursing homes.
The pay raises come as Missouri is struggling to keep workers from bolting for better-paying and potentially less stressful jobs.
Gov. Mike Parson also called on state lawmakers to set aside millions to widen and improve traffic flow on Interstate 70 in his state address Wednesday.
The massive investment in I-70 is part of a nearly $52 billion budget proposal unveiled by the Republican. The rough plan for I-70 includes widening the highway in suburban Kansas City, the Columbia area and suburban St. Louis near Wentzville, where the road is notorious for congestion.
The hope is also to get rid of a tangle of traffic lights at the intersection of I-70 and U.S. 63 in Columbia.
