ӣ����Ƶ

The Missouri Senate voted 29-4 to approve a midyear budget adjustment that includes about $180 million to pay for the raises and additional hourly pay increases designed to stop an ongoing exodus state workers seeking higher paying private sector jobs.

“We appreciate the swift action by the Missouri General Assembly to pass our supplemental budget bill and deliver much needed and well-earned pay increases to our state workforce,” Parson said in a statement. “We look forward to officially signing this historic 8.7% pay increase for our state workforce into law soon.”

Parson, who oversees an administration employing 50,000-plus workers, issued an urgent request for the additional money last month saying some state agencies have seen turnover rates hovering near 50%.

The pandemic and its effect on the national economy has put a spotlight on Missouri’s long history of low pay for the people who plow snow, answer questions about taxes and process paperwork for government programs.

With the private sector quickly raising pay in response to a worker shortage, state government has been slow to keep pace amid rising inflation.

Higher prices could start to level off next year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Global inflation is expected to fall from 8.8% in 2022 to 6.6% this year and 4.3% in 20224.

Inflation before the pandemic was running at about 3.5%.

“Our state cannot succeed if we do not invest in the people who make us successful,” said Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence. “The dedicated public servants who keep our kids safe, care for our veterans, guard our prisons, fix our roads and do so much more deserve a raise.”

“We’re making strides, I believe,” said Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, who is considering a run for governor in 2024, said he was concerned about the additional government spending and was among those voting against the raises.

The pay hikes, which could start as early as March, do not include raises for lawmakers, judges and statewide elected officials.

Action in the Senate came a week after the House gave sweeping approval to the $627 million plan sought by the Republican governor.

The package also includes $20 million for safety improvement grants at the state’s public schools. Parson called for the money after a school shooting in ӣ����Ƶ left a student and a teacher dead in October.

“I think we’re all acutely aware of some of the things that have occurred at schools around our state,” Hough said.

The plan also includes $629,000 for black vulture mitigation. Farmers and ranchers in parts of the Midwest have been grappling with the sometimes aggressive birds, which they say attack newborn calves and other small animals.

The legislation also includes a 10 cent per mile mileage rate adjustment for state employees, bringing the reimbursement level to 65 cents per mile.

The added money is the first of at least two other budget maneuvers, including an overall state spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The legislation is .

Updated at 4:54 p.m. with a statement by the governor.