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Missouri House endorses state budget plan

The Missouri State Capitol Photo courtesy Missourinet
The Missouri State Capitol Photo courtesy Missourinet

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has given initial approval to a state budget plan that boosts funding for public schools, cuts it for colleges and prohibits it for other things including abortions and drunken driving checkpoints.

The House endorsed the $27.8 billion operating budget for next year after a daylong debate. A second round of votes is needed to send it to the Senate.

The House plan would provide K-12 schools with more money than recommended by Gov. Eric Greitens. It softens his proposed cuts to higher education, though most institutions would still get a 6.6 percent reduction. The University of Missouri would be cut by 9 percent.

The budget bars money from going to DWI checkpoints, toll roads, Medicaid expansion and in-state tuition rates for students living illegally in the U.S. since childhood.

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