Friday was the deadline under Missouri law for the General Assembly to pass a budget for the coming fiscal year. Legislators met the deadline in a series of bipartisan votes — funding education, health care and social services — totaling more than $49 billion. Bolstered by federal COVID-19 relief funds, it’s the largest budget in state history, and now heads to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk.

With the budget out of the way, Missouri lawmakers now buckle down for the last week of the session, which ends 6 p.m. Friday, May 13. The House and Senate have passed only a handful of bills out of the hundreds that were introduced, including some prominent items that have become even more controversial in this election year.

KCUR's Brian Elision spoke with Jason Hancock, editor-in-chief of the Missouri Independent, to discuss what to expect from these next five days in Jefferson City.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, Trevor Grandin, and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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