FUNDING FOR SEMO BUILDING CLEARS HURDLE

JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Senate on Tuesday approved a spending plan that includes $12 million for a new College of Business building at Southeast Missouri State University.

Tuesday's vote was another of several hurdles that stand between Gov. Mel Carnahan's inclusion of the business building in his $11.8 billion budget and final funding of the long-awaited project.

The business building is part of a $250 million bond package proposed by Carnahan. The bond legislation has cleared the House and could be called this week from the Senate's debate agenda.

If the measure clears the Legislature, the bond package would be subject to a statewide vote, which might not happen until November. However, the budget plan approved Tuesday would take effect July 1.

Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, said Tuesday, "Allocation of the projects has been approved, the bonds have not been. This is the next step in that process.

"We were in there with the business building for the governor's budget in January, and we're still in there with one week to go."

Southeast Missouri State University officials have watched the governor's proposed budget with guarded optimism.

Construction of the business building has been the top priority of the university for the past several years, but so far the school's been unable to secure state funding.

This marks the first year that construction funding for the project has been included in the governor's budget. Plans call for the building to be constructed near the corner of New Madrid and Henderson on the northwest side of the campus.

Missouri last offered a big state bond sale about a decade ago.

"Ultimately, the people will decide whether they'll want to approve this method of funding," said Kinder.