JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday vetoed funding for a school safety initiative that would have used video surveillance software to track weapons, becoming the second governor in as many months to refuse to implement the technology.
The Republican governor’s rejection of a proposed $2.5 million grant program for public schools was one of 173 item vetoes he announced as he signed a roughly $50 billion state budget for the fiscal year that begins Monday. The veto on the gun detection grants came after Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, rejected a $5 million appropriation for a similar program.
The budget bills in both states were supported by ZeroEyes, a technology company founded by military veterans after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. ZeroEyes uses surveillance cameras and artificial intelligence to spot people with guns and alert school administrators and law enforcement.
While other companies also offer gun monitoring systems, the Kansas legislation included a long list of specific criteria that ZeroEyes’ competitors do not currently meet. The Missouri budget bill was less specific, but still included several criteria that ZeroEyes met.
In a letter to lawmakers explaining his veto, Parson said that “this appropriation appears to describe the platform of a specific vendor” and noted that the Department of Public Safety should follow state procurement laws “rather than contracting with a particular vendor.” Parson also said he vetoed the measure, in part because of the general need to cut costs.
A spokesperson for ZeroEyes said no one was available for comment Friday.
Several other states, including Iowa, Michigan and Utah, have already passed laws that fund the purchase of firearm detection technology in schools.
After numerous high-profile shootings, school security has become a multibillion-dollar industry. Several states have also provided funding to equip staff with mobile panic buttons and to digitally map school buildings so that police, firefighters and emergency medical services can respond more quickly.
All told, Parson said, he vetoed about $1 billion in the budget.
One veto was a transfer of $497 million for renovations to the Capitol, which they say is not yet needed because detailed plans are not yet available.
Another proposal rejected $150 million of the $727 million earmarked for improving and expanding Interstate 44, which runs from St. Louis to the Oklahoma border.
Parson also cut $6 million that had been earmarked for future National Guard missions along the U.S. southern border. Missouri troops deployed to the Texas border have since returned, Parson said. He left $2 million in the budget for possible future missions.
Numerous smaller items were also cut, which Parson called “unnecessary pet projects.”
