Missouri House and Senate budget leaders on Monday said they've reached an agreement that would mean K-12 public schools receive a close to $99 million funding increase next fiscal year.

While House lawmakers included the hike in their earlier proposal, senators later passed a budget plan with only a roughly $48 million increase. Restoring the $99 million would mean lawmakers meet core K-12 funding goals outlined in state law.

The aging McBaine Water Treatment Plant can’t reliably handle the 32 million gallons a day that it’s supposed to, nor can it handle the increased demand that comes with a growing population.

The Columbia City Council is set to consider a $42.8 million bond issue that would fund a rehabilitation of the treatment plant, among other projects. An ordinance to hold a special election on Aug. 7 for the bond issue will be introduced at Monday night’s council meeting. The council will discuss the bond issue at a subsequent meeting.

Several groups have submitted signatures for proposed ballot measures on a minimum wage hike, limits on lobbyist gifts to lawmakers and medical marijuana in time for the Sunday deadline to get initiative petitions on the Nov. 6 ballot.

The Secretary of State's Office still needs to check the number of signatures for each proposal, and then local election authorities must verify signatures. The process takes weeks to determine whether measures received enough voter signatures to get on the ballot.

Here's a round-up of the proposed ballot measures:

MINIMUM WAGE

Visitors to the Kansas City Zoo will get a chance to pet sharks and stingrays starting later this month.