Gov. Jay Nixon's administration says $150 million is its best guess, right now, for Missouri's share of the recovery costs after a series of natural disasters this year.
The May 22 Joplin tornado was the most devastating and, likely, the most expensive of those, officials said, but the list also includes tornadoes in April near Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and in Sedalia in May, and flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers this spring and summer.
Budget Director Linda Luebbering told a state Senate committee Tuesday it really is too soon to know what all the costs might be.
And the senators wondered why that money isn't being used to fulfill the lawmakers' budget for education instead of being held until the disaster bills are counted.