JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The top budget writer in the Missouri House says the state should tap its rainy day fund to pay for recovery efforts from tornadoes and flooding.
House Budget Committee Chairman Ryan Silvey tells The Associated Press that he will advocate for using the rainy day fund during a special legislative session that is expected to occur in September.
The Missouri Constitution allows half of the roughly $500 million reserve fund to be used for disasters. But the money must be repaid over the next three years.
Gov. Jay Nixon has pledged $150 million toward recovery efforts from a May 22 tornado that hit Joplin and flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. But Nixon plans to cover that with existing revenues and spending cuts to other government programs.