House Budget Committee approves Senate substitute for SB1 to fund St. Louis tornado relief, MU reactor aid

The House Budget Committee voted 28-0 to report a Senate substitute for Senate Bill 1, a supplemental that assembles disaster relief and several capital items including $100 million in general revenue for St. Louis tornado response, $25 million for housing assistance administered through the Missouri Housing Development Commission, and $50 million for the University of Missouri research reactor (MER).

The bill, which the governor placed on an amended call, aims to move cash and spending authority quickly to respond to the May 16 tornado that hit St. Louis. For disaster housing, Kip Stetsler, executive director of the Missouri Housing Development Commission, told the committee that “the 25,000,000 will be run through an existing program, the Missouri Housing Trust Fund.” Stetsler said the trust fund already supports hotel-motel vouchers and a network of local grantees, and that MHDC’s notice of funding availability and application guidance are ready to deploy once the appropriation is final.

Why it matters: State officials said federal help will arrive but not cover all needs, and that fast state action is required to help uninsured and underinsured households, preserve rental assistance and voucher holders, and support neighborhood businesses. Mayor Tara Spencer of the City of Saint Louis described the damage and the human toll: “This tornado was on the ground for 23 miles,” she said, and the city’s initial counts put roughly 48,000 people and 23,000 households in the impacted zone.

Key spending…