Missouri news

Missouri legislature passes more than $3B supplemental budget, includes tornado relief for St. Louis

St. Louis Public Radio | By Sarah Kellogg

Published March 5, 2026 at 3:24 PM CST

Brick buildings crumble after an EF3 tornado ripped through the city on May 17, 2025, in north St. Louis. Missouri lawmakers on Thursday passed an additional $86 million in tornado relief for St. Louis. The supplemental budget bill now goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe.

The budget allocates $86 million in general revenue to St. Louis for additional tornado relief. That's in addition to $100 million the legislature allocated last year.

The Missouri legislature has passed its first bill of the session, sending the state supplemental budget to Gov. Mike Kehoe.

Members of the House voted 137-13 to approve the more than $3 billion budget bill. The vote came two days after the Senate passed its version of the legislation.

House members did not speak on the legislation before voting.

The supplemental budget will serve as a stopgap for the current state budget, which ends June 30.

Changes in the Senate version included adjustments to Medicaid match dollars.

The Senate stripped several items from the House version of the budget, including nearly $15 million for improvements to the state Capitol.

Additionally, the Senate removed $150,000 for Missouri's participation in the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C.

The Senate also nixed nearly $1 million for the attorney general's office to establish a solicitor general's office in Chesterfield, including funding for new furniture.

Still in the supplemental budget is $86 million for tornado relief in St. Louis. That's in addition to the $100 million lawmakers allocated during a special session last June.

St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said in January that the city hasn't spent any of those dollars yet because officials are working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to leverage the funds.

Of that $186 million total, $156 million will be reimbursed by FEMA at a 75% rate. That will go toward the private property assistance program.

The remaining $30 million will go toward projects that are not eligible for FEMA reimbursement.

The bill contains additional refund authority for the Missouri Department of Revenue to pay tax refunds. There is also a transfer of funds to the Department of Transportation.

The legislation contains about $59 million for the state Department of Public Safety related to the 2026 World Cup; some of the matches are scheduled in Kansas City.

The supplemental budget was on a fast track this year because of a deadline to transfer the federal World Cup dollars to the state.

The legislation is HB 2014.