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St. Louis plans $30M, Missouri $100M for tornado relief. How will they spend it?
ST. LOUIS – Three weeks after a devastating tornado tore through St. Louis, destroying thousands of homes and buildings, urgency is growing to secure the financial support needed to recover and rebuild.
It remains unclear when and how much federal aid may be available for St. Louis. However, on a local and state level, two plans are gaining momentum to help mobilize major funding for recovery efforts.
Those plans – one from the City of St. Louis and one from the State of Missouri – aim to inject tens of millions of dollars, upwards of nine figures, into the recovery process.
If both plan are ultimately approved, how will the money be used to aid St. Louis in tornado recovery? To extents, that's still to be determined, but the city's and state's new bills offer some early clues.
Proposed through St. Louis Board Bill 31 (Primary sponsor: Megan Green)
On Friday, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen formally introduced Board Bill 31, which calls to allocate $30 million from the the NFL Rams relocation settlement toward a 'tornado relief and recovery fund.'
The fund would be maintained by the city treasurer and exclusively available toward services and resources considered part of the tornado recovery effort.
'Eligible uses' under the bill include:
Providing services to 'prevent homelessness and displacement' for homeowners impacted by the tornado, such as home repairs, temporary housing, help with insurance deductibles and storage of personal belongings.
Repairing tornado-damaged public infrastructure, such as streets, sidewalks, water systems, lighting and trees.
Providing residents with financial and legal support through an 'Impacted Tenants Fund.'
Matching funds for federal or state grants tie to infrastructure and housing recovery.
Providing money to nonprofits for critical tornado-response gaps in staffing, shelter, technology and warehousing.
Procuring goods and services eligible for FEMA reimbursement.
Compensating city staff and administrative costs related to disaster response (capped at 5% of fund annually)
The bill aims to prioritize underinsured or uninsured households. It also outlines 26 neighborhoods or landmarks as 'impacted areas' eligible for assistance through the relief fund, mainly in northside and westside neighborhoods.
The bill expresses that the aid must be used to help impacted people, properties or public infrastructure and may not be used for personal expenses.
Proposed through Missouri 2025 Special Session Senate Bill 1 (Primary sponsor: Lincoln Hough)
At the state level, lawmakers have proposed $100 million for a Missouri 'disaster relief fund,' a key component to a broader $360 million emergency spending package (Senate Bill 1) passed by the Missouri Senate on Thursday amid the ongoing special legislative session.
The bill authorizes the Missouri Department of Public Safety to distribute funds to 'any city not within a county' – a phrase that applies solely to the City of St. Louis – for disaster-related expenses.
Though the bill doesn't outline exact uses, it ties funding to Gov. Mike Kehoe's request for a presidential disaster declaration. Kehoe's request includes FEMA individual assistance to support temporary housing, housing repairs, and replacement of damaged property and vehicles, among other things.
With that in mind, it's possible the $100 million could cover the following such services or resources:
Emergency response
Cleanup and debris remobal
Housing, shelter and storage assistance
Infrastructure repairs
Out-of-pocket expenses related to storm damage
The funds would be available for use between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026 and must comply with Missouri constitutional guidelines for emergency expenditures.
The broader spending package would also authorize $25 million in emergency housing assistance, though that's not directly tied to the $100 million in tornado-specific funds.
Both proposals – the city's and the state's – still need full approval. The St. Louis board bill would require a series or reviews and approvals from the Board of Aldermen and Mayor Cara Spencer. The Missouri special session bill still needs to clear the House before it could possibly be sent to Gov. Kehoe for review.
With uncertainties on timing and dollars still looming with federal assistance, these local and state bills could represent some of the largest coordinated public investments in recovery since the May 16 St. Louis tornado.
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