The State of Missouri’s Budget Reserve Fund has still not been tapped into in response to the disasters of 2011. Governor Jay Nixon hopes it won’t have to be, if only in the short-term.
 

Governor Jay Nixon discussed the use of the Rainy Day Fund following the annual Governor's Prayer Breakfast.

Nixon says it might be used later, as costs are still being assessed from events like the Joplin tornado and flooding in northwest and southeast Missouri. “Because of some of the bills that are yet to come in, because of the insurance claims that haven’t been met, because of the gaps especially in schools and other public facilities down there (in Joplin) between the insurance coverage, we still may have to have that as an option.”

State statute requires that any amount taken out of the Rainy Day Fund be paid back to it within three years, with interest. Nixon says that means taking out money now could compound challenges of balancing the budget in future years.

The Governor says he plans to talk to legislative leadership over the next one to two weeks about how to proceed in the “best and most prudent financial way.”