SEDALIA, MO. -- Missouri lawmakers said they probably won’t raise state income taxes to pay for disaster relief.

Members of the House Interim Committee on Disaster Recovery held their first meeting today in Sedalia.

Missouri lawmakers are trying to come up with some legislation to help deal with this year’s tornadoes and floods without raising state income taxes.  Committee members must decide whether to recommend a special session where they could spend some, or all of the State’s, $500 million rainy day fund on disaster recovery.

Committee Chairman Representative Shane Schoeller said, “I think we are going to have to take a very serious look at the use of the rainy day fund.  That’s why we’re looking at July 31 as the date where we find out if we do have to go into special session.  Because of our revenue situation as a State, that would be the area that we would have to look at because of what we anticipate over the next three years.”

Any money borrowed from the rainy day fund would have to be repaid over the next 3 years with 1% interest.  Some lawmakers have suggested raising taxes on tobacco products or creating a new state sales tax on internet purchases to help pay for the recovery of tornado damage in places like Joplin and Sedalia.

Lawmakers said it’s important to visit places like Sedalia as they develop their legislation for disaster relief.  They are trying to come up with both short term and long term solutions.  Sedalia Representative Stanley Cox said Sedalia tornado victims are slowly recovering.

Cox said, “The storm we had here was small in comparison to what happened to Joplin, but we are pretty self-sufficient people.  We help friends and that’s kind of what we did.”

Two more committee hearings are scheduled for Joplin and Sikeston as lawmakers indentify recovery strategies and prepare for future natural disasters.

Schoeller said Governor Jay Nixon is seriously considering a special session for disaster recovery.