Stay informed about the upcoming August primary ballot measures, including Amendment 1 and its impact on child care tax exemptions. Get educated now!
Amendment 1 seeks to grant the General Assembly the authority to enact a general law exempting from taxation all real and personal property used primarily for childcare outside the home. It will appear on the Aug. 6 statewide ballot.
Proposed constitutional amendments usually automatically go before voters at the next general election, Amendment 1 had been slated for the Nov. 5 ballot for about a year until Gov. Mike Parson (R) unexpectedly issued an executive order on May 28 exercising his constitutional authority to set an earlier election date.
Since Amendment 1 would authorize lawmakers to exempt only real and personal property “used primarily for the care of a child outside of his or her home,” it would not allow families with children to claim an exemption on their home nor would it allow for an exemption of property used partially for childcare but primarily for other purposes. However, it would allow a portion of a larger property to be exempt if that portion is primarily used for childcare.
Amendment 4- Weakening the Hancock Amendment
Amendment 4, which will appear on the Aug. 6 statewide ballot, would create an exception to the Hancock Amendment’s constitutional prohibition against the state imposing unfunded mandates on local governments. The exception would empower the Missouri General Assembly to force the Kansas City municipal government to increase minimum funding for the Kansas City Police Department, which is under state control but entirely funded by local taxpayers.
This will be Amendment 4’s second time before voters. The Missouri Supreme Court recently invalidated its original ratification in 2022 due to a misleading fiscal summary for the measure that appeared on the ballot and falsely portrayed the impact on Kansas City taxpayers.
The Kansas City Police Department is the only municipal police force in Missouri controlled by a state-appointed board instead local city officials. The arrangement was established in the 1930s under a state law aimed at limiting the influence of the Pendergast political machine, which at the time controlled Jackson County politics. Despite the fact the Pendergast machine has been gone for eight decades, state control of the KCPD remains. Critics say state control has resulted in a police force totally insulated from accountability by the community it’s supposed to serve.
The five-member Board of Police Commissioners consists of four members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, plus the Kansas City mayor, who is the only city government representative on the board. Although controlled by the state, the KCPD is entirely funded by city taxpayers, even though they have no say in its operations.
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