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-SECOND REGULAR SESSION
-HOUSE JOINT
-RESOLUTION NO. 131
-103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
-INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE MA YHEW .
-5095H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
-JOINT RESOLUTION
-Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri an amendment repealing Sections 6, 17, 18,
-and 18(e) of Article X of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting five new sections
-in lieu thereof relating to taxation.
-Be it r esolved by the House of Repr esentatives, the Senate concurring ther ein:
-That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on T uesday next
-2 following the first Monday in November , 2026, or at a special election to be called by the
-3 governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to the qualified voters of this state, for
-4 adoption or rejection, the following amendment to Article X of the Constitution of the state of
-5 Missouri:
-Section A. Sections 6, 17, 18, and 18(e), Article X, Constitution of Missouri, are
-2 repealed and five new sections adopted in lieu thereof, to be known as Sections 6, 17, 18, 18
-3 (e), and 27, to read as follows:
-Section 6. 1. All property , real and personal, of the state, counties and other political
-2 subdivisions, and nonprofit cemeteries, and all real property used as a homestead as defined
-3 by law of any citizen of this state who is a former prisoner of war , as defined by law , and who
-4 has a total service-connected disability , shall be exempt from taxation; all personal property
-5 held as industrial inventories, including raw materials, work in progress and finished work on
-6 hand, by manufacturers and refiners, and all personal property held as goods, wares,
-7 merchandise, stock in trade or inventory for resale by distributors, wholesalers, or retail
-8 merchants or establishments shall be exempt from taxation; and all property , real and
-EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
-intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
-9 personal, not held for private or corporate profit and used exclusively for religious worship,
-10 for schools and colleges, for purposes purely charitable, for agricultural and horticultural
-11 societies, or for veterans' or ganizations may be exempted from taxation by general law . In
-12 addition to the above, household goods, furniture, wearing apparel and articles of personal use
-13 and adornment owned and used by a person in his home or dwelling place may be exempt
-14 from taxation by general law but any such law may provide for approximate restitution to the
-15 respective political subdivisions of revenues lost by reason of the exemption. All laws
-16 exempting from taxation property other than the property enumerated in this article, shall be
-17 void. The provisions of this section exempting certain personal property of manufacturers,
-18 refiners, distributors, wholesalers, and retail merchants and establishments from taxation shall
-19 become ef fective, unless otherwise provided by law , in each county on January 1 of the year
-20 in which that county completes its first general reassessment as defined by law .
-21 2. All revenues lost because of the exemption of certain personal property of
-22 manufacturers, refiners, distributors, wholesalers, and retail merchants and establishments
-23 shall be replaced to each taxing authority within a county from a countywide tax hereby
-24 imposed on all property in subclass 3 of class 1 in each county . For the year in which the
-25 exemption becomes ef fective, the county clerk shall calculate the total revenue lost by all
-26 taxing authorities in the county and extend upon all property in subclass 3 of class 1 within
-27 the county , a tax at the rate necessary to produce that amount. The rate of tax levied in each
-28 county according to this subsection shall not be increased above the rate first imposed and
-29 will stand levied at that rate unless later reduced according to the provisions of subsection 3.
-30 The county collector shall disburse the proceeds according to the revenue lost by each taxing
-31 authority because of the exemption of such property in that county . Restitution of the
-32 revenues lost by any taxing district contained in more than one county shall be from the
-33 several counties according to the revenue lost because of the exemption of property in each
-34 county . Each year after the first year the replacement tax is imposed, the amount distributed
-35 to each taxing authority in a county shall be increased or decreased by an amount equal to the
-36 amount resulting from the change in that district's total assessed value of property in subclass
-37 3 of class 1 at the countywide replacement tax rate. In order to implement the provisions of
-38 this subsection, the limits set in section 1 1(b) of this article may be exceeded, without voter
-39 approval, if necessary to allow each county listed in section 1 1(b) to comply with this
-40 subsection.
-41 3. Any increase in the tax rate imposed pursuant to subsection 2 of this section shall
-42 be decreased if such decrease is approved by a majority of the voters of the county voting on
-43 such decrease or by the elected governing body of the county as pro vided by the rules
-44 and pro cedure s of such county . The prov isions of section 22 of this article shall apply to
-45 the tax levy imposed under subsection 2 of this section . A decrease in the increased tax
-HJR 131 2
-46 rate imposed under subsection 2 of this section may be submitted to the voters of a county by
-47 the governing body thereof upon its own order , ordinance, or resolution and shall be
-48 submitted upon the petition of at least eight percent of the qualified voters who voted in the
-49 immediately preceding gubernatorial election.
-50 4. As used in this section, the terms "revenues lost" and "lost revenues" shall mean
-51 that revenue which each taxing authority received from the imposition of a tangible personal
-52 property tax on all personal property held as industrial inventories, including raw materials,
-53 work in progress and finished work on hand, by manufacturers and refiners, and all personal
-54 property held as goods, wares, merchandise, stock in trade or inventory for resale by
-55 distributors, wholesalers, or retail merchants or establishments in the last full tax year
-56 immediately preceding the ef fective date of the exemption from taxation granted for such
-57 property under subsection 1 of this section, and which was no longer received after such
-58 exemption became effectiv e.
-Section 17. As used in sections 16 through 24 of Article X:
-2 (1) "T otal state revenues" includes all general and special revenues, license and fees,
-3 excluding federal funds, as defined in the budget message of the governor [ for fiscal year
-4 1980-1981 ]. T otal state revenues shall exclude the amount of any credits based on actual tax
-5 liabilities or the imputed tax components of rental payments, but shall include the amount of
-6 any credits not related to actual tax liabilities.
-7 (2) "Personal income of Missouri" is the total income received by persons in Missouri
-8 from all sources, as defined and of ficially reported by the United States Department of
-9 Commerce or its successor agency .
-10 (3) "General price level" means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
-11 for the United States, or its successor publications, as defined and of ficially reported by the
-12 United States Department of Labor , or its successor agency .
-Section 18. (a) There is hereby established a limit on the total amount of taxes which
-2 may be imposed by the general assembly in any fiscal year on the taxpayers of this state.
-3 Ef fective with fiscal year [ 1981-1982 ] 2027-2028 , and for each fiscal year thereafter , the
-4 general assembly shall not impose taxes of any kind which, together with all other revenues
-5 of the state, federal funds excluded, exceed the revenue limit established in this section. The
-6 revenue limit shall be calculated for each fiscal year and shall be equal to the product of the
-7 ratio of total state revenues in the previ ous fiscal year [ 1980-1981 ] divided by the personal
-8 income of Missouri in the calendar year [ 1979 ] prior to the pr evious fiscal year multiplied
-9 by the personal income of Missouri in either the calendar year prior to the calendar year in
-10 which appropriations for the fiscal year for which the calculation is being made, or the
-11 average of personal income of Missouri in the previous three calendar years, whichever is
-12 greater .
-HJR 131 3
-13 (b) For any fiscal year in the event that total state revenues exceed the revenue limit
-14 established in this section by one percent or more, the excess revenues shall be refunded pro
-15 rata based on the liability reported on the Missouri state income tax (or its successor tax or
-16 taxes) annual returns filed following the close of such fiscal year . If the excess is less than
-17 one percent, this excess shall be transferred to the general revenue fund.
-18 (c) The revenue limitation established in this section shall not apply to taxes imposed
-19 for the payment of principal and interest on bonds, approved by the voters and authorized
-20 under the provisions of this constitution.
-21 (d) If responsibility for funding a program or programs is transferred from one level
-22 of government to another , as a consequence of constitutional amendment, the state revenue
-23 and spending limits may be adjusted to accommodate such change, provided that the total
-24 revenue authorized for collection by both state and local governments does not exceed that
-25 amount which would have been authorized without such change.
-Section 18(e). 1. In addition to the revenue limit imposed by section 18 of this article,
-2 the general assembly in any fiscal year shall not increase taxes or fees without voter approval
-3 that [ in total produce new annual ] incr ease total state revenues [ greater ] by mor e than either
-4 fifty million dollars adjusted annually by the percentage change in the personal income of
-5 Missouri for the second previous fiscal year , or one percent of total state revenues for the
-6 second fiscal year prior to the general assembly's action, whichever is less. In the event that
-7 an individual or series of tax or fee increases exceed the ceiling established in this subsection,
-8 the taxes or fees shall be submitted by the general assembly to a public vote starting with the
-9 lar gest increase in the given year , and including all increases in descending order , until the
-10 aggregate of the remaining increases and decreases is less than the ceiling provided in this
-11 subsection.
-12 2. [ The term "new annual revenues" means the net increase in annual revenues
-13 produced by the total of all tax or fee increases enacted by the general assembly in a fiscal
-14 year , less applicable refunds and less all contemporaneously occurring tax or fee reductions in
-15 that same fiscal year , and shall not include interest earnings on the proceeds of the tax or fee
-16 increase. ] For purposes of this calculation, "enacted by the general assembly" shall include
-17 any and all bills that are truly agreed to and finally passed within that fiscal year , except bills
-18 vetoed by the governor and not overridden by the general assembly . Each individual tax or
-19 fee increase shall be measured by the [ estimated new annual ] incr ease in total state revenues
-20 collected during the first fiscal year [ that it is fully ef fective ] following enactment . The term
-21 "increase taxes or fees" means any law or laws passed by the general assembly after the
-22 ef fective date of this section that increase the rate of an existing tax or fee, impose a new tax
-23 or fee, or broaden the scope of a tax or fee to include additional class of property , activity , or
-24 income, but shall not include the extension of an existing tax or fee which was set to expire.
-HJR 131 4
-25 3. In the event of an emer gency , the general assembly may increase taxes, licenses or
-26 fees for one year beyond the limit in this subsection under the same procedure specified in
-27 section 19 of this article.
-28 4. Compliance with the limit in this section shall be measured by calculating the
-29 [ aggregate actual new annual ] incr ease in total state revenues produced by each individual
-30 tax or fee change in the first fiscal year [ that each individual tax or fee change is fully
-31 ef fective ] following enactment. If a tax or fee change is to be implemented over multiple
-32 years, the incr ease in total state reven ues fr om the first fiscal year following enactment
-33 shall be used to extrapolate the total incr ease in reven ues once fully implemented, and
-34 this res ult shall be used for the compliance measur ement for the year the general
-35 assembly appr oved the tax or fee incr ease .
-36 5. Any taxpayer or statewide elected of ficial may bring an action under the provisions
-37 of section 23 of this article to enforce compliance with the provisions of this section. The
-38 Missouri supreme court shall have original jurisdiction to hear any challenge brought by any
-39 statewide elected of ficial to enforce this section. In such enforcement actions, the court shall
-40 invalidate the taxes and fees which should have received a public vote as defined in
-41 subsection 1 of this section. The court shall order remedies of the amount of revenue
-42 collected in excess of the limit in this subsection as the court finds appropriate in order to
-43 allow such excess amounts to be refunded or to reduce taxes and/or fees in the future to of fset
-44 the excess monies collected.
-Section 27. 1. For the purposes of this section, a "tax incr ease" is any incr ease in
-2 a tax rate or increa se in the persons or items subject to tax. However , the term "tax
-3 incr ease" shall not include any change in the persons or items subject to tax because of a
-4 change in, the cr eation of, or the elimination of a tax cr edit, deduction, subtraction, or
-5 exemption.
-6 2. No tax imposed by state statute or tax incr ease imposed by state statute shall
-7 go into effect or continue in effect if otherwise set to expir e without prior appr oval at a
-8 statewide general election, as defined by state law .
-9 3. Notwithstanding any other pr ovision of this constitution, no state funds shall
-10 be expended without first being appr opriated by the general assembly .
-11 4. (1) Notwithstanding any other prov ision of this constitution to the contrary ,
-12 the secr etary of state shall submit to the qualified voters of this state at the general
-13 election held in 2028, or at a special election to be called by the governor for such
-14 purpose, a question to terminate each tax imposed in this constitution.
-15 (2) The question submitted shall be in the following form:
-HJR 131 5
-16 "Shall the taxes imposed in______ (list the Articles and Sections
-17 imposing a tax) of this Constitution expir e?".
-18 (3) If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the qualified voters voting
-19 ther eon are in favor of the question, the listed taxes shall expir e at the end of the second
-20 fiscal year after the election is held. If a majority of the votes cast on the question by the
-21 qualified voters voting ther eon are opposed to the question, the listed taxes shall not
-22 expir e and shall r emain effective unless and until the question is res ubmitted under this
-23 subsection to the qualified voters of the state and such question is appr oved by a
-24 majority of the qualified voters of the state voting on the question.
-25 (4) If the question submitted under this subsection is rej ected by the qualified
-26 voters, the secr etary of state shall res ubmit the question at the general election every
-27 four years ther eafter until the termination of such taxes is appr oved as pr ovided in this
-28 subsection.
-✔
-HJR 131 6
+HJR 131 -- TAXATION
+SPONSOR:  Mayhew
+Currently, certain real and personal property are exempt from
+taxation.  Any county that loses revenue as a result of these
+exemptions can replace the revenue by imposing a tax on
+commercial real property within the county's border.  If a county
+chooses to impose such a tax, a majority of voters within the
+county can decrease the newly imposed tax on commercial real
+property.
+Upon voter approval, this constitutional amendment allows the
+governing body of a county to decrease the newly imposed tax on
+commercial real property.  The amendment also applies the
+provisions of Section 22, Article X of the Missouri Constitution
+to the newly imposed tax on commercial property.
+Currently, the calculation of "total state revenues" includes
+certain revenue, fees, and funds, as defined for fiscal year
+1980-1981.  This resolution repeals the base year of 1980-1981.
+Currently, there is a limit on the total amount of taxes which
+can be imposed in any fiscal year on taxpayers.  The limit is
+calculated by using the total state revenues from fiscal year
+1980-1981 and the personal income of Missouri in calendar year
+1979.  This amendment changes the effective date of
+implementation from fiscal year 1980-1981 to fiscal year 2027-
+2028.  The resolution also changes the limiting calculation by
+using total state revenues from the previous fiscal year before
+implementation and the personal income of Missouri from the
+calendar year prior to the previous fiscal year before
+implementation.
+Currently, the General Assembly must not increase taxes or fees
+without voter approval if the taxes or fees in total produce new
+annual revenues of a certain amount.  This resolution repeals the
+definition of "new annual revenues".  Instead, the amendment
+measures individual tax or fee increases by the increase in total
+state revenues collected during the first fiscal year following
+enactment.  If a tax or fee change is to be implemented over
+multiple years, the increase in total state revenues from the
+first fiscal year following enactment will be used to extrapolate
+the total increase in revenues once fully implemented, and this
+result will be used for the compliance measurement for the year
+the General Assembly approved the tax or fee increase.
+This resolution requires voter approval before any tax increase
+imposed by state statute can go into effect or for any existing
+tax imposed by statute to continue.  During the general election
+of 2028, or at a special election called by the Governor, the
+voters must be asked the following question:
+"Shall the taxes imposed in (list of Articles and Sections
+imposing a tax) of this Constitution expire?"
+If a majority of the qualified voters answer in favor of the
+question, the listed taxes will expire at the end of the second
+fiscal year after the election is held.  If a majority answers
+no, the listed taxes will not expire and must remain effective
+unless and until the questions are resubmitted.  Additionally, if
+a majority answers no, the Secretary of State must resubmit the
+question at the general election every four years thereafter
+until the termination of the taxes is approved.
+This bill is similar to HJR 22 (2025) and HJR 126 (2024).