FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 21
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR TRENT.
1281S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri, an amendment repealing section 36 of article III of
the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting two new sections in lieu thereof relating to
use of state revenues.
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring therein:
That at the next general election to be held in the 1
state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday 2
in November, 2026, or at a special election to be called by 3
the governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to 4
the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or 5
rejection, the following amendment to article III of the 6
Constitution of the state of Missouri:7
Section A. Section 36, article III, Constituti on of 1
Missouri, is repealed and two new sections adopted in lieu 2
thereof, to be known as sections 36 and 36(a), to read as 3
follows:4
Section 36. 1. All revenue collected and money 1
received by the state shall go into the treasury and the 2
general assembly shall have no power to divert the same or 3
to permit the withdrawal of money from the treasury, except 4
in pursuance of appropriations made by law. All 5
appropriations of money by successive general assemblies 6
shall be made in the following order: 7
First: For payment of sinking fund and interest 8
on outstanding obligations of the state. 9 SJR 21 2
Second: For the purpose of public education. 10
Third: For the payment of the cost of assessing 11
and collecting the revenue. 12
Fourth: For the payment of the civil li sts. 13
Fifth: For the support of eleemosynary and 14
other state institutions. 15
Sixth: For public health and public welfare. 16
Seventh: For all other state purposes. 17
Eighth: For the expense of the general assembly. 18
2. The appropriation authority of the general assembly 19
shall be limited as follows: 20
(1) If the population of the state increased in the 21
most recent full calendar year by more than one percent from 22
the calendar year immediately preceding such calendar year, 23
the general assembly shall have a spending limit equal to 24
one hundred percent of the most recent year's appropriation 25
in which no emergency appropriation is made under section 3 26
of this section plus the percentage of the state population 27
increase, which shall be applied as the p ercent of the total 28
moneys available for appropriation; 29
(2) If the population of the state increased in the 30
most recent full calendar year by one percent or less from 31
the calendar year immediately preceding such calendar year, 32
the general assembly shall have a spending limit equal to 33
one hundred and one percent of the most recent year's 34
appropriation in which no emergency appropriation is made 35
under section 3 of this section; 36
(3) If the population of the state decreased in the 37
most recent full calendar year, the general assembly shall 38
have a spending limit equal to one hundred percent of the 39
most recent year's appropriation in which no emergency 40 SJR 21 3
appropriation is made under section 3 of this section minus 41
the percentage of the state po pulation decrease; or 42
(4) The spending limit provided in subdivision (1) to 43
(3) of this subsection shall be further reduced by the 44
amount of any deductions, exemptions, credits, and other tax 45
preferences allowed pursuant to law. 46
3. (1) The spending limitation on the appropriation 47
authority of the general assembly under subsection 2 of this 48
section may be raised in the event of a disaster 49
constituting an emergency if the following conditions are 50
met: 51
(a) The governor proclaims there to be an emergency 52
creating a budget need arising from a disaster and requests 53
the general assembly to approve the emergency and authorize 54
an emergency appropriation; and 55
(b) The general assembly declares an emergency and 56
approves the request fo r an emergency appropriation in 57
accordance with the specifics of the governor's request by a 58
two-thirds vote of the members elected to and serving in 59
each house to meet budget needs due to the disaster. 60
(2) Once the conditions under subdivision (1 ) of this 61
subsection are met, the spending limit on the appropriation 62
authority of the general assembly shall be equal to one 63
hundred two percent of the previous year's appropriation. 64
This one hundred two percent limit shall remain in effect 65
until the governor's emergency declaration is rescinded or 66
until twelve months have passed since the declaration was 67
made, whichever occurs first. 68
Section 36(a). 1. (1) There is hereby established 1
within the state treasury a fund to be kno wn as the "Tax 2
Reform Fund", which shall consist of moneys collected under 3
subsection 2 of this section. Moneys in the fund shall be 4 SJR 21 4
kept in a singular account to be expended pursuant to 5
appropriation by the general assembly if the conditions 6
under subsection 3 of this section are met and used solely 7
for the purpose of supplementing a full fiscal year 8
budgetary shortfall as described under subsection 3 of this 9
section and for no other purpose. 10
(2) The state treasurer shall invest moneys in th e 11
fund in the same manner as other funds are invested. Any 12
interest and moneys earned on such investments shall be 13
credited to the fund. 14
(3) Subject to the provisions of subsection 3 of this 15
section, the unexpended balance in the tax reform fund at 16
the close of any fiscal year shall remain in the fund. 17
2. (1) For all fiscal years beginning on or after 18
July 1, 2027, if the amount of net general revenue 19
collected, as defined under section 27(a) of this article, 20
exceeds the anticipated ge neral fund revenue expenditures 21
for a fiscal year by one million dollars or more, each 22
fiscal year that such surplus is realized, such surplus in 23
excess of one million dollars shall be deposited into the 24
tax reform fund. 25
(2) In a subsequent year where a surplus of one 26
million dollars or more is realized, if the tax reform fund 27
reaches and maintains a minimum balance that is greater than 28
or equal to one hundred twenty million dollars, the general 29
assembly shall authorize by general law a person al income 30
tax decrease trigger of one -tenth of one percent or 31
greater. If the balance of the tax reform fund exceeds one 32
hundred twenty million dollars, the general assembly shall 33
authorize by general law additional personal income tax 34
decreases in an amount equal to or greater than one - 35
twentieth of one percent for every sixty million dollars 36 SJR 21 5
over one hundred twenty million dollars in the tax reform 37
fund. There shall be no cap on the number of reductions 38
authorized under this subdivision and such decreases shall 39
remain in effect until the personal income tax is reduced to 40
zero. 41
(3) Upon the reduction and elimination of the personal 42
income tax, the general assembly shall utilize the tax 43
reform fund to gradually reduce and eliminate the co rporate 44
income tax. 45
(4) After both personal income taxes and corporate 46
income taxes have been reduced to zero, the tax reform fund 47
shall continue to collect revenue and shall be used only to 48
supplement budget shortfalls as described under subsect ion 3 49
of this section following fiscal years where the general 50
assembly enacted a tax reduction. 51
(5) After personal income tax is reduced to zero, it 52
shall remain at zero. 53
(6) After corporate income tax is reduced to zero, it 54
shall remain at zero. 55
(7) The general assembly may appropriate funds to the 56
credit of the tax reform fund. 57
3. If the state experiences a budgetary shortfall in 58
the next fiscal year immediately succeeding the 59
implementation of a personal income tax decreas e, the tax 60
reform fund may be used during the immediately succeeding 61
appropriation period to supplement areas of necessary 62
funding in the order of the general assembly's authorized 63
appropriations priority for the next fiscal year's budget. 64
The moneys from the fund that may be used for such 65
supplemental funding shall be in an amount not to exceed the 66
lesser of that year's budgetary shortfall or sixty million 67 SJR 21 6
dollars for every one -twentieth of one percent decrease from 68
the personal income tax from t he previous year. 69
4. (1) Subject to the enactment of a personal income 70
tax decrease trigger by general law as provided under 71
subdivision (2) of subsection 2 of this section, if the one - 72
million-dollar surplus trigger under subdivision (2) of 73
subsection 2 of this section was realized in the previous 74
fiscal year, the personal income tax decrease trigger shall 75
be implemented by the department of revenue to take effect 76
on January first of the calendar year immediately following 77
the close of the fiscal year in which the one -million-dollar 78
surplus amount was realized. 79
(2) The department of revenue shall implement an 80
annual process to review and report future reduction 81
conditions at the same time and in the same manner as under 82
chapter 143. 83
5. The general assembly shall enact such laws as may 84
be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. 85
Section B. Pursuant to chapter 116, and other 1
applicable constitutional provisions and laws of this state 2
allowing the general assembly to adopt ballot language for 3
the submission of this joint resolution to the voters of 4
this state, the official summary statement of this 5
resolution shall be as follows: 6
"Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to: 7
● Create a "Tax Reform Fund", which would use 8
excess revenue to reduce and gradually eliminate 9
Missouri income taxes; and 10
● Impose an annual spending limit on the 11
Missouri General Assembly?". 12