Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SJR21 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	FIRST REGULAR SESSION
3	3	SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 21
4	4	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
5	5	INTRODUCED BY SENATOR TRENT.
6	6	1281S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
7	7	JOINT RESOLUTION
8	8	Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri, an amendment repealing section 36 of article III of
9	9	the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting two new sections in lieu thereof relating to
10	10	use of state revenues.
11	11
12	12	Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring therein:
13	13	That at the next general election to be held in the 1
14	14	state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday 2
15	15	in November, 2026, or at a special election to be called by 3
16	16	the governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to 4
17	17	the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or 5
18	18	rejection, the following amendment to article III of the 6
19	19	Constitution of the state of Missouri:7
20	20	Section A. Section 36, article III, Constituti on of 1
21	21	Missouri, is repealed and two new sections adopted in lieu 2
22	22	thereof, to be known as sections 36 and 36(a), to read as 3
23	23	follows:4
24	24	Section 36. 1. All revenue collected and money 1
25	25	received by the state shall go into the treasury and the 2
26	26	general assembly shall have no power to divert the same or 3
27	27	to permit the withdrawal of money from the treasury, except 4
28	28	in pursuance of appropriations made by law. All 5
29	29	appropriations of money by successive general assemblies 6
30	30	shall be made in the following order: 7
31	31	First: For payment of sinking fund and interest 8
32	32	on outstanding obligations of the state. 9 SJR 21 2
33	33	Second: For the purpose of public education. 10
34	34	Third: For the payment of the cost of assessing 11
35	35	and collecting the revenue. 12
36	36	Fourth: For the payment of the civil li sts. 13
37	37	Fifth: For the support of eleemosynary and 14
38	38	other state institutions. 15
39	39	Sixth: For public health and public welfare. 16
40	40	Seventh: For all other state purposes. 17
41	41	Eighth: For the expense of the general assembly. 18
42	42	2. The appropriation authority of the general assembly 19
43	43	shall be limited as follows: 20
44	44	(1) If the population of the state increased in the 21
45	45	most recent full calendar year by more than one percent from 22
46	46	the calendar year immediately preceding such calendar year, 23
47	47	the general assembly shall have a spending limit equal to 24
48	48	one hundred percent of the most recent year's appropriation 25
49	49	in which no emergency appropriation is made under section 3 26
50	50	of this section plus the percentage of the state population 27
51	51	increase, which shall be applied as the p ercent of the total 28
52	52	moneys available for appropriation; 29
53	53	(2) If the population of the state increased in the 30
54	54	most recent full calendar year by one percent or less from 31
55	55	the calendar year immediately preceding such calendar year, 32
56	56	the general assembly shall have a spending limit equal to 33
57	57	one hundred and one percent of the most recent year's 34
58	58	appropriation in which no emergency appropriation is made 35
59	59	under section 3 of this section; 36
60	60	(3) If the population of the state decreased in the 37
61	61	most recent full calendar year, the general assembly shall 38
62	62	have a spending limit equal to one hundred percent of the 39
63	63	most recent year's appropriation in which no emergency 40 SJR 21 3
64	64	appropriation is made under section 3 of this section minus 41
65	65	the percentage of the state po pulation decrease; or 42
66	66	(4) The spending limit provided in subdivision (1) to 43
67	67	(3) of this subsection shall be further reduced by the 44
68	68	amount of any deductions, exemptions, credits, and other tax 45
69	69	preferences allowed pursuant to law. 46
70	70	3. (1) The spending limitation on the appropriation 47
71	71	authority of the general assembly under subsection 2 of this 48
72	72	section may be raised in the event of a disaster 49
73	73	constituting an emergency if the following conditions are 50
74	74	met: 51
75	75	(a) The governor proclaims there to be an emergency 52
76	76	creating a budget need arising from a disaster and requests 53
77	77	the general assembly to approve the emergency and authorize 54
78	78	an emergency appropriation; and 55
79	79	(b) The general assembly declares an emergency and 56
80	80	approves the request fo r an emergency appropriation in 57
81	81	accordance with the specifics of the governor's request by a 58
82	82	two-thirds vote of the members elected to and serving in 59
83	83	each house to meet budget needs due to the disaster. 60
84	84	(2) Once the conditions under subdivision (1 ) of this 61
85	85	subsection are met, the spending limit on the appropriation 62
86	86	authority of the general assembly shall be equal to one 63
87	87	hundred two percent of the previous year's appropriation. 64
88	88	This one hundred two percent limit shall remain in effect 65
89	89	until the governor's emergency declaration is rescinded or 66
90	90	until twelve months have passed since the declaration was 67
91	91	made, whichever occurs first. 68
92	92	Section 36(a). 1. (1) There is hereby established 1
93	93	within the state treasury a fund to be kno wn as the "Tax 2
94	94	Reform Fund", which shall consist of moneys collected under 3
95	95	subsection 2 of this section. Moneys in the fund shall be 4 SJR 21 4
96	96	kept in a singular account to be expended pursuant to 5
97	97	appropriation by the general assembly if the conditions 6
98	98	under subsection 3 of this section are met and used solely 7
99	99	for the purpose of supplementing a full fiscal year 8
100	100	budgetary shortfall as described under subsection 3 of this 9
101	101	section and for no other purpose. 10
102	102	(2) The state treasurer shall invest moneys in th e 11
103	103	fund in the same manner as other funds are invested. Any 12
104	104	interest and moneys earned on such investments shall be 13
105	105	credited to the fund. 14
106	106	(3) Subject to the provisions of subsection 3 of this 15
107	107	section, the unexpended balance in the tax reform fund at 16
108	108	the close of any fiscal year shall remain in the fund. 17
109	109	2. (1) For all fiscal years beginning on or after 18
110	110	July 1, 2027, if the amount of net general revenue 19
111	111	collected, as defined under section 27(a) of this article, 20
112	112	exceeds the anticipated ge neral fund revenue expenditures 21
113	113	for a fiscal year by one million dollars or more, each 22
114	114	fiscal year that such surplus is realized, such surplus in 23
115	115	excess of one million dollars shall be deposited into the 24
116	116	tax reform fund. 25
117	117	(2) In a subsequent year where a surplus of one 26
118	118	million dollars or more is realized, if the tax reform fund 27
119	119	reaches and maintains a minimum balance that is greater than 28
120	120	or equal to one hundred twenty million dollars, the general 29
121	121	assembly shall authorize by general law a person al income 30
122	122	tax decrease trigger of one -tenth of one percent or 31
123	123	greater. If the balance of the tax reform fund exceeds one 32
124	124	hundred twenty million dollars, the general assembly shall 33
125	125	authorize by general law additional personal income tax 34
126	126	decreases in an amount equal to or greater than one - 35
127	127	twentieth of one percent for every sixty million dollars 36 SJR 21 5
128	128	over one hundred twenty million dollars in the tax reform 37
129	129	fund. There shall be no cap on the number of reductions 38
130	130	authorized under this subdivision and such decreases shall 39
131	131	remain in effect until the personal income tax is reduced to 40
132	132	zero. 41
133	133	(3) Upon the reduction and elimination of the personal 42
134	134	income tax, the general assembly shall utilize the tax 43
135	135	reform fund to gradually reduce and eliminate the co rporate 44
136	136	income tax. 45
137	137	(4) After both personal income taxes and corporate 46
138	138	income taxes have been reduced to zero, the tax reform fund 47
139	139	shall continue to collect revenue and shall be used only to 48
140	140	supplement budget shortfalls as described under subsect ion 3 49
141	141	of this section following fiscal years where the general 50
142	142	assembly enacted a tax reduction. 51
143	143	(5) After personal income tax is reduced to zero, it 52
144	144	shall remain at zero. 53
145	145	(6) After corporate income tax is reduced to zero, it 54
146	146	shall remain at zero. 55
147	147	(7) The general assembly may appropriate funds to the 56
148	148	credit of the tax reform fund. 57
149	149	3. If the state experiences a budgetary shortfall in 58
150	150	the next fiscal year immediately succeeding the 59
151	151	implementation of a personal income tax decreas e, the tax 60
152	152	reform fund may be used during the immediately succeeding 61
153	153	appropriation period to supplement areas of necessary 62
154	154	funding in the order of the general assembly's authorized 63
155	155	appropriations priority for the next fiscal year's budget. 64
156	156	The moneys from the fund that may be used for such 65
157	157	supplemental funding shall be in an amount not to exceed the 66
158	158	lesser of that year's budgetary shortfall or sixty million 67 SJR 21 6
159	159	dollars for every one -twentieth of one percent decrease from 68
160	160	the personal income tax from t he previous year. 69
161	161	4. (1) Subject to the enactment of a personal income 70
162	162	tax decrease trigger by general law as provided under 71
163	163	subdivision (2) of subsection 2 of this section, if the one - 72
164	164	million-dollar surplus trigger under subdivision (2) of 73
165	165	subsection 2 of this section was realized in the previous 74
166	166	fiscal year, the personal income tax decrease trigger shall 75
167	167	be implemented by the department of revenue to take effect 76
168	168	on January first of the calendar year immediately following 77
169	169	the close of the fiscal year in which the one -million-dollar 78
170	170	surplus amount was realized. 79
171	171	(2) The department of revenue shall implement an 80
172	172	annual process to review and report future reduction 81
173	173	conditions at the same time and in the same manner as under 82
174	174	chapter 143. 83
175	175	5. The general assembly shall enact such laws as may 84
176	176	be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. 85
177	177	Section B. Pursuant to chapter 116, and other 1
178	178	applicable constitutional provisions and laws of this state 2
179	179	allowing the general assembly to adopt ballot language for 3
180	180	the submission of this joint resolution to the voters of 4
181	181	this state, the official summary statement of this 5
182	182	resolution shall be as follows: 6
183	183	"Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to: 7
184	184	● Create a "Tax Reform Fund", which would use 8
185	185	excess revenue to reduce and gradually eliminate 9
186	186	Missouri income taxes; and 10
187	187	● Impose an annual spending limit on the 11
188	188	Missouri General Assembly?". 12
189	189	