HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 115 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE GRIFFITH.
4527H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
JOINT RESOLUTION Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri an amendment repealing Section 6 of Article X of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting one new section in lieu thereof relating to property tax exemptions.
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring therein:
That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on Tuesday 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Article X of the Constitution of the state of 5 Missouri: Section A. Section 6, Article X, Constitution of Missouri, is repealed and one new 2 section adopted in lieu thereof, to be known as Section 6, to read as follows: Section 6. 1. (1) As used in this subsection, the following terms mean: 2 (a) "Disabled Veteran", an individual who: 3 a. Is a resident of this state; 4 b. Has been separated under honorable conditions from active service in: 5 (i) Any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States; 6 (ii) Any reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States; 7 (iii) The National Guard of a state as defined under 32 U.S.C. Section 101, as 8 amended; or
EXPLANATION — 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. HJR 115 2
9 (iv) Any defense force of a state as described in 32 U.S.C. Section 109, as 10 amended; and 11 c. Has been certified by the United States department of Veterans Affairs or its 12 successor agency to be in receipt of disability compensation at the one hundred percent 13 rate as a result of a service-connected disability claim allowed by the United States 14 Department of Veterans Affairs, with such disability being permanent and sustained 15 through military accident or action or resulting from disease contracted while in such 16 active service; 17 (b) "Homestead", the real property located within the state of Missouri that is 18 actually owned and occupied by a disabled veteran or surviving spouse as his or her 19 primary residence, not to exceed two and one-half acres of land surrounding it as is 20 reasonably necessary for use of the dwelling as a home but less any portion of such 21 property that is used for commercial purposes. If the property, or a portion of the 22 property, is rented out to another person for more than six months of any one-year 23 period it is presumed to be used for commercial purposes. A disabled veteran or 24 surviving spouse shall not claim more than one primary residence; 25 (c) "Surviving spouse", the living spouse of a deceased disabled veteran. 26 (2) All property, real and personal, of the state, counties and other political 27 subdivisions, and nonprofit cemeteries, [and] all real property used as a homestead as defined 28 by law of any citizen of this state who is a former prisoner of war[,] as defined by law[, and 29 who has a total service-connected disability], and all real property used as a homestead of 30 any disabled veteran who has a total service-connected disability or of any surviving 31 spouse of such disabled veteran, as such terms are defined under subdivision (1) of this 32 subsection and subject to the provisions of subdivision (3) of this subsection, shall be 33 exempt from taxation; all personal property held as industrial inventories, including raw 34 materials, work in progress and finished work on hand, by manufacturers and refiners, and all 35 personal property held as goods, wares, merchandise, stock in trade or inventory for resale by 36 distributors, wholesalers, or retail merchants or establishments shall be exempt from taxation; 37 and all property, real and personal, not held for private or corporate profit and used 38 exclusively for religious worship, for schools and colleges, for purposes purely charitable, for 39 agricultural and horticultural societies, or for veterans' organizations may be exempted from 40 taxation by general law. In addition to the above, household goods, furniture, wearing apparel 41 and articles of personal use and adornment owned and used by a person in his home or 42 dwelling place may be exempt from taxation by general law but any such law may provide for 43 approximate restitution to the respective political subdivisions of revenues lost by reason of 44 the exemption. All laws exempting from taxation property other than the property 45 enumerated in this article, shall be void. The provisions of this section exempting certain HJR 115 3
46 personal property of manufacturers, refiners, distributors, wholesalers, and retail merchants 47 and establishments from taxation shall become effective, unless otherwise provided by law, in 48 each county on January 1 of the year in which that county completes its first general 49 reassessment as defined by law. 50 (3) If the disabled veteran dies, the surviving spouse shall continue to receive the 51 exemption authorized under this subsection, provided that the surviving spouse uses, 52 occupies, and maintains the real property for which the disabled veteran was granted 53 the original exemption as his or her homestead and such property is not sold. If the 54 surviving spouse sells the homestead or relocates so that the real property is no longer 55 used as a homestead by the surviving spouse, the exemption shall expire. 56 2. All revenues lost because of the exemption of certain personal property of 57 manufacturers, refiners, distributors, wholesalers, and retail merchants and establishments 58 shall be replaced to each taxing authority within a county from a countywide tax hereby 59 imposed on all property in subclass 3 of class 1 in each county. For the year in which the 60 exemption becomes effective, the county clerk shall calculate the total revenue lost by all 61 taxing authorities in the county and extend upon all property in subclass 3 of class 1 within 62 the county, a tax at the rate necessary to produce that amount. The rate of tax levied in each 63 county according to this subsection shall not be increased above the rate first imposed and 64 will stand levied at that rate unless later reduced according to the provisions of subsection 3. 65 The county collector shall disburse the proceeds according to the revenue lost by each taxing 66 authority because of the exemption of such property in that county. Restitution of the 67 revenues lost by any taxing district contained in more than one county shall be from the 68 several counties according to the revenue lost because of the exemption of property in each 69 county. Each year after the first year the replacement tax is imposed, the amount distributed 70 to each taxing authority in a county shall be increased or decreased by an amount equal to the 71 amount resulting from the change in that district's total assessed value of property in subclass 72 3 of class 1 at the countywide replacement tax rate. In order to implement the provisions of 73 this subsection, the limits set in section 11(b) of this article may be exceeded, without voter 74 approval, if necessary to allow each county listed in section 11(b) to comply with this 75 subsection. 76 3. Any increase in the tax rate imposed pursuant to subsection 2 of this section shall 77 be decreased if such decrease is approved by a majority of the voters of the county voting on 78 such decrease. A decrease in the increased tax rate imposed under subsection 2 of this section 79 may be submitted to the voters of a county by the governing body thereof upon its own order, 80 ordinance, or resolution and shall be submitted upon the petition of at least eight percent of 81 the qualified voters who voted in the immediately preceding gubernatorial election. HJR 115 4
82 4. As used in this section, the terms "revenues lost" and "lost revenues" shall mean 83 that revenue which each taxing authority received from the imposition of a tangible personal 84 property tax on all personal property held as industrial inventories, including raw materials, 85 work in progress and finished work on hand, by manufacturers and refiners, and all personal 86 property held as goods, wares, merchandise, stock in trade or inventory for resale by 87 distributors, wholesalers, or retail merchants or establishments in the last full tax year 88 immediately preceding the effective date of the exemption from taxation granted for such 89 property under subsection 1 of this section, and which was no longer received after such 90 exemption became effective. ✔