There are five statewide ballot measures certified for Missouri’s 2022 ticket. While there is explanatory language included on the ballot for each issue, it’s key to understand the full context and implications of each measure. All issues revolve around Missouri’s state constitution, with four ballot measures proposing amendments to the governing document and one proposing a state constitutional convention.

Amendment 1

The first proposed amendment, if passed, would allow the State Treasurer to invest state funds in highly rated municipal securities. It would also authorize the Missouri legislature to pass laws allowing further investments in “other reasonable and prudent financial investments and securities.”

Municipal securities encompass municipal fund securities, like 529 savings funds, and municipal bonds. 529 savings funds are state-sponsored investment plans that enable saving on behalf of a beneficiary for education expenses. Often these are used by guardians for a child’s future college education. Municipal bonds are issued by state, city and county governments to raise money for capital expenditures, like building roads or schools, in addition to other public good projects. According to Ballotpedia, currently the State Treasurer can only invest in federal and agency bonds, time deposits in Missouri banks, repurchase agreements, or short-term unsecured corporate debt.

This amendment passed the House with a vote of 156-1 and the Senate 32-0. Government agencies estimate no cost to taxpayers or the state if the amendment passes. They also estimate a state increased interest revenue of $2 million per year and a local increased interest revenue of at least $34,000 per year.

Amendment 3

The third measure proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to legalize recreational usage of marijuana for adults over 21. Additionally, this amendment would allow people convicted of nonviolent marijuana-related offenses to petition for release from incarceration and/or have their records cleared. It would also establish a 6% tax on the sale of marijuana, on top of the state’s 3% sales tax.

Medical marijuana is currently legal in Missouri, and this amendment would loosen restrictions for the medical usage of marijuana. The amendment would establish a process of licensing dispensaries to sell marijuana recreationally by congressional district — medical marijuana facilities could sell recreationally if they receive those licenses.

The amendment also creates additional industry regulations. These would affect the future transportation, marketing, advertising and personal ownership of marijuana. Further, it would require “seed-to-sale” tracking of marijuana, from immature plant to the final product made available for purchase.

The amendment would not allow for public marijuana use or marijuana use while driving.

Some people and groups traditionally in favor of reducing marijuana restrictions including St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and Missouri State conference of the NAACP, oppose Amendment 3, saying it could block minorities from entering the cannabis industry. The amendment allows the state to continue capping licenses to grow, transport and sell marijuana — a system established in 2018 that historically issues fewer licenses to Black-owned businesses.

Supporters say the amendment provides a necessary step toward legalization and decriminalization, as many believe that Missouri lawmakers won’t pass a law legalizing recreational marijuana use.

Unlike the other three proposed amendments, Amendment 3 is an initiated constitutional amendment – meaning it was proposed by Missouri citizens, rather than voted on by the Missouri Legislature prior to voter ratification.

Amendment 4

Amendment 4 authorizes laws that increase minimum funding for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners before 2027. This amendment only presently affects the Kansas City Police department and, if passed, will allow the state legislature to increase the minimum budget for KCPD or any future police department established by a state board of police commissioners.

Much of the support for the largely Republican-backed measure is generated in response to two ordinances passed by the Kansas City Council in 2021. One of these ordinances sought to give city leaders more control over the KCPD and the other to reduce the department’s funding by $42.3 million, reallocating that portion of the budget into a fund dedicated to violent crime prevention and community policing. Both ordinances passed within the city council, although the portion of the budget originally reallocated was eventually returned to the KCPD in Oct. 2021 after a Jackson County judge ruled that the city’s actions violated state law.

On the final day of its session, in Oct. 2022, the Missouri legislature passed two bills intended to increase the department’s spending. One would raise the minimum percentage of Kansas City’s general revenue that must be spent on police from 20% to 25%.

Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer sponsored the measure on the Nov. ballot, seeking to deter future defunding and promote the stability of the KCPD, stating, “We need to prevent future radical attempts to defund the KCPD. This ensures the brave men and women in the KCPD have the resources they need to keep our city safe.” The amendment passed the Senate with 22 Republicans and one Democrat in favor and the House with 100 Republicans and three Democrats voting for the measure.

The principal objections to the amendment revolve around increased state control over local governments and the blockage of any future defund-the-police initiatives in Kansas City. The amendment does not include limitations on further increases to funding.

Gwen Grant, president of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, opposes the amendment, saying, “It just makes absolutely no sense that the state legislature would dictate how our local government should allocate its resources, all for the protection of the police in response to a false narrative of defunding.”

Additional opponents include Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Democratic State Sen. Barbara Anne Washington. The editorial boards of both the Kansas City Star and the St. Louis Post Dispatch have recommended that voters reject the amendment.

Amendment 5

Amendment 5 is a motion to create the Missouri National Guard as its own department within the oversight of the state executive branch (the office of the governor).

Currently, the Missouri National Guard is housed in the Missouri Department of Public Safety. If a majority of Missouri voters say “Yes” to Amendment 5, the National Guard in Missouri would become its own department, with no bureaucratic oversight except that of the Governor’s office. An adjutant general would be appointed to the governor’s cabinet, with the state Senate’s consent and advice. The administrative change proposed by the amendment seeks to establish a more direct line of communication between the state’s executive branch and the Guard in case of emergency.

This amendment was introduced to the Missouri legislation in January 2022. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to pass this amendment, 126-2 and the 32 present members of the Missouri Senate unanimously voted in favor of the Amendment.

Missouri Constitutional Convention Question (2022)

Every 20 years, a constitutional question is proposed to voters through an automatic ballot referral. Voting “yes” requires Governor Parson to hold a constitutional convention where elected delegates may propose changes to the state’s constitution. Any proposed revisions would be subject to a public vote.

The last time this question was proposed in 2002, voters rejected the convention 65.45% to 34.55%.

To view the other parts of this special reporting, click here.

Copy edited by Julia Williams