Missouri Amendment 4, Allow Legislature to Require a City to Increase Funding without State Reimbursement for a Police Force Established by State Board Measure (August 2024)

Missouri Allow Legislature to Require a City to Increase Funding without State Reimbursement for a Police Force Established by State Board Amendment
Election date August 6, 2024
Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Missouri Amendment 4, the Allow Legislature to Require a City to Increase Funding without State Reimbursement for a Police Force Established by State Board Measure, was on the ballot in Missouri as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on August 6, 2024. The measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported allowing the legislature to increase minimum funding for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners.

A "no" vote opposed allowing the legislature to increase minimum funding for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners.

Election results

Missouri Amendment 4
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		549,919	51.13%
No		525,657	48.87%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did this measure do?

See also: Text of measure

This measure amended Section 21, Article X of the Missouri Constitution by allowing the Missouri General Assembly to increase minimum required funding for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners before 2027. This specifically increased the minimum funding to the police force of Kansas City, Missouri.

Section 21 of the Missouri Constitution prohibited increases made to an activity or service beyond the ones required by existing law, unless a state appropriation is made and dispersed to pay for the costs. This amendment created an exception for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners. At the time of the election, Kansas City, Missouri, was the only city that did not have local jurisdiction over its department, and therefore the only city that this measure impacted.

Legislators passed Senate Bill 678 in March 2024, requiring the city to devote 25% of its general revenue to the police department. Before SB 678, that requirement was 20%.

Was this measure previously on the ballot?

Voters approved Amendment 4 on November 8, 2022, 63%-37%. The Missouri Supreme Court overturned Amendment 4 on April 30, 2024, and ordered a new election to take place.

The lawsuit, filed by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, said that Kansas City leaders informed state officials prior to the November 2022 election that the ballot measure would cost the city nearly $39 million. Meanwhile, the fiscal note said "state and local governmental entities estimate no additional costs or savings related to this proposal." State Supreme Court Judge Paul C. Wilson wrote in the ruling, "Instead, the only issue in this case is whether the auditor’s fiscal note summary – the very last thing each and every voter saw before voting “yes” or “no” on Amendment No. 4 – fairly and accurately summarized the auditor’s fiscal note ... This Court concludes it did not."

What were the arguments for and against this measure?

See also: Support and Opposition

State Rep. Doug Richey (R-38), a supporter of Amendment 4, brought up two ordinances passed by the Kansas City Council in 2021. "The actions of the mayor and city council last year raised tremendous alarm regarding the stability of funding for something as important as the Kansas City Police Department,” Richey said. One ordinance would have given city leaders more control over the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD), and another would have reduced the funding of the KCPD by $42.3 million. This led to a lawsuit filed by the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners against Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and the Kansas City Council. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Patrick W. Campbell later found that the Kansas City Council violated state law in plans to reallocate the $42.3 million. State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-34), who sponsored the measure, argued this measure would prevent future attempts to decrease police funding. "This legislation will stop future radical attempts by the city council to defund the KCPD and ensure the brave men and women of law enforcement have the resources they need to keep our community safe," he said.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said that this measure would take away the ability to work with local police departments and neighborhood leaders in looking for better solutions to violent crime. "I do not support anything that takes away our ability to work with our local police department and neighborhood leaders in terms of how we get to better solutions for violent crime," he said. Gwen Grant, President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, said, "It has the potential of causing a lot of harm to Kansas City." Grant added, “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.”

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to authorize laws, passed before December 31st, 2026, that increase minimum funding for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners to ensure such police force has additional resources to serve its communities? This would authorize a law passed in 2022 increasing required funding by the City of Kansas City for police department requests from 20% of general revenue to 25%, an increase of $38,743,646, though the City previously provided that level of funding voluntarily. No other state or local governmental entities estimate costs or savings.

”

Ballot summary

The official ballot summary was as follows:

“

A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to allow the general assembly by law to increase the minimum funding for a police force established by the state board of police commissioners to ensure such police force has additional resources to serve its communities. Currently the only police force established by the state board of police commissioners is found in Kansas City, Missouri. A “no” vote will not amend the Missouri Constitution regarding the funding for a police force established by the state board of police commissioners. If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article X, Missouri Constitution

The measure amended section 21 of Article X of the state constitution. The following underlined text was added, and struck-through text would be deleted:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Text of Section 21: 1. The state is hereby prohibited from reducing the state financed proportion of the costs of any existing activity or service required of counties and other political subdivisions. A new activity or service or an increase in the level of any activity or service beyond that required by existing law shall not be required by the general assembly or any state agency of counties or other political subdivisions, unless a state appropriation is made and disbursed to pay the county or other political subdivision for any increased costs.

2. Notwithstanding the foregoing prohibitions, before December 31, 2026, the general assembly may by law increase minimum funding for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners to ensure such police force has additional resources to serve its communities.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The secretary of state wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 17, and the FRE is 25. The word count for the ballot title is 90.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 14, and the FRE is 39. The word count for the ballot summary is 97.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R)
• State Rep. Doug Richey (R)

Arguments

• State Rep. Doug Richey (R-39): "The actions of the mayor and city council last year raised tremendous alarm regarding the stability of funding for something as important as the Kansas City Police Department."
• State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-34): "Amendment 4 would stabilize the KCPD budget and set a minimum funding level of 25% of city funds, which matches the historic funding the department has recently received. The 2021 attempt to slash KCPD’s budget was an attempt to undermine the police board’s budget authority and redirect funds to ill-defined community programs controlled by bureaucrats. The largest police force in Missouri, the KCPD is governed by a five-member Board of Police Commissioners made up entirely of Kansas City residents, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. This independent, bipartisan commission structure has existed since the 1930s and protects the KCPD from City Hall politics. Since the 1950s, Missouri’s Constitution has required the city to devote 20% of its budget to the KCPD, but the city has historically funded the department at around 25%. The 25% threshold required by Amendment 4 is in line with the modern funding needs of the department and is consistent with the level of funding provided by the city in recent decades."

Opposition

Opponents

Officials

• Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas

Arguments

• Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas: "I do not support anything that takes away our ability to work with our local police department and neighborhood leaders in terms of how we get to better solutions for violent crime."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Missouri ballot measures

If you are aware of a committee that was registered to support or oppose this amendment, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Media editorials

See also: 2024 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

Ballotpedia did not locate media editorial boards in support of the ballot measure.

Opposition

The following media editorial boards published an editorial opposing the ballot measure:

• The Kansas City Star Editorial Board: "This proposed amendment is unconscionable — the funding mandate only applies to Kansas City — and the measure reeks of partisan governmental overreach. Currently, state law requires the Kansas City Council to spend at least 20% of its budget on policing. The city routinely funds the Kansas City Police Department above its required threshold and more, as it should. In the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the council approved a little over $317 million for the police department, a sizable 11.5% increase from the previous year’s budget of $284.5 million. In a city that has seen a record number of homicides in recent years, public safety must continue to be a priority here. Why should voters in southwest Missouri or the bootheel in the southeastern part of the state have a say in how local taxpayers’ dollars are spent? In fairness, they shouldn’t."

Polls

See also: 2024 ballot measure polls

Are you aware of a poll on this ballot measure that should be included below? You can share ballot measure polls, along with source links, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Missouri Allow Legislature to Require a City to Increase Funding without State Reimbursement for a Police Force Established by State Board Amendment (2024)
Poll	Dates	Sample size	Margin of error	Support	Oppose	Undecided

Emerson College Polling/The Hill	10/26/22-10/28/22	1,000 LV	± 3.0%	44%	22%	33%
	Question: "Amendment 4 would increase the amount of police force funding to 25% of a municipality’s general revenue. How do you plan to vote on Amendment 4?"

Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.

Background

Amendment 4 (2022)

In 2022, voters previously approved Amendment 4 on November 8, 2022 by 63.19%-36.81%. On April 30, 2024, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned Amendment 4 following a lawsuit by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who said that the fiscal note on the ballot measure was inaccurate and misled voters. The lawsuit said that Kansas City leaders informed state officials prior to the November 2022 election that the ballot measure would cost the city nearly $39 million. Meanwhile, the fiscal note said "state and local governmental entities estimate no additional costs or savings related to this proposal." State Supreme Court Judge Paul C. Wilson wrote in the ruling, "Instead, the only issue in this case is whether the auditor’s fiscal note summary – the very last thing each and every voter saw before voting “yes” or “no” on Amendment No. 4 – fairly and accurately summarized the auditor’s fiscal note ... This Court concludes it did not." The Missouri Supreme Court ordered a new election to take place on August 6, 2024.

Kansas City Police Department

The Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) was founded in 1874. At that time, the KCPD was governed by a board of commissioners appointed by the governor. This changed in 1932, when the Kansas City Council brought the KCPD under city governance. In 1939, the KCPD returned to being governed by the state board of commissioners.

As of 2022, Kansas City was the only police department in the state of Missouri that was governed by a state board of commissioners.

Kansas City Police Department funding

In May 2021, the Kansas City Council passed two ordinances that gave the city leaders more control over the funding of the Kansas City Police Department. The first ordinance reduced the KCPD budget by $42.3 million, cutting it to 20% of the city's general fund. Missouri Law requires the city to spend 20% of its general fund revenue on policing. The second ordinance negotiated how that $42.3 million would be spent.

On May 28, 2022, the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners filed a lawsuit in the Jackson County Circuit Court against Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and the city council. The lawsuit stated that the police board of commissioners had sole management over the police budget and that the city had to spend at least 20% of its general revenue on policing. The lawsuit demanded the return of the $42.3 million. On October 5, 2021, a Jackson County judge ruled that the Kansas City Council violated state law in its plans to relocate the $42.3 million.

On May 13, 2022, the Missouri State Legislature passed Missouri Senate Bill 678 (SB678) to increase the funding of the Kansas City Police Department from 20% of the Kansas City general revenues to 25% of the general revenues. On August 17, 2022, Lucas announced he was filing a lawsuit in the Jackson County Circuit Court against the state of Missouri over SB678. On September 22, 2022, the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners filed a motion to dismiss Lucas' petition, saying that "the claim is not ripe for adjudication."

Missouri ballot measures from 1985 to 2020

In Missouri, a total of 131 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1985 and 2020. Eighty-three ballot measures were approved, and 48 ballot measures were defeated.

Missouri statewide ballot measures, 1985-2020
Total number	Annual average	Annual minimum	Annual maximum	Approved		Defeated
				#	%	#	%
131	3.44	0	10	83	63.36	48	36.64

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Missouri Constitution

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters in 2022, a simple majority vote was required in both the Missouri State Senate and the Missouri House of Representatives.

On March 21, 2022, the Missouri State Senate approved Senate Joint Resolution 38 (SJR38) by a vote of 23-10, with one absent. In the Senate, the amendment was passed largely along party lines, with 22 Republicans and one Democrat in favor and nine Democrats and one Republican opposed.

On May 13, 2022, the Missouri House of Representatives voted to approve SJR38. In the House, 103 voted yes, and 44 voted no (with nine absent). The voting largely occurred along party lines, with 100 Republicans and three Democrats voting for the measure, while 44 Democrats and three Republicans opposed the measure.

Vote in the Missouri State Senate March 21, 2022
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 18  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	23	10	1
Total percent	67.65%	29.41%	2.94%
Democrat	1	9	0
Republican	22	1	1

Vote in the Missouri House of Representatives May 13, 2022
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 82  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	103	44	9
Total percent	66%	28%	6%
Democrat	3	41	5
Republican	100	3	4

This amendment was approved by voters in 2022. Following a lawsuit, the Missouri State Supreme Court struck down the measure, and ordered it to be placed on the ballot on August 6, 2024.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Missouri

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Missouri.

How to vote in Missouri

Poll times

In Missouri, all polling places are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Missouri, one must be 18 years old, a United States citizen, and Missouri resident. An applicant may print an application, pick one up from a county clerk's office, or request that an application be mailed. The completed application must be returned by mail. All returned applications must be postmarked at least 27 days prior to Election Day in order to be processed. An applicant may also register to vote online.

Automatic registration

Missouri does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Missouri has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Missouri does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Missouri, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify the length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. Voters may file change-of-address forms after the registration deadline, up to and including Election Day, provided that they can present photo identification upon doing so.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Missouri does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Missouri Secretary of State's office allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Missouri requires voters to present photo identification while voting.

The following were accepted forms of identification as of April 2023. Click here for the Missouri Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

Voters can present the following forms of information:

• A nonexpired Missouri driver or non-driver license;
• A nonexpired military ID, including a veteran’s ID card;
• A nonexpired United States passport; or
• Another photo ID issued by the United States or the state of Missouri which is either not expired or expired after the date of the most recent general election.

If a voter does not have an ID, he or she can obtain one for free by filling out this form.

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Budgets on the ballot
• Law enforcement on the ballot

Missouri

• Missouri ballot measures
• Missouri ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Senate Joint Resolution 38 text