Missouri Amendment 6, Levying of Fees to Support Salaries of Law Enforcement Personnel Amendment (2024)

Missouri Amendment 6
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Pension and Administration of government
Status d Defeated
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Missouri Amendment 6, the Levying of Fees to Support Salaries of Law Enforcement Personnel Amendment, was on the ballot in Missouri as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024. The ballot measure was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported amending the Missouri Constitution to define the administration of justice to include the levying of costs and fees to support the salaries and benefits of sheriffs, former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, former prosecuting attorneys, circuit attorneys, and former circuit attorneys.

A "no" vote opposed amending the Missouri Constitution to define the administration of justice to include the levying of costs and fees to support the salaries and benefits of sheriffs, former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, former prosecuting attorneys, circuit attorneys, and former circuit attorneys.

Election results

Missouri Amendment 6
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,112,081	39.39%
No		1,711,527	60.61%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What would Amendment 6 have done?

See also: Text of measure

Amendment 6 would have included a provision in the Missouri Constitution to include the levying of fees to support salaries and benefits for law enforcement personnel, including sheriffs, former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, former prosecuting attorneys, circuit attorneys, and former circuit attorneys.

What were arguments for and against the measure?

See also: Support and opposition

State Sen. Rusty Black (R), who supported the measure, said, "Senate Joint Resolution 71, a resolution that I filed, would ask voters to enshrine into the state’s constitution that sheriffs play a crucial role in the administration of justice, which would ensure a robust retirement fund for sheriffs as they approach the end of their careers."

The Reason Foundation, who opposed the measure, said, "Senate Joint Resolution 71 would reinstate a set of perverse incentives that tie pension contributions to the volume of arrests, prosecutions, and other aspects of the criminal justice system."

How did this measure get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

In Missouri, to put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on the ballot, a simple majority vote is required in both the Missouri State Senate and the Missouri House of Representatives. The amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 71 (SJR 71), was introduced to the Missouri State Senate on December 1, 2023. The measure passed the Senate by 25-7 on March 7, 2024. The Missouri House of Representatives voted to pass SJR 71 on May 17, 2024.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to preserve funding of law enforcement personnel for the administration of justice? State and local governmental entities estimate an unknown fiscal impact.

”

Ballot summary

The official ballot summary was as follows:

“

A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to levy costs and fees to support salaries and benefits for current and former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, and circuit attorneys to ensure all Missourians have access to the courts of justice. A “no” vote will not amend the Missouri Constitution to levy costs and fees related to current or former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys and circuit attorneys. If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes.

”

Constitutional changes

The ballot measure would have amended Section 14 of Article I of the Missouri Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added:

1. That the courts of justice shall be open to every person, and certain remedy afforded for every injury to person, property or character, and that right and justice shall be administered without sale, denial or delay.

2. In order to ensure that all Missourians have access to the courts of justice as guaranteed by this Constitution, the administration of justice shall include the levying of costs and fees to support salaries and benefits for sheriffs, former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, former prosecuting attorneys, circuit attorneys, and former circuit attorneys.

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 14, and the FRE is 20. The word count for the ballot title is 28.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 14, and the FRE is 38. The word count for the ballot summary is 74.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. Rusty Black (R)

Arguments

• State Sen. Rusty Black (R): "Senate Joint Resolution 71, a resolution that I filed, would ask voters to enshrine into the state’s constitution that sheriffs play a crucial role in the administration of justice, which would ensure a robust retirement fund for sheriffs as they approach the end of their careers."

Opposition

Opponents

Organizations

• Missouri AFL-CIO
• Reason Foundation

Arguments

• The Reason Foundation: "Senate Joint Resolution 71 would reinstate a set of perverse incentives that tie pension contributions to the volume of arrests, prosecutions, and other aspects of the criminal justice system."
• Priya Sarathy Jones, deputy executive director at the Fines and Fees Justice Center: "When fines and fees go unpaid, judges may issue arrest warrants for failing to pay, leading to law enforcement arresting people for not paying financial obligations — most often because they are too poor to pay. The time spent on these debt collection and enforcement efforts diverts law enforcement and courts from their core responsibilities … In fact, the collection of fines and fees by law enforcement has been found to be associated with lower clearance rates for more serious crimes."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Missouri ballot measures

Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered in support or opposition to the amendment. If you are aware of any committees, send information to 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

Background

Retirement of Missouri sheriffs

In Missouri, prior to 2023, sheriffs were able to enroll in the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System, LAGERS, or the Sheriffs’ Retirement System (SRS). After the passing of Senate Bill 75 (SB 75) and Senate Bill 20 (SB 20) in 2023, all new county sheriffs were required to enroll in SRS. County sheriffs were required to complete eight years of service in SRS in order to earn a benefit. If a sheriff loses the election after their first four-year term, they do not receive a benefit from SRS.

Path to the ballot

Amending the Missouri Constitution

See also: Amending the Missouri Constitution

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

Amendment in the state Legislature

The amendment was introduced on December 1, 2023. The Missouri State Senate voted 25-7 to pass the measure on March 7, 2024. The Missouri House of Representatives voted to pass the measure on May 17, 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
• Administration of government 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 71 (2024)