Committee hears HJR 6 to extend homestead and personal-property tax exemptions to 100% disabled veterans

Rep. Dave Griffith urged a Missouri House special committee to place House Joint Resolution 6 (HJR 6) on the ballot so voters can extend homestead and personal‑property tax exemptions to service members who are 100% permanently disabled, including surviving spouses who continue to live in the homestead, Griffith said during a committee hearing.

Griffith framed the measure as a technical but consequential change to existing language that would broaden eligibility. "I wanted to fix one word — changing it from an 'and' to an 'or,'" Representative Dave Griffith said, describing earlier legislation and his multi‑year effort to expand exemptions beyond a small group affected by a 2012 measure. He said earlier versions of the law applied to roughly 24 people statewide and that the eligible population had declined to about 17 as of 2025.

The resolution would send the change to voters rather than altering statute directly. That procedural point drew questions from committee members concerned about fiscal impacts and whether the policy belongs in the state constitution. "I'd rather see this be a statutory bill," Vice Chairman Representative Simmons said, adding that he dislikes placing matters in the constitution that could be statutory. Griffith responded that prior courts of legislative practice and the 2012 change left the route to a constitutional amendment as the available path now.

Committee members and a witness representing veterans organizations offered differing views about the scope of eligibility. Troy Williams, testifying as chairman of the Missouri Association of Veterans Organizations and national legislative chairman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars auxiliary, said the organizations "fully endorse this bill as is" and argued that surrounding states already offer similar personal‑property breaks. Williams said his group's data supported keeping a higher disability cutoff and suggested 70% as an alternate threshold for later consideration.

Members also discussed fiscal notes prepared for local governments. A committee member citing Jackson County figures said the county has about 1,900 100% disabled veterans out of roughly 300,000 parcels; the county summary in the fiscal materials showed a roughly $1 million withholding figure tied to a parcel fee. Supporters argued those counts overstate the local impact because fiscal notes assume every eligible veteran owns a homestead, which committee members said is unlikely.

No formal vote or committee action was taken. The committee chair closed the hearing after testimony and discussion. Griffith said an identical companion bill in the Senate is being carried by Senator Mosley and that whichever chamber advances the language first could move it forward.

The hearing record will remain open for the committee's continued consideration; no committee recommendation was recorded at the conclusion of the session.