Committee adopts substitute to House Joint Resolution 169 to cap spending baseline

The Missouri House Ways and Means Committee on the evening of the hearing adopted a committee substitute to House Joint Resolution 169 that would set a formula for limiting state spending.

An unnamed sponsor told the committee the substitute expands the baseline used to measure growth to include fees and surcharges—changes intended to prevent governments from circumventing limits by shifting revenue into new fees. "This has nothing to do with taxes; it has to do with spending," the sponsor said, describing the measure as a way to "rein in spending" by capping what jurisdictions can spend relative to the prior year plus inflation and population growth.

Representative Taylor said she would oppose the measure, arguing the Legislature is already considering many tax-related proposals and that a coordinated strategy is needed before moving additional limits. "This is a lot at a time when we're already seeing numerous bills on sales tax and property tax," Taylor said, announcing she would vote no.

The committee adopted the committee substitute by voice and then approved the substitute on a roll call vote the chair announced in the transcript as 6 ayes and 4 noes. The committee advanced the substitute with instructions to report the resolution as "do pass" to the next stage.

The substitute's sponsor cited Colorado's experience to argue that including fees in the baseline closes a loophole whereby jurisdictions could add fees and call them "not taxes" to evade limits. Committee members asked whether the change would affect federal funding; the sponsor answered it would not.

The committee's action sends the substitute forward; no further committee-level amendments were recorded in the transcript at the close of the hearing.