Missouri House passes HJR169 proposing voter approval for future tax increases and spending caps
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Summary
The House approved House Joint Resolution 169, a Hancock/TABOR-style measure to limit public spending to prior-year levels adjusted for inflation and population growth, 87–49. Supporters called it fiscal restraint; opponents warned it could hamper services and mirror Colorado’s controversial experience.
The Missouri House approved House Committee substitute for House Joint Resolution 169 after extended debate, with the measure clearing third reading on a roll call of 87–49.
Representative from St. Louis County, the fiscal review chairman and sponsor, described HJR169 as returning to the original intent of the Hancock Amendment by limiting spending growth to inflation and population increases and allowing voters to approve exceptions in emergencies. He said the resolution includes an emergency exception that would permit increases after natural disasters by two-thirds legislative vote.
Opponents raised historical and practical concerns, pointing to Colorado’s TABOR experience and arguing the measure could shift costs to families, force cuts in education and emergency services, and add repeated ballot measures. Representative from Boone County and others detailed Colorado’s post‑TABOR effects on education and emergency response, while fellow members pressed the sponsor on how HJR169 would interact with a separate income‑tax elimination proposal being discussed in the Legislature.
Sponsor and supporters replied that the resolution would preserve spending levels while allowing inflation and population adjustments and that voters would retain final authority.
Vote tally: Yeas 87, Nays 49.
What happens next: As a joint resolution proposing a constitutional change, the measure will be placed on the ballot for voter consideration if it completes the legislative steps required under Missouri law.
