Missouri constitution

Backers of the Respect Missouri Voters initiative turned in roughly 350,000 signatures on Sunday to the Missouri secretary of state’s office. Lawmakers would be barred from changing or repealing voter-approved statutes or constitutional amendments, unless 80% of the legislature agrees to put the changes to another statewide vote.

Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe said he's ready to sell his plan to expand sales and use taxes, which would allow Missouri to end the income tax. Another ballot measure would repeal constitutional protections for abortion rights.

The proposed constitutional amendment gives Missouri lawmakers five years to expand sales and use taxes, in order to make up for revenue lost by eliminating the state income tax. It will appear in either a special election or on November's ballot.

While the national rush to redraw congressional districts began with a call from President Donald Trump, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway quickly became the state's bulwark in defending Republican redistricting against lawsuits and a citizen petition.

Passing a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate the income tax is a priority for Republicans in Jefferson City. The resolution still needs final approval from the Missouri House, but critics say that raising sales taxes will disproportionately hurt lower-income and elderly Missourians.

Proponents of eliminating Missouri’s individual income tax, including Gov. Mike Kehoe, say it will make the state more competitive and appealing for businesses and people looking to move to the state. But opponents say that hiking sales taxes will impose more costs on lower-income residents.

Despite the potential high costs, Republicans on a Senate committee advanced the plan on a party-line vote Monday. The bill would place an amendment on the statewide ballot later this year asking voters permission to eliminate the income tax and expand sales taxes.

Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a law last year that took direct control of the police department away from the mayor’s office and shifted it to a board mostly appointed by the governor. It's similar to the system in place in Kansas City, which itself has been the subject of multiple lawsuits.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway told KCUR’s Up To Date that she believes Missouri voters don’t have the authority to block the newly drawn congressional map through a referendum. “I think we know for 2026 what the congressional districts are,” Hanaway said. Legal challenges are still underway.

The constitutional amendment would establish that access to public education is a "fundamental right." But organizers say the controversy over the Missouri Secretary of State's ballot language, which a judge ruled was unfair and had to be rewritten, delayed signature collection.

The activists who tried and failed to defeat Missouri's 2024 abortion-rights amendment have regrouped under a new PAC called“Her Health, Her Future." They're betting that more time, tighter coordination and earlier backing from top Missouri Republicans can help them pass an abortion ban measure this fall.

What does “when” mean? The definition became a key part of a ruling that impacts the 2026 election by allowing new Republican-favoring congressional districts to stand.