Amendment 4 explained: What Missourians are voting on, why it’s happening again

KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com .

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Voters in Missouri will see a familiar question on August’s primary ballot.

Amendment 4 first appeared on ballots in November 2022.

The question asks voters to increase the minimum amount the city of Kansas City, Missouri, must budget for the police department from 20% of its general revenue to 25%.

Voters approved the initiative in 2022 .

This April, the Missouri Supreme Court threw out the results of the 2022 election after coming to the conclusion that the fiscal note included in the ballot language was not accurate.

The court ordered the state to vote on the issue again.

The new language on the Aug. 6 primary ballot contains more context.

It lists Kansas City by name and lays out by how much minimum funding would increase with a successful passage of the question.

The new language also explains KCMO has previously voluntarily funded the police department with more than 25% of its budget.

Missouri Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer , a Republican from Parkville, pushed for putting the original question to voters and supports its passage again.

He sponsored the legislation after the Kansas City council passed ordinances in 2021 changing the police department’s budget.

“What Amendment 4 does is it ensures that that funding is stabilized into the future, and that there will never be an attempt that can be made by the city council to defund the KCPD,” Luetkemeyer said.

Charlie Keegan

A board of police commissioners appointed by the governor controls the police department, not the city council.

Organizations like MORE2 want the city council to have more local control over the police department.

Lora McDonald, executive director of MORE2, argued voters across the state shouldn’t be making decisions specific to Kansas City.

“I don’t get why my mom and stepdad in Ozark, Missouri, get a say over how my one percent earnings tax is spent," she said. "That’s not fair."

Charlie Keegan

Amendment 4 passed in 2022 with 63 percent of the vote. Luetkemeyer is confident it will pass again in 2024.

Early voters like Tresia Franklin told KSHB 41 News they support the amendment.

“I hope it makes it safer and easier for our community to grow and be a stronger place to live,” Franklin said.

John Batten

Read the ballot language from 2024:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to authorize laws, passed before December 31st, 2026, that increase minimum funding for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners to ensure such police force has additional resources to serve its communities?

This would authorize a law passed in 2022 increasing required funding by the City of Kansas City for police department requests from 20% of general revenue to 25%, an increase of $38,743,646, though the City previously provided that level of funding voluntarily. No other state or local governmental entities estimate costs or savings.

Read the ballot language from 2022:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to authorize laws, passed before December 31, 2026, that increase minimum funding for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners to ensure such police force has additional resources to serve its communities?

State and local governmental entities estimate no additional costs or savings related to this proposal.

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