Missouri election results: Voters reject Amendment 1, property tax exemptions for child care providers

Missouri voters on Tuesday rejected a pitch to give state lawmakers the power to pass property tax exemptions for child care facilities.

Amendment 1 failed, with roughly 55% of Missourians voting ‘no’ on the measure in unofficial results.

The measure would have let the General Assembly pass legislation exempting child care providers from their property taxes. The Missouri Constitution doesn’t let lawmakers pass property tax exemptions without voter approval.

Amendment 1 was placed on the ballot last spring with bipartisan support from lawmakers in Jefferson City, who have been working to tackle the state’s child care shortage for the past few years.

States like Texas and Florida have passed similar property tax exemptions for child care facilities.  Gov. Mike Parson has made addressing the state’s child care shortage a top priority during his time in office.

During the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers came close to passing a package of incentives for child care facilities. The legislation was introduced by Republican Rep. Brenda Shields and Democratic Sen. Lauren Arthur. It would offer tax credits to Missourians who donate to child care facilities, to employers who help provide child care for employees and to child care facilities.

A 2023 investigation by the Missouri Independent and MuckRock found that almost half of all Missouri children 5 and under, or about 202,000 kids, live in child care deserts.

Some Missouri ZIP codes have more than 20 children for every available seat in a child care facility.

The exact details of the potential future exemption were unclear. The measure simply allowed the legislature to pass something in the future, with no specific plan tied to the amendment.

The Missouri State Auditor’s office surveyed taxing districts across the state to try and see what the fiscal impacts of the amendment may be. Many did not respond to the survey, but officials in Clay County estimated that they could lose approximately $721,000. Officials in Greene County, home to Springfield, estimated that the county loses about $1.4 million in revenue annually.

The State’s Blind Pension Fund estimates that it will lose about $400,000 in revenue.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation authored a 2021 study that concluded a lack of child care costs Missouri’s economy $1.35 billion annually, including $280 million in lost tax revenue. The study found that 9% of parents left the workforce due to issues with their child care.

The survey found that families paid an average of $656 per month for child care. And access to early childhood education programs is limited. The Office of Head Start’s performance report found that early Head Start programs, which serve children under 3 who are in poverty, reached only 7% of eligible Missourians.

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