Historical October 1982 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Missouri voters will be asked to approve Constitutional Amendment No. 11 along with 11 other separate statewide items on the Nov. 2 ballot. Amendment No. 11 will reduce the two-thirds requirement to a majority of four-sevenths for passage of general obligation bond issues to finance capital improvements in the St. Louis, St. Louis County and Kansas City metropolitan areas.
All constitutional amendments must be approved statewide even though Amendment No. 11 only affects the two major metropolitan areas in the state. Passage of the Amendment by a simple majority will still require any increase in bonded debt authorization to be subject to a vote of the people.
The only change is that an increase in a general obligation bond issue could be approved by 57.1 percent of the voters instead of the present requirement of 66 and two-thirds percent of the voters.
According to information prepared by the Urban Issues Committee, a committee which has prepared factual information on Amendment No. 11, the need for this change in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas is based on the heavy concentration of population which results in more intense use of public buildings and facilities as well as roads, streets and bridges.
With the present two-thirds requirement, the City of St. Louis has passed only two general obligation bond issues proposed. Five which failed received a 60 percent majority.
Because of the failure of these issues in St. Louis city and the failure of other issues in the County over the last 12 years, the St. Louis metropolitan area has shown a great need for new jail facilities, renovation of hospitals and money to resurface residential streets. School districts will also benefit by approval of Amendment No. 11.
While few if any new school buildings are needed in a period of enrollment decline, bond issues can be used to renovate older buildings and to make existing facilities more energy efficient.
On June 8 of this year, the St. Louis public schools proposed a bond issue which would have provided money to maintain the over 150 school buildings whose average age is approximately 50 years. That attempt failed even though over 50 percent of the voters approved the issue.
It is interesting to note that the existing two-thirds majority requirement applies only to local governments in Missouri.
The state, however, needs only a simple majority for approval of its bond issues, such as the $600 million bond issue which voters approved in June. That bond issue will provide money for state construction and maintenance. Presently, four other states require a two-thirds majority vote for local governments to issue general obligation bonds.
They are California, Georgia, Idaho and Kentucky.
In Missouri, the two-thirds requirement for passage of bond issues at the local level was placed in the Missouri Constitution in 1875, apparently as a result of scandals which occurred in the sales of railroad bonds in cities throughout the state.
Since that period, however, other effective restraints on public indebtedness have been developed. Bonds sold in the open market must be rated by agencies such as Moody or Standard & Poor which grade municipalities on their ability to repay the bonds.
This system did not exist in 1875 when the twothirds requirement was adopted for local governments. Presently, any bond issue proposed to the voters must include the cost of the project, how the proceeds will be spent and whether or not a tax increase will be necessary.
Because of the large number of issues on the Nov. 2 ballot, including a one-cent sales tax increase (which will provide additional revenues for public schools and will reduce the property tax rate in each school district), and a four percent per gallon motor fuel tax increase (to be used to restore county, city and state roads and bridges), voters should be certain to review each constitutional amendment and proposition prior to voting. Information on each issue can be obtained at the secretary of state’s office in Jefferson City or by contacting the League of Women Voters at 429-6880.
Originally published in The Neighborhood Paper, October 1982.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: The printed text says a four percent per gallon motor fuel tax increase; retained as printed rather than silently changing percent to cents.
Original source: SD_Times1982_10.pdf, printed page(s) 4; PDF page(s) 4.
