Missouri Supreme Court strikes down 2022 vote on Kansas City police funding
The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday took the unusual step of striking down a 2022 voter-approved constitutional amendment that required Kansas City to spend a larger percentage of its money on the police department, and ordered that the issue go back before voters in November.
The ruling overturns a ballot measure approved by 63% of voters in November 2022. It required the city to spend 25% of general revenue on police, up from the previous 20% requirement.
Democratic Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas filed suit in 2023, alleging that voters were misled because the ballot language used false financial estimates in the fiscal note summary.
The lawsuit stated that Kansas City leaders had informed state officials prior to the November 2022 election that the ballot measure would cost the city nearly $39 million and require cuts in other services. But the fiscal note summary stated that “local governmental entities estimate no additional costs or savings related to this proposal.”