FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Contact: Laura Egerdal, (573) 526-0949
Contact: Abe Rakov, (573) 526-4734

Initiative Petitions Relating to Earnings Taxes, Dog Breeders Certified for November 2010 Ballot

Jefferson City, MO – Secretary of State Robin Carnahan today announced that two initiative petitions have been certified to appear on the November 2010 ballot.

Missouri voters will have the opportunity to decide on the two ballot measures, a statutory amendment relating to earnings taxes and a statutory amendment relating to dog breeders.

The petition relating to earnings taxes reads:

Shall Missouri law be amended to:


repeal the authority of certain cities to use earnings taxes to fund their budgets;

require voters in cities that currently have an earnings tax to approve continuation of such tax at the next general municipal election and at an election held every 5 years thereafter;

require any current earnings tax that is not approved by the voters to be phased out over a period of 10 years; and

prohibit any city from adding a new earnings tax to fund their budget?

The proposal could eliminate certain city earnings taxes. For 2010, Kansas City and the City of St. Louis budgeted earnings tax revenue of $199.2 million and $141.2 million, respectively. Reduced earnings tax deductions could increase state revenues by $4.8 million. The total cost or savings to state and local governmental entities is unknown.

The petition relating to dog breeders reads:

Shall Missouri law be amended to:


require large-scale dog breeding operations to provide each dog under their care with sufficient food, clean water, housing and space; necessary veterinary care; regular exercise and adequate rest between breeding cycles;

prohibit any breeder from having more than 50 breeding dogs for the purpose of selling their puppies as pets; and

create a misdemeanor crime of “puppy mill cruelty” for any violations?

It is estimated state governmental entities will incur costs of $654,768 (on-going costs of $521,356 and one-time costs of $133,412). Some local governmental entities may experience costs related to enforcement activities and savings related to reduced animal care activities.

For a petition seeking to change a Missouri statute, valid signatures from registered voters equal to five (5) percent of the total votes cast in the 2008 governor's election from six of the state's nine congressional districts must be submitted. Depending on the combination of districts, the number of signatures required ranges between approximately 91,818 and 99,600 valid signatures.

Two other initiative petitions were not certified for the November 2010 ballot due to an insufficient number of valid signatures.

A Constitutional Amendment relating to real estate taxation had a sufficient number of valid signatures in four of the six required Congressional Districts.

A Constitutional Amendment relating to repealing the nonpartisan court plan had a sufficient number of valid signatures in one of the six required Congressional Districts.

For a petition seeking to change the Missouri Constitution, valid signatures from registered voters equal to eight (8) percent of the total votes cast in the 2008 governor's election from six of the state's nine congressional districts must be submitted. Depending on the combination of districts, the number of signatures required ranges between approximately 146,907 and 159,359 valid signatures for each petition.

Ballot language and full text for the issues is available on the Secretary of State’s website at http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/2010petitions/10init_pet.asp.

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To find out more about Missouri’s Secretary of State’s office, visit www.sos.mo.gov

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