West Plains, MO. – The Midterm Elections will be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. With less than 3 weeks until Election Day, Ozark Radio News will be helping to educate voters on the four Amendments and the Constitutional question on the ballot. The first in this Election Day Breakdown series will begin at the top with Amendment 1.
What is Amendment 1?
Amendment 1 could be called the State Treasurer Investment Expansion amendment. In short, the amendment will expand what investments the State Treasurer is allowed to invest in and change who the State Treasurer must ask for approval of future changes. The amendment will be worded on ballots as follows:
Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:
- allow the General Assembly to override the current constitutional restrictions of state investments by the state treasurer; and
- allow state investments in municipal securities possessing one of the top five highest long-term ratings or the highest short term rating?
State governmental entities estimate no costs and increased interest revenue of $2 million per year. Local governmental entities estimate no costs and increased interest revenue of at least $34,000 per year.
Fair Ballot Language on Amendment 1 from Secretary of State John Ashcroft:
A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to grant the General Assembly statutory authority to invest state funds and expand the state treasurer’s investment options. Currently the Constitution grants the General Assembly no statutory investment authority and limits the treasurer’s investment options. This amendment will allow the General Assembly by statute to determine investment avenues for the state treasurer to invest state funds, as well as allow the state treasurer to invest in municipal securities.
A “no” vote will not amend the Missouri Constitution and limit the treasurer to investing state funds only in those investment options currently approved by the Constitution.
If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes.
What are the currently approved options?
(From Treasurer.mo.gov) The Missouri State Treasurer determines the amount of State funds not needed for current operating expenses and invests those funds. They are invested in:
- Interest-bearing time deposits in Missouri banks
- United States Treasury and federal agency securities
- Repurchase agreements
- Top-rated commercial paper
https://treasurer.mo.gov/Invest/Investpolicy.pdf
What are the risks?
The largest risks with the securities are typically associated with long-term (20 year+) bonds. These include inflation and interest rate fluctuations. Massive rises in interest rates or inflation could see a lower return on investments. These are not seen as likely threats for bonds that have short-term ratings.
Another risk of this amendment is it removes the requirement for the State Treasurer to ask for approval by state voters to ask in different investments. This would modify the requirement so that the State Treasurer would have to ask the state legislature for approval instead.
Who supports this amendment?
The bill was introduced by Rep. Aaron Griesheimer (R-Washington) on January 7, 2021. The bill was was voted 156-1 in the Missouri House and 36-0 in the Missouri Senate. The bill was delivered to the Secretary Ashcroft on May 25, 2021. The only “NO” vote was from Rep. Andrew McDaniel (R-Deering). https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Elections/Petitions//HCSHJR35-SignedCopy.pdf
Who is the State Treasurer? Scott Fitzpatrick, who is currently running for State Auditor.
The state auditor’s office determines if tax dollars are spent efficiently, economically and legally, and how well public funds are protected from potential fraud or abuse. The audits are categorized into five types: state government, performance, petition, county and special county audits.
