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Read. Follow. Verify.House Bill 1790 requires property tax ballot measures to express changes in dollars per $100,000 of market value
Last action · May 4, 2026: SCS Voted Do Pass (S)Sponsor: Jim Murphy
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What This Bill Would Do
House Bill 1790 requires any local ballot measure seeking to add, change, or modify a real property tax to express the proposed change in real dollars owed per one hundred thousand dollars of market value. The bill also mandates numerical or alphabetical labeling for property tax ballot measures without descriptive text, and sets detailed procedures for state auditor review of local tax rate calculations.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Taxpayers
Property owners will see proposed tax changes stated in dollar amounts per one hundred thousand dollars of valuation on ballots and gain rights to challenge non-compliant tax rates.
Political Subdivisions
Counties, municipalities, and special districts must follow strict calculation methods for tax rate ceilings and submit substantiating data to the state auditor.
Election Authorities
Local election officials must label tax ballot measures numerically or alphabetically without descriptive text and coordinate assignments.
School Districts
School districts must calculate proposed tax rates as a blended rate across property subclasses for state aid and railroad/utility property determinations.
Key Facts
- Ballot measures seeking to add, change, or modify a real property tax must express the effect in real dollars owed per one hundred thousand dollars of market valuation.
- Election authorities must label taxation ballot measures numerically or alphabetically in the order submitted, without descriptive labeling outside of the designation.
- Taxing authorities must calculate and set tax rates using the calculation that produces the lowest tax rate ceiling, complying with state constitutional limits.
- The state auditor must examine submitted tax rate information and debt service compliance within fifteen days of receipt.
Show all 8 facts
- If the state auditor determines a proposed tax rate does not comply with Missouri law, the findings are referred to the attorney general for injunctive relief.
- Taxpayers may file a formal complaint with the county prosecuting attorney if they believe a taxing authority failed to comply with tax rate provisions.
- Courts may assess reasonable costs and attorney's fees against taxing authorities found in violation of property tax rate rules in class actions brought by taxpayers.
- School districts must determine proposed tax rates as a blended rate of the classes or subclasses of property for state aid calculations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How will property tax ballot measures appear on the ballot under this bill?
What happens if a taxing authority proposes an illegal tax rate?
Can taxpayers challenge non-compliant tax rates?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
25 actions- May 4, 2026SenateCommitteeSCS Voted Do Pass (S)
- Apr 20, 2026SenateExecutive Session Held (S)
- Apr 20, 2026SenatePublic Hearing Held (S)
- Apr 17, 2026SenatePublic Hearing Scheduled (S)
- Mar 12, 2026SenateCommitteeSecond read and referred: Local Government, Elections and Pensions(S)
- Feb 23, 2026SenateReported to the Senate and First Read (S)
Show 19 earlier actions
- Feb 23, 2026HouseFloorThird Read and Passed (H)
- Feb 23, 2026HouseTaken Up for Third Reading (H)
- Feb 18, 2026HousePerfected with Amendments (H)
- Feb 18, 2026HouseHCS Adopted (H)
- Feb 18, 2026HouseTitle of Bill - Agreed To
- Feb 18, 2026HouseTaken Up for Perfection (H)
- Feb 16, 2026HousePlaced on the Informal Perfection Calendar (H)
- Feb 10, 2026HouseCommitteeReported Do Pass (H)
- Feb 10, 2026HouseCommitteeVoted Do Pass (H)
- Feb 10, 2026HouseExecutive Session Completed (H)
- Jan 29, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred: Rules - Administrative(H)
- Jan 28, 2026HouseCommitteeHCS Reported Do Pass (H)
- Jan 22, 2026HouseCommitteeHCS Voted Do Pass (H)
- Jan 22, 2026HouseExecutive Session Completed (H)
- Jan 15, 2026HousePublic Hearing Completed (H)
- Jan 8, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred: Government Efficiency(H)
- Jan 8, 2026HouseFloorRead Second Time (H)
- Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroducedRead First Time (H)
- Dec 1, 2025HouseIntroducedPrefiled (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Standardized Ballot Presentation for Property Taxes
HB 1790 shifts local property tax ballot measures toward uniform numerical/alphabetical labeling and mandates standardized dollar-impact phrasing per $100,000 of valuation.
Connected Entities
Sources
house.mo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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