MO Education Watch
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MO Education Watch
@MOEdWatch
Tracking Missouri Education Policy. Contributing to Local Control MO Substack and @armorvine



Unforgettable Friday night at the ArmorVine Awards Gala! Grateful to connect with Missouri's champions safeguarding our freedoms and liberties. Inspired by their passion and dedication! Heartfelt thanks to Stacy Shore, Lisa Pannett, Gail Griswold, and Gary Schneider for organizing this incredible event! #moleg


"Toll roads? That's nuts." We've heard that a few times this week. So let's lay out the facts and let you decide whether it's a fair question. 1. Missouri has a wall against toll roads, and it's in the Constitution. Article IV dedicates taxes on vehicles and fuel to roads and bridges — and forbids that money being diverted anywhere else. In 1968, the Missouri Supreme Court used those provisions to strike down the legislature's toll road law unanimously (Pohl v. State Highway Commission). Voters then rejected statewide toll road amendments twice, in 1970 and 1992. That's the wall. Courts built it. Voters reinforced it. Twice. 2. Amendment 5 reaches into that wall. Read the text: revenue from the sales tax expansion "shall be exempt from the provisions of Article IV, Sections 30(b), 30(c), and 30(d)." Those are the road fund protections. Ask yourself why a tax amendment needs an exemption from the highway article at all. You don't exempt yourself from a rule you never expect to trigger. 3. A toll bill was filed in Jefferson City — this session. HJR 194 (February 2026) would have authorized state funds to build and operate toll roads on Missouri's interstates and four-lane highways, and exempted the toll money from the Hancock Amendment's definitions. It died in committee. But it was filed. In the same building. In the same session that put Amendment 5 on your ballot. Using the same exemption toolkit. 4. Here's the part that should stop you. The last time the legislature asked Missourians to fund roads through a general sales tax — Amendment 7 in 2014 — the drafters wrote an anti-toll guarantee directly into the text. No tolls while the tax is in effect. In writing. Its champion was then-Senator Mike Kehoe. "There's nothing tricky that we're trying to hide here," he said. Governor Kehoe signed the proclamation putting Amendment 5 on your August 4 ballot. Amendment 5 contains no toll guarantee. None. We are not predicting toll roads. Amendment 5 does not authorize them. We're asking a simpler question: The drafters of this amendment were careful enough to find the marijuana tax and write an exception for it. Careful enough to shield school funding. Careful enough to waive Sections 30(b), (c), and (d) — but not 30(a), because 30(a) didn't get in their way. These people account for every line. So why is the one line that fit in 2014 — no tolls — missing in 2026? Ask them. Before August 4, not after. 📖 Full breakdown with every source: #exhibit-three" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">act4mo.org/posts/every-ex…











Off to Georgia and proudly displaying that I am Team America First 🇺🇸🇺🇸 The Brandon Straka Show will be launching in the next week and I have some interviews with BIG voices in the world of politics, culture, and entertainment coming your way! Details coming. STAY TUNED!! 👊

Amendment 5 - Nuggets of Truth Know the language of the amendment you will be voting on. Eliminating the state income tax would be great. But, are the TV ads and mailers telling the truth? For more information go here: senatorjoenicola.com/page/amendment…




Amendment 5 - Nuggets of Truth Know the language of the amendment you will be voting on. Eliminating the state income tax would be great. But, are the TV ads and mailers telling the truth? For more information go here: senatorjoenicola.com/page/amendment…




@MOEdWatch Has anyone answered the question about why they placed language in A5 that may affect Mo road & transportation fund protections? Why would that be in this amendment? Just some notes I took, plus the info you provided previously. @MissouriGOP





