Missouri voters will head to the polls in August to cast ballots on Amendment One, which is an extension of Missouri’s parks, soils and water sales tax.
The one-tenth of one percent sales tax was created through a constitutional amendment in 1984 and it’s been reapproved by voters four times: in 1988, 1996, 2006 and 2016. Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) director Kurt Schaefer tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Missouri” that the tax generates about $136-million annually:
“That gets split in half. So 50 percent goes to our 93 state parks and historic sites and pretty much entirely funds our state parks system. So that’s about 68-million dollars,” he says.
Director Schaefer says the other half goes to Missouri soil and water conservation districts.
DNR director Schaefer tells listeners that before the measure passed in 1984, Missouri was one of the top states for soil loss:
“We had one of the worst erosion rates for topsoil in the country. And since this has passed and that program has been put in place, we are now one of the best states in the country for preserving and preventing soil erosion,” says Schaefer.
You can listen to the full “Wake Up” interview with DNR director Schaefer here.