(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has revived a potential initiative for a light rail system in Kansas City.
The court ruled Tuesday that the proposed transportation tax initiative had wrongly been blocked in 2011.
Activist Clay Chastain had gathered initiative petition signatures in support for the three-eighths-cent sales tax. But the City Council refused to place it on the ballot. The council said it failed to provide enough money to pay for the projects. A judge agreed with the city in ruling that the measure violated the Missouri Constitution.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that the initiative was not an unconstitutional appropriation. It sent the case back to a trial court to consider Chastain’s request for a judicial order requiring the city to place it on the ballot.
Activist Clay Chastain had gathered initiative petition signatures in support for the three-eighths-cent sales tax. But the City Council refused to place it on the ballot. The council said it failed to provide enough money to pay for the projects. A judge agreed with the city in ruling that the measure violated the Missouri Constitution.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that the initiative was not an unconstitutional appropriation. It sent the case back to a trial court to consider Chastain’s request for a judicial order requiring the city to place it on the ballot.
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