House Joint Resolution 115 stalls in MO Senate, local veteran urges decision to be made

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- For the eighth year in a row, a proposed constitutional amendment to give 100% disabled veterans a full property tax exemption has failed in the Missouri Senate, and for one United States Army veteran and ICU nurse, the repeated stall isn't just disappointing, it's a betrayal of political promises.

Jonathan Thompson, a former ordnance disposal technician who served in Afghanistan, shared the toll his service has taken on his body and why he believes Joint Resolution 115 must be put to a public vote.

"I'm 30 years old, having to get my nerves burnt out of my spine already, thoracic vertebrae five through seven," Thompson said. "About every six months, I have to get a cauterization. And that's just one of many."

Thompson, who now works in emergency nursing, said his time in Afghanistan first planted the seed for a medical career.

"Worked quite closely with the hospital there. We had to meet every medevac on the flight line, had to remove explosives out of people, as the case might be sometimes. And that kind of planted the seed."

HJR 115 would have asked Missouri voters to amend the state constitution to grant a full property tax exemption to any resident veteran with a 100% service-connected disability rating.

Currently, Missouri only grants that exemption to 100% disabled veterans who were also prisoners of war, a group Thompson estimated at only about 20 people in the entire state.

"Plenty of other states around, Texas, Oklahoma, have reduced or eliminated property taxes for 100% disabled veterans," Thompson noted. "Texas doesn't have an income tax. They make up for that largely in property taxes. But for disabled veterans who aren't able to work, it prevents them from being at risk of losing a place to stay."

The resolution passed the Missouri House 152 to 2.

"At that point, I would consider that a mandate more than I would consider it a bill," Thompson said.

But when HJR 115 reached the Senate, it was never granted a committee hearing.

The legislative session expired on May 15, 2026, without a vote.

Thompson voiced his frustrations over the matter.

"In 2025, the Senate passed a very similarly worded resolution 32 to 0," he said. "It's far for me to attribute malice to anything, but it seems like a lot of the representatives would rather pay lip service than actually do what they say."

He specifically criticized certain campaign rhetoric.

"People represent and campaign for the veterans. 'Thank you for your service.' But 'thank you for your service' isn't policy."

Unlike a standard law, HJR 115 was a constitutional amendment resolution, meaning even after passing the House and Senate, it would have gone to voters on the November 2026 ballot.

Thompson emphasized that point.

"It wouldn't even be a law signed by the governor. It would let the people of Missouri decide," he said. "As long as the people of Missouri vote yes, it changes the Missouri Constitution. They need to let the people of Missouri decide, rather than let it die in the shadows."

Thompson moved back to Missouri from Texas, where he said veteran property tax benefits are far stronger.

"That was a very hard pill to swallow, knowing I would be coming back from a state that doesn't have property taxes to one that taxes quite heavily," he said.

Thompson acknowledged that some critics ask why disabled veterans should get a benefit that other struggling residents do not.

"You have to start somewhere," he said. "You can't just ask for everything at the beginning. You need to get the ball rolling slowly, build on top of things. You just reach a hand up to help another person. There are people out there that are not able to work. Friends of mine that were blown up in Afghanistan and quite literally physically cannot work anymore. All they can do is stay at their house and be attended to by other people."

Thompson said he and other veterans will continue pushing for the bill in future sessions, but a resolution is "long overdue."

You can read more on the bill here.