ONE MAN SEEKS 120,000 VOTERS

The attorney general and secretary of state have approved wording for a petition a Jefferson City man wants on the November 1996 ballot.

Now all Frank Rycyk Jr., 50, needs is 120,000 registered voters to sign his petition, which would put his proposal on the ballot.

Rycyk's proposal would require voter approval of all state tax increases before they are enacted.

The General Assembly has passed a general election ballot issue that would force a popular vote on tax increases of $50 million or 1 percent of the general revenue.

But Rycyk says the legislative proposal appearing on the November 1996 ballot wasn't satisfactory and gave lawmakers too much leeway.

"I think the people should have a voice every step of the way," he said.

Rycyk doesn't have a political background. His education was in plant science, but he currently works in food service. Writing some letters to the editor of the local newspaper and participating on a city committee are the only political activities he has taken part in.

"I don't observe party lines so that limits me in what I participate in," he said.

Rycyk's proposal sounds similar to the Hancock II amendment defeated in November 1994. Rep. Mel Hancock, R-Springfield, proposed making tax and fee increases subject to a popular vote.

The proposal failed after lawmakers and others, including Gov. Mel Carnahan, campaigned against it, saying it would stifle state government because of its retroactive element.

Officials contacted about the measure said Rycyk's proposal is noble but that he has a long way to go before getting the measure on the ballot.

The governor's spokesman, Chris Sifford, said he will reserve judgment on the proposal because Rycyk officially hasn't begun his petition drive.

"The governor along with the Missouri Farm Bureau got a proposal for tax limitation on the ballot," Sifford said. "We would oppose anything that looked like Hancock II, but we have made sure that all major tax increases go to a vote of the people."

Hancock II would have mandated significant cuts in government. The cuts would have negated some taxes already implemented, causing the elimination of some government services, officials argued.

At this point, Rycyk's proposal doesn't have a retroactive element.

Rycyk said he wrote to Hancock last week outlining his proposal and hopes Hancock will lend a hand to his one-man campaign.

"By myself, I really don't have much of an organization to pull this off," Rycyk said. "I've thought of chickening out, but I'm planning to do this right this moment. I'm hoping to pull off a real grass-roots effort."

A spokesman for Hancock said the congressman hasn't received the letter and would reserve judgment.

State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, said the tax limitation proposal passed during the last term consisted of the "tightest restrictions we could get out of the term."

Kinder added, "If these folks can do this by initiative, more power to them."

Rycyk must collect the signatures of an estimated 120,000 registered voters before July 5 if he wants his proposal on the November 1996 ballot.

The number of signatures required is figured by using 8 percent of the popular vote in six of the nine congressional districts from the last general election. More than 2.3 million people cast ballots in November 1994.