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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[TRULY AGREED TO AND FINALLY PASSED]
SENATE BILL NO. 1119
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
2026
5009S.01T
AN ACT
To amend chapter 21, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to the appointment and
duties of commissioners to attend an Article V convention.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 21, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto 1
one new section, to be known as section 21.950, to read as 2
follows:3
21.950. 1. When a convention is called to propose 1
amendments to the United States Constitution pursuant to 2
Article V of the United States Constitution, the selection 3
and participation of commissioners from Missouri to such 4
convention shall be governed by this section. 5
2. (1) Missouri shall have a number of commissioners 6
equal to the number of congressional districts in the state 7
at the time with one commissioner from each congressional 8
district and a number of alternate commissioners equal to 9
the number of congressional districts in the state at the 10
time with one alternate commissioner from each congressional 11
district. 12
(2) Commissioners and alternates shall be residents of 13
the state of Missouri and shall otherwise meet the same 14
qualifications necessary to hold office in the Missouri 15
house of representatives. Commissioners and alternates may 16
include persons holding public office, subject to further 17
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limits described below, except that no person shall be 18
eligible who is: 19
(a) A member of the United States House of 20
Representatives or Senate; 21
(b) An employee of the United States; 22
(c) An employee or other representative of a 23
contractor with the United States; or 24
(d) An elected official holding a statewide office. 25
Commissioners and alternates are also subject to those 26
existing ethics rules that apply to members of the general 27
assembly. 28
(3) The house of representatives and senate shall 29
select, by adoption of a concurrent resolution, the 30
commissioners and alternates who meet the eligibility 31
requirements described in this section and who are submitted 32
to the house of representatives and the senate by the joint 33
legislative committee as provided in subsection 4 of this 34
section. Of the commissioners, at least one-third shall not 35
be sitting members of the general assembly. Of the 36
alternate commissioners, at least one-third shall not be 37
sitting members of the general assembly. 38
(4) A majority of the commissioners shall constitute a 39
quorum for all decisions made by the delegation, and no 40
commissioner may give his or her vote by proxy or otherwise 41
to any other commissioner. The commissioners shall select a 42
chair to administer the work of the commissioners. 43
3. (1) Each commissioner and alternate shall, by oath 44
or affirmation as a condition of participating in the 45
convention, agree to faithfully and impartially discharge 46
all the duties incumbent upon a commissioner, including the 47
duty to abide by instructions established by concurrent 48
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resolution of the general assembly for participation in the 49
convention and the duty to act only within the scope of the 50
general assembly's application for the convention if 51
Missouri applied for the convention in which the 52
commissioners are participating. Each commissioner and 53
alternate shall further agree to immediately notify the 54
joint legislative committee if he or she believes that any 55
Missouri commissioner or alternate has violated his or her 56
oath or instructions while participating in the convention. 57
(2) Prior to the Article V convention, the general 58
assembly shall consider "Recommended Commissioner 59
Instructions" presented to it by the joint legislative 60
committee as discussed further in subsection 4 of this 61
section and shall by concurrent resolution provide duly 62
approved instructions to the commissioners and alternates 63
regarding the scope of matters the commissioners may 64
consider and vote on at the convention, including rules of 65
procedure and proposed amendments. Such instructions may be 66
changed by the general assembly prior to or during the 67
convention. These instructions shall include, but shall not 68
be limited to: 69
(a) An instruction that the commissioners shall not 70
support any voting rule other than the rule whereby each 71
state exercises one vote; and 72
(b) An instruction that on all voting matters at the 73
convention, the decision of a simple majority of the 74
Missouri commissioners shall constitute a single vote for 75
the state of Missouri. 76
(3) Any vote cast by a commissioner or alternate at an 77
Article V convention that is outside the scope of any of the 78
following is an unauthorized vote and is therefore void: 79
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(a) The instructions established by any concurrent 80
resolution adopted under this section; or 81
(b) Any limits identified in the Missouri general 82
assembly's application for the convention. 83
4. (1) After or near the time an Article V convention 84
is called, a joint legislative committee shall be duly 85
authorized by the general assembly for the purposes 86
described in this section. The joint legislative committee 87
shall be comprised of five members of the senate appointed 88
by the president pro tempore of the senate, with three 89
members from the majority party and two members from the 90
minority party, and five members of the house of 91
representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of 92
representatives, with three members from the majority party 93
and two members from the minority party, and shall have the 94
initial task of recommending eligible commissioners to the 95
house of representatives and the senate for consideration of 96
appointment as commissioners. The joint legislative 97
committee shall submit at least three persons from each 98
congressional district who are eligible, as provided in this 99
section, to serve as commissioners and at least three 100
different persons from each congressional district who are 101
eligible, as provided in this section, to serve as alternate 102
commissioners. The house of representatives and the senate 103
shall select a commissioner and alternate commissioner from 104
each congressional district from the names submitted by the 105
joint legislative committee. The joint legislative 106
committee shall also be charged with presenting "Recommended 107
Commissioner Instructions" to the full general assembly for 108
consideration leading to a concurrent resolution as 109
discussed in subdivision (2) of subsection 3 of this 110
section. Such commissioner instructions shall define the 111
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scope of matters the commissioners may consider and vote on 112
at the Article V convention, including rules of procedure 113
and proposed amendments as discussed more fully in 114
subsection 3 of this section. All recommendations that 115
secure a simple majority vote of the members present shall 116
be deemed approved "Recommended Commissioner Instructions" 117
to be submitted to the full general assembly for its 118
consideration. 119
(2) After commissioners have been selected, the joint 120
legislative committee may recall any commissioner and revoke 121
such commissioner's authority. However, the joint 122
legislative committee shall recall and revoke the authority 123
only in the event the commissioner casts or attempts to cast 124
an unauthorized vote as described in this section. The 125
joint legislative committee shall also appoint one of the 126
selected alternates to take the place of a commissioner so 127
recalled. The joint legislative committee shall promptly 128
investigate any notice that a commissioner or alternate has 129
cast an unauthorized vote or otherwise exceeded the scope of 130
the general assembly's application for the convention or the 131
general assembly's instructions to the commissioners. The 132
joint legislative committee shall act to ensure that the 133
commissioners remain faithful to the terms of the convention 134
application and the general assembly's instructions. Before 135
or during the Article V convention, the joint legislative 136
committee may advise the commissioners on questions that 137
arise regarding the scope of the convention and the 138
legislative instructions to commissioners. 139
(3) By concurrent resolution, the general assembly may 140
change or supersede any action of the joint legislative 141
committee or recall commissioners or alternates to the 142
convention, or appoint new commissioners or alternates. 143
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(4) The joint legislative committee shall be 144
authorized to conduct its business via telephone or by 145
electronic communication. 146
5. If the provisions of this section conflict with the 147
rules or procedures established by the Article V convention, 148
the general assembly may, by concurrent resolution, conform 149
these provisions to such rules or procedures. 150
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