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EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1615
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BRATTIN.
6928S.03I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 116.155 as enacted by senate bill no. 22, one hundred third general assembly,
first regular session, section 116.155 as enacted by house bill no. 676, ninetieth general
assembly, first regular session, section 116.160 as enacted by senate bill no. 22, one
hundred third general assembly, first regular session, section 116.160 as enacted by
house bill no. 676, ninetieth general assembly, first regular session, section 116.190 as
enacted by senate bill no. 22, one hundred third general assembly, first regular session,
section 116.190 as enacted by senate bill no. 104, ninety-eighth general assembly, first
regular session, section 116.334 as enacted by senate bill no. 22, one hundred third
general assembly, first regular session, and section 116.334 as enacted by house bill no.
117, ninety-seventh general assembly, first regular session, and to enact in lieu thereof
four new sections relating to ballot titles for statewide ballot measures.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 116.155 as enacted by senate bill no. 1
22, one hundred third general assembly, first regular session, 2
section 116.155 as enacted by house bill no. 676, ninetieth 3
general assembly, first regular session, section 116.160 as 4
enacted by senate bill no. 22, one hundred third general 5
assembly, first regular session, section 116.160 as enacted by 6
house bill no. 676, ninetieth general assembly, first regular 7
session, section 116.190 as enacted by senate bill no. 22, one 8
hundred third general assembly, first regular session, section 9
116.190 as enacted by senate bill no. 104, ninety-eighth general 10
assembly, first regular session, section 116.334 as enacted by 11
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senate bill no. 22, one hundred third general assembly, first 12
regular session, and section 116.334 as enacted by house bill 13
no. 117, ninety -seventh general assembly, first regular 14
session, are repealed and four new sections enacted in lieu 15
thereof, to be known as sections 116.155, 116.160, 116.190, and 16
116.334, to read as follows:17
[116.155. 1. The general assembly may 1
include the official summary statement and a 2
fiscal note summary in any statewide ballot 3
measure that it refers to the voters. 4
2. The official summary statement approved 5
by the general assembly shall, taken together 6
with the approved fiscal note summary, be the 7
official ballot title and such summary statement 8
shall contain no more than one hundred words, 9
excluding articles. The title shall be a true 10
and impartial statement of the purposes of the 11
proposed measure in language neither 12
intentionally argumentative nor likely to create 13
prejudice either for or against the proposed 14
measure. 15
3. The fiscal note summary approved by the 16
general assembly shall contain no more than 17
fifty words, excluding articles, which shall 18
summarize the fiscal note prepared for the 19
measure in language neither argumentative nor 20
likely to create prejudice for or against the 21
proposed measure.] 22
116.155. 1. The general assembly may include the 1
official summary statement and a fiscal note summary in any 2
statewide ballot measure that it refers to the voters. 3
2. The official summary statement approved by the 4
general assembly shall, taken together with the approved 5
fiscal note summary, be the official ballot title and such 6
summary statement shall contain no more than [fifty] one 7
hundred words, excluding articles. The title shall be a 8
true and impartial statement of the purposes of the proposed 9
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measure in language neither intentionally argumentative nor 10
likely to create prejudice either for or against the 11
proposed measure. 12
3. The fiscal note summary approved by the general 13
assembly shall contain no more than fifty words, excluding 14
articles, which shall summarize the fiscal note prepared for 15
the measure in language neither argumentative nor likely to 16
create prejudice for or against the proposed measure. 17
[116.160. 1. If the general assembly 1
adopts a joint resolution proposing a 2
constitutional amendment or a bill without a 3
fiscal note summary, which is to be referred to 4
a vote of the people, after receipt of such 5
resolution or bill the secretary of state shall 6
promptly forward the resolution or bill to the 7
state auditor. If the general assembly adopts a 8
joint resolution proposing a constitutional 9
amendment or a bill without an official summary 10
statement, which is to be referred to a vote of 11
the people, within twenty days after receipt of 12
the resolution or bill, the secretary of state 13
shall prepare and transmit to the attorney 14
general a summary statement of the measure as 15
the proposed summary statement. The secretary 16
of state may seek the advice of the legislator 17
who introduced the constitutional amendment or 18
bill and the speaker of the house or the 19
president pro tem of the legislative chamber 20
that originated the measure. The summary 21
statement may be distinct from the legislative 22
title of the proposed constitutional amendment 23
or bill. The attorney general shall within ten 24
days approve the legal content and form of the 25
proposed statement. 26
2. If the general assembly adopts a joint 27
resolution proposing a constitutional amendment 28
or statutory measure that includes an official 29
summary statement, the statement shall appear on 30
the ballot, unless it is challenged pursuant to 31
section 116.190, in which case the provisions of 32
that section shall apply. 33
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3. The official summary statement shall 34
contain no more than one hundred words, 35
excluding articles. The title shall be a true 36
and impartial statement of the purposes of the 37
proposed measure in language neither 38
intentionally argumentative nor likely to create 39
prejudice either for or against the proposed 40
measure.] 41
116.160. 1. If the general assembly adopts a joint 1
resolution proposing a constitutional amendment or a bill 2
without a fiscal note summary, which is to be referred to a 3
vote of the people, after receipt of such resolution or bill 4
the secretary of state shall promptly forward the resolution 5
or bill to the state auditor. If the general assembly 6
adopts a joint resolution proposing a constitutional 7
amendment or a bill without an official summary statement, 8
which is to be referred to a vote of the people, within 9
twenty days after receipt of the resolution or bill, the 10
secretary of state shall prepare and transmit to the 11
attorney general a summary statement of the measure as the 12
proposed summary statement. The secretary of state may seek 13
the advice of the legislator who introduced the 14
constitutional amendment or bill and the speaker of the 15
house or the president pro tem of the legislative chamber 16
that originated the measure. The summary statement may be 17
distinct from the legislative title of the proposed 18
constitutional amendment or bill. The attorney general 19
shall within ten days approve the legal content and form of 20
the proposed statement. 21
2. If the general assembly adopts a joint resolution 22
proposing a constitutional amendment or statutory measure 23
that includes an official summary statement, the statement 24
shall appear on the ballot, unless it is challenged pursuant 25
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to section 116.190, in which case the provisions of that 26
section shall apply. 27
3. The official summary statement shall contain no 28
more than [fifty] one hundred words, excluding articles. 29
The title shall be a true and impartial statement of the 30
purposes of the proposed measure in language neither 31
intentionally argumentative nor likely to create prejudice 32
either for or against the proposed measure. 33
[116.190. 1. Any citizen who wishes to 1
challenge the official ballot title or the 2
fiscal note prepared for a proposed 3
constitutional amendment submitted by the 4
general assembly, by initiative petition, or by 5
constitutional convention, or for a statutory 6
initiative or referendum measure, may bring an 7
action in the circuit court of Cole County. The 8
action shall be brought within ten days after 9
the official ballot title is certified by the 10
secretary of state in accordance with the 11
provisions of this chapter, in the case of an 12
initiative petition and not later than the 13
twenty-second Tuesday prior to the general 14
election at which the ballot measure will be 15
submitted to the voters, in the case of all 16
other statewide ballot measures. 17
2. The secretary of state shall be named 18
as a party defendant in any action challenging 19
the official ballot title prepared by the 20
secretary of state. When the action challenges 21
the fiscal note or the fiscal note summary 22
prepared by the auditor, the state auditor shall 23
also be named as a party defendant. The 24
president pro tem of the senate, the speaker of 25
the house and the sponsor of the measure and the 26
secretary of state shall be the named party 27
defendants in any action challenging the 28
official summary statement, fiscal note or 29
fiscal note summary prepared pursuant to section 30
116.155. 31
3. The petition shall state the reason or 32
reasons why the summary statement portion of the 33
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official ballot title is insufficient or 34
unfair. Alternatively, the petition shall state 35
the reasons why the fiscal note or the fiscal 36
note summary portion of the official ballot 37
title is insufficient or unfair and shall 38
request a different fiscal note or fiscal note 39
summary portion of the official ballot title. 40
4. (1) The action shall be placed at the 41
top of the civil docket. 42
(2) (a) Insofar as the action challenges 43
the summary statement portion of the official 44
ballot title, the court shall consider the 45
petition, hear arguments, and in its decision 46
certify the summary statement portion of the 47
official ballot title to the secretary of state 48
as originally written if the court finds the 49
summary statement to be sufficient and fair. If 50
the court finds the summary statement to be 51
insufficient or unfair, the court may offer 52
suggested revisions for the summary statement to 53
remedy the legal flaws, but it shall, in its 54
decision, order the secretary of state to write 55
a first revised summary statement that is 56
sufficient and fair. 57
(b) The secretary of state shall submit a 58
first revised summary statement to the court 59
within seven days. If, after submission to the 60
court of a first revised summary statement by 61
the secretary of state, the court finds the 62
first revised summary statement to be sufficient 63
and fair, the court shall certify to the 64
secretary of state that statement and order it 65
to appear on the ballot. If the court finds the 66
first revised summary statement to be 67
insufficient or unfair, the court may offer 68
suggested revisions for the statement to remedy 69
the legal flaws, but it shall, in its decision, 70
order the secretary of state to write a second 71
revised summary statement that is sufficient and 72
fair. 73
(c) The secretary of state shall submit a 74
second revised summary statement to the court 75
within five days. If, after submission to the 76
court of a second revised summary statement by 77
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the secretary of state, the court finds the 78
second revised summary statement to be 79
sufficient and fair, the court shall certify to 80
the secretary of state that statement and order 81
it to appear on the ballot. If the court finds 82
the second revised summary statement to be 83
insufficient or unfair, the court may offer 84
suggested revisions for the statement to remedy 85
the legal flaws, but it shall, in its decision, 86
order the secretary of state to write a third 87
revised summary statement that is sufficient and 88
fair. 89
(d) The secretary of state shall submit a 90
third revised summary statement to the court 91
within three days. If, after submission to the 92
court of a third revised summary statement by 93
the secretary of state, the court finds the 94
third revised summary statement to be sufficient 95
and fair, the court shall certify to the 96
secretary of state that statement and order it 97
to appear on the ballot. If the court finds the 98
third revised summary statement to be 99
insufficient or unfair, or if the secretary of 100
state neglects or refuses to submit any of the 101
revised summary statements within the times 102
mandated by this subdivision when so ordered, 103
the court shall revise the summary statement in 104
a manner that is sufficient and fair and order 105
the secretary of state to place that summary 106
statement on the ballot with the measure. 107
(e) During all revisions as provided in 108
this subdivision, the case shall remain open. 109
(f) Any nonprevailing party may make 110
appeals as provided by law only following: 111
a. The finding of the circuit court that a 112
summary statement was sufficient and fair; or 113
b. The circuit court ordering its own 114
summary statement to be placed on the ballot 115
pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subdivision. 116
(g) Any action brought pursuant to this 117
section challenging a statewide ballot measure 118
appearing on the ballot at an election called by 119
the governor pursuant to Article XII, Section 120
2(b), Missouri Constitution, whether at the 121
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primary election or at a special election, or at 122
a special election for a referendum petition 123
measure called by the general assembly pursuant 124
to Article III, Section 52(b), Missouri 125
Constitution, shall be expedited by the court to 126
bring a resolution of the matter prior to the 127
printing of ballots. The court may shorten any 128
timeframe under this section to achieve this 129
purpose. 130
(3) Insofar as the action challenges the 131
fiscal note or the fiscal note summary portion 132
of the official ballot title, the court shall 133
consider the petition, hear arguments, and in 134
its decision, either certify the fiscal note or 135
the fiscal note summary portion of the official 136
ballot title to the secretary of state or remand 137
the fiscal note or the fiscal note summary to 138
the auditor for preparation of a new fiscal note 139
or fiscal note summary pursuant to the 140
procedures set forth in section 116.175. Any 141
party to the suit may appeal to the supreme 142
court within ten days after a circuit court 143
decision pursuant to this subdivision. 144
5. Any action brought under this section 145
that is not fully and finally adjudicated within 146
one hundred eighty days of filing, and more than 147
seventy days prior to election in which the 148
measure is to appear, including all appeals, 149
shall be extinguished, unless a court extends 150
such period upon a finding of good cause for 151
such extension. Such good cause shall consist 152
only of court-related scheduling issues and 153
shall not include requests for continuance by 154
the parties.] 155
116.190. 1. Any citizen who wishes to challenge the 1
official ballot title or the fiscal note prepared for a 2
proposed constitutional amendment submitted by the general 3
assembly, by initiative petition, or by constitutional 4
convention, or for a statutory initiative or referendum 5
measure, may bring an action in the circuit court of Cole 6
County. The action [must] shall be brought within ten days 7
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after the official ballot title is certified by the 8
secretary of state in accordance with the provisions of this 9
chapter, in the case of an initiative petition, and not 10
later than the twenty-second Tuesday prior to the general 11
election at which the ballot measure will be submitted to 12
the voters, in the case of all other statewide ballot 13
measures. 14
2. The secretary of state shall be named as a party 15
defendant in any action challenging the official ballot 16
title prepared by the secretary of state. When the action 17
challenges the fiscal note or the fiscal note summary 18
prepared by the auditor, the state auditor shall also be 19
named as a party defendant. The president pro tem of the 20
senate, the speaker of the house and the sponsor of the 21
measure and the secretary of state shall be the named party 22
defendants in any action challenging the official summary 23
statement, fiscal note or fiscal note summary prepared 24
pursuant to section 116.155. 25
3. The petition shall state the reason or reasons why 26
the summary statement portion of the official ballot title 27
is insufficient or unfair [and shall request a different 28
summary statement portion of the official ballot title]. 29
Alternatively, the petition shall state the reasons why the 30
fiscal note or the fiscal note summary portion of the 31
official ballot title is insufficient or unfair and shall 32
request a different fiscal note or fiscal note summary 33
portion of the official ballot title. 34
4. (1) The action shall be placed at the top of the 35
civil docket. 36
(2) (a) Insofar as the action challenges the summary 37
statement portion of the official ballot title, the court 38
shall consider the petition, hear arguments, and in its 39
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decision certify the summary statement portion of the 40
official ballot title to the secretary of state as 41
originally written if the court finds the summary statement 42
to be sufficient and fair. If the court finds the summary 43
statement to be insufficient or unfair, the court may offer 44
suggested revisions for the summary statement to remedy the 45
legal flaws, but it shall, in its decision, order the 46
secretary of state to write a first revised summary 47
statement that is sufficient and fair. 48
(b) The secretary of state shall submit a first 49
revised summary statement to the court within seven days if 50
the action was originated in a year ending in an odd number, 51
but within three days if the action was originated in a year 52
ending in an even number. If, after submission to the court 53
of a first revised summary statement by the secretary of 54
state, the court finds the first revised summary statement 55
to be sufficient and fair, the court shall certify to the 56
secretary of state that statement and order it to appear on 57
the ballot. If the court finds the first revised summary 58
statement to be insufficient or unfair, the court may offer 59
suggested revisions for the statement to remedy the legal 60
flaws, but it shall, in its decision, order the secretary of 61
state to write a second revised summary statement that is 62
sufficient and fair. 63
(c) The secretary of state shall submit a second 64
revised summary statement to the court within five days if 65
the action was originated in a year ending in an odd number, 66
but within two days if the action was originated in a year 67
ending in an even number. If, after submission to the court 68
of a second revised summary statement by the secretary of 69
state, the court finds the second revised summary statement 70
to be sufficient and fair, the court shall certify to the 71
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secretary of state that statement and order it to appear on 72
the ballot. If the court finds the second revised summary 73
statement to be insufficient or unfair, the court may offer 74
suggested revisions for the statement to remedy the legal 75
flaws, but it shall, in its decision, order the secretary of 76
state to write a third revised summary statement that is 77
sufficient and fair. 78
(d) The secretary of state shall submit a third 79
revised summary statement to the court within three days if 80
the action was originated in a year ending in an odd number, 81
but within one day if the action was originated in a year 82
ending in an even number. If, after submission to the court 83
of a third revised summary statement by the secretary of 84
state, the court finds the third revised summary statement 85
to be sufficient and fair, the court shall certify to the 86
secretary of state that statement and order it to appear on 87
the ballot. If the court finds the third revised summary 88
statement to be insufficient or unfair, or if the secretary 89
of state neglects or refuses to submit any of the revised 90
summary statements within the times mandated by this 91
subdivision when so ordered, the court shall revise the 92
summary statement in a manner that is sufficient and fair 93
and order the secretary of state to place that summary 94
statement on the ballot with the measure. 95
(e) During all revisions as provided in this 96
subdivision, the case shall remain open. 97
(f) Any non-prevailing party may make appeals as 98
provided by law only following: 99
a. The finding of the circuit court that a summary 100
statement was insufficient or unfair; or 101
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b. The circuit court ordering its own summary 102
statement to be placed on the ballot pursuant to paragraph 103
(d) of this subdivision. 104
(g) a. In any appeal of any decision of a circuit 105
court finding a summary statement to be sufficient and fair 106
pursuant to this subdivision, if the appellate court 107
concludes that the summary statement was in fact 108
insufficient or unfair, the appellate court shall remand the 109
summary statement to the circuit court for further 110
proceedings consistent with this subdivision. If the 111
appellate court finds the summary statement sufficient or 112
fair, the court may offer suggested revisions for the 113
summary statement to remedy the legal flaws, but the 114
appellate court shall not have authority to itself modify or 115
rewrite the summary statement. No other relief shall issue 116
from an appellate court on a challenge to a circuit court's 117
decision that a summary statement is insufficient and unfair 118
besides remanding the judgment to the circuit court for 119
further proceedings consistent with this section. 120
b. Notwithstanding subparagraph a of this paragraph to 121
the contrary, if an action brought under this section has 122
not been fully and finally adjudicated within one hundred 123
fifty-two days of filing, or if there are less than ninety- 124
eight days prior to the election at which the measure is to 125
appear, the provisions of subparagraph a of this paragraph 126
requiring the appellate court to remand the summary 127
statement to the circuit court shall not apply and an appeal 128
to the supreme court shall be permitted. If, upon such 129
appeal, the supreme court finds the summary statement 130
insufficient or unfair, the court may offer suggested 131
revisions for the summary statement to remedy the legal 132
flaws, but the supreme court shall not have authority to 133
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itself modify or rewrite the summary statement. No other 134
relief shall issue from the supreme court on a challenge to 135
a circuit court's decision that a summary statement is 136
sufficient and fair besides remanding the judgment to the 137
circuit court for further proceedings consistent with this 138
section. 139
(h) Any action brought pursuant to this section 140
challenging a statewide ballot measure appearing on the 141
ballot at an election called by the governor pursuant to 142
Article XII, Section 2(b), Missouri Constitution, whether at 143
the primary election or at a special election, or at a 144
special election for a referendum petition measure called by 145
the general assembly pursuant to Article III, Section 52(b), 146
Missouri Constitution, shall be expedited by the court to 147
bring a resolution of the matter prior to the printing of 148
ballots. The court may shorten any timeframe under this 149
section to achieve this purpose. 150
(3) Insofar as the action challenges the fiscal note 151
or the fiscal note summary portion of the official ballot 152
title, the court shall consider the petition, hear 153
arguments, and in its decision, either certify the fiscal 154
note or the fiscal note summary portion of the official 155
ballot title to the secretary of state or remand the fiscal 156
note or the fiscal note summary to the auditor for 157
preparation of a new fiscal note or fiscal note summary 158
pursuant to the procedures set forth in section 116.175. 159
Any party to the suit may appeal to the supreme court within 160
ten days after a circuit court decision pursuant to this 161
subdivision. [In making the legal notice to election 162
authorities under section 116.240, and for the purposes of 163
section 116.180, the secretary of state shall certify the 164
language which the court certifies to him.] 165
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5. Any action brought under this section that is not 166
fully and finally adjudicated within one hundred eighty days 167
of filing, and more than [fifty-six] seventy days prior to 168
election in which the measure is to appear, including all 169
appeals, shall be extinguished, unless a court extends such 170
period upon a finding of good cause for such extension. 171
Such good cause shall consist only of court-related 172
scheduling issues and shall not include requests for 173
continuance by the parties. 174
[116.334. 1. If the petition form is 1
approved, the secretary of state shall make a 2
copy of the sample petition available on the 3
secretary of state's website. For a period of 4
fifteen days after the petition is approved as 5
to form, the secretary of state shall accept 6
public comments regarding the proposed measure 7
and provide copies of such comments upon 8
request. Within twenty-three days of receipt of 9
such approval, the secretary of state shall 10
prepare and transmit to the attorney general a 11
summary statement of the measure which shall be 12
a concise statement not exceeding one hundred 13
words. This statement shall be in the form of a 14
question using language neither intentionally 15
argumentative nor likely to create prejudice 16
either for or against the proposed measure. The 17
attorney general shall within ten days approve 18
the legal content and form of the proposed 19
statement. 20
2. Signatures obtained prior to the date 21
the official ballot title is certified by the 22
secretary of state shall not be counted. Once 23
the secretary of state certifies the official 24
ballot title, signatures may be collected, even 25
if the ballot title is subject to an action in 26
court challenging the sufficiency and fairness 27
of the ballot title. If a court orders a change 28
that alters the content of the official ballot 29
title, then all signatures gathered before such 30
change occurred shall not be invalidated based 31
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upon the fact that one or more signatures were 32
gathered prior to the alteration of the official 33
ballot title, regardless of whether those 34
signatures were gathered on petition pages that 35
displayed what was previously the official 36
ballot title as certified by the secretary of 37
state. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit 38
the invalidation of a signature for a reason 39
otherwise allowed by this chapter. 40
3. Signatures for statutory initiative 41
petitions shall be filed not later than six 42
months prior to the general election during 43
which the petition's ballot measure is submitted 44
for a vote, and shall also be collected not 45
earlier than the day after the day upon which 46
the previous general election was held.] 47
116.334. 1. If the petition form is approved, the 1
secretary of state shall make a copy of the sample petition 2
available on the secretary of state's website. For a period 3
of fifteen days after the petition is approved as to form, 4
the secretary of state shall accept public comments 5
regarding the proposed measure and provide copies of such 6
comments upon request. Within twenty-three days of receipt 7
of such approval, the secretary of state shall prepare and 8
transmit to the attorney general a summary statement of the 9
measure which shall be a concise statement not exceeding one 10
hundred words. This statement shall be in the form of a 11
question using language neither intentionally argumentative 12
nor likely to create prejudice either for or against the 13
proposed measure. The attorney general shall within ten 14
days approve the legal content and form of the proposed 15
statement. 16
2. Signatures obtained prior to the date the official 17
ballot title is certified by the secretary of state shall 18
not be counted. Once the secretary of state certifies the 19
official ballot title, signatures may be collected, even if 20
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the ballot title is subject to an action in court 21
challenging the sufficiency and fairness of the ballot 22
title. If a court orders a change that alters the content 23
of the official ballot title, then all signatures gathered 24
before such change occurred shall not be invalidated based 25
upon the fact that one or more signatures were gathered 26
prior to the alteration of the official ballot title, 27
regardless of whether those signatures were gathered on 28
petition pages that displayed what was previously the 29
official ballot title as certified by the secretary of 30
state. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the 31
invalidation of a signature for a reason otherwise allowed 32
by this chapter. 33
3. Signatures for statutory initiative petitions shall 34
be filed not later than six months prior to the general 35
election during which the petition's ballot measure is 36
submitted for a vote, and shall also be collected not 37
earlier than the day after the day upon which the previous 38
general election was held. 39
✓