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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. 1721
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR SCHROER.
7412S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 116.030, 116.040, 116.050, 116.080, 116.090, 116.110, 116.130, 116.153,
116.200, and 116.332, RSMo, and section 116.190 as enacted by senate bill no. 22, one
hundred third general assembly, first regular session, section 116.190 as enact ed 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 twelve new sections
relating to initiative petitions and referenda, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 116.030, 116.040, 116.050, 116.080, 1
116.090, 116.110, 116.130, 116.153, 116.200, and 116.332, RSMo, 2
and section 116.190 as enacted by senate bill no. 22, one 3
hundred third general assembly, first regular session, section 4
116.190 as enacted by senate bill no. 104, ninety-eighth general 5
assembly, first regular session, section 116.334 as enacted by 6
senate bill no. 22, one hundred third general assembly, first 7
regular session, and section 116.334 as enacted by house bill 8
no. 117, ninety-seventh general assembly, first regular 9
session, are repealed and twelve new sections enacted in lieu 10
thereof, to be known as sections 116.030, 116.040, 116.045, 11
116.050, 116.080, 116.090, 116.110, 116.130, 116.190, 116.200, 12
116.332, and 116.334, to read as follows:13
SB 1721 2
116.030. The following shall be substantially the form 1
of each page of referendum petitions on any law passed by 2
the general assembly of the state of Missouri: 3
4 County ______
5 Page No. ______
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
It is a class A misdemeanor punishable,
notwithstanding the provisions of section [560.021]
558.002, RSMo, to the contrary, for a term of
imprisonment not to exceed one year in the county
jail or a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars
or both, for anyone to sign any referendum petition
with any name other than his or her own, or
knowingly to sign his or her name more than once
for the same measure for the same election, or to
sign a petition when such person knows he or she is
not a registered voter.
17 PETITION FOR REFERENDUM
18
19
To the Honorable ______, Secretary of State for the
state of Missouri:
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
We, the undersigned, registered voters of the state
of Missouri and ______ County (or City of St.
Louis), respectfully order that the Senate (or
House) Bill No. ______ entitled (title of law),
passed by the ______ general assembly of the state
of Missouri, at the ______ regular (or special)
session of the ______ general assembly, shall be
referred to the voters of the state of Missouri,
for their approval or rejection, at the general
election to be held on the ______ day of ______,
______, unless the general assembly shall designate
another date, and each for himself or herself says:
I have personally signed this petition; I am a
registered voter of the state of Missouri and
______ County (or City of St. Louis); my registered
voting address and the name of the city, town or
SB 1721 3
36
37
village in which I live are correctly written after
my name.
38 (Official Ballot title) ______
39 CIRCULATOR'S AFFIDAVIT
40 State Of Missouri,
41 County Of ______
42
43
I, ______, being first duly sworn, say (print or
type names of signers)
44
45
46
NAME DATE
SIGNED
REGISTERED
VOTING
ADDRESS
ZIP
CODE
CONGR.
DIST.
NAME
47
48
49
(Signature) (Street)
(City, Town
or Village)
(Printed
or
Typed)
50 (Here follow numbered lines for signers)
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
signed this page of the foregoing petition, and
each of them signed his or her name thereto in my
presence; I believe that each has stated his or her
name, registered voting address and city, town or
village correctly, and that each signer is a
registered voter of the state of Missouri and
______ County. FURTHERMORE, I HEREBY SWEAR OR
AFFIRM UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY THAT ALL STATEMENTS
MADE BY ME ARE TRUE AND CORRECT AND THAT I HAVE
NEVER BEEN CONVICTED OF, FOUND GUILTY OF, OR PLED
GUILTY TO ANY OFFENSE INVOLVING FORGERY.
62
63
64
65
66
I have met the qualifications of section 116.080
and am at least 18 years of age. I do ______ do not
______ (check one) expect to be paid for
circulating this petition. If paid, list the payer
______
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If this form is followed substantially and the requirements 82
of [section] sections 116.045, 116.050, and [section] 83
116.080 are met, it shall be sufficient, disregarding 84
clerical and merely technical errors. 85
116.040. The following shall be substantially the form 1
of each page of each petition for any law or amendment to 2
the Constitution of the state of Missouri proposed by the 3
initiative: 4
67 __________________
68 Signature of Affiant
69
70
(Person obtaining
signatures)
71 __________________
72 (Printed Name of Affiant)
73 __________________
74 Address of Affiant
75
76
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ______ day
of ______, A.D. ______
77 __________________
78 Signature of Notary
79 Address of Notary
80 Notary Public (Seal)
81 My commission expires ______
5 County ______
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6 (Optional) Page No. ______
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
It is a class A misdemeanor punishable,
notwithstanding the provisions of section [560.021]
558.002, RSMo, to the contrary, for a term of
imprisonment not to exceed one year in the county
jail or a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars
or both, for anyone to sign any initiative petition
with any name other than his or her own, or
knowingly to sign his or her name more than once
for the same measure for the same election, or to
sign a petition when such person knows he or she is
not a registered voter.
18 INITIATIVE PETITION
19
20
To the Honorable ______, Secretary of State for the
state of Missouri:
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
We, the undersigned, registered voters of the state
of Missouri and ______ County (or City of St.
Louis), respectfully order that the following
proposed law (or amendment to the constitution)
shall be submitted to the voters of the state of
Missouri, for their approval or rejection, at the
general election to be held on the ______ day of
______, ______, and each for himself or herself
says: I have personally signed this petition; I am
a registered voter of the state of Missouri and
______ County (or City of St. Louis); my registered
voting address and the name of the city, town or
village in which I live are correctly written after
my name.
35 (Official Ballot title) ______
36 CIRCULATOR'S AFFIDAVIT
37 State Of Missouri,
38 County Of ______
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39
40
I, ______, being first duly sworn, say (print or
type names of signers)
41
42
43
NAME DATE
SIGNED
REGISTERED
VOTING
ADDRESS
ZIP
CODE
CONGR.
DIST.
NAME
44
45
(Signature) (Street)
(City,
(Printed
or
46
47
Town or
Village)
Typed)
48 (Here follow numbered lines for signers)
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
signed this page of the foregoing petition, and
each of them signed his or her name thereto in my
presence; I believe that each has stated his or her
name, registered voting address and city, town or
village correctly, and that each signer is a
registered voter of the state of Missouri and
______ County.
56
57
58
59
60
FURTHERMORE, I HEREBY SWEAR OR AFFIRM UNDER PENALTY
OF PERJURY THAT ALL STATEMENTS MADE BY ME ARE TRUE
AND CORRECT AND THAT I HAVE NEVER BEEN CONVICTED
OF, FOUND GUILTY OF, OR PLED GUILTY TO ANY OFFENSE
INVOLVING FORGERY.
61
62
63
64
65
I have met the qualifications of section 116.080
and am at least 18 years of age. I do ______ do not
______ (check one) expect to be paid for
circulating this petition. If paid, list the payer
______
66 __________________
67 Signature of Affiant
68
69
(Person obtaining
signatures)
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If this form is followed substantially and the requirements 81
of [section] sections 116.045, 116.050, and [section] 82
116.080 are met, it shall be sufficient, disregarding 83
clerical and merely technical errors. 84
116.045. Initiative petition and referendum petition 1
signature pages shall be printed on a form as prescribed by 2
the secretary of state that shall include all of the 3
information and statements required by section 116.030 or 4
116.040, as applicable, and comply with section 116.050. 5
The form shall be made available in electronic format to be 6
used for printing petitions for circulating. 7
116.050. 1. Initiative and referendum petitions filed 1
under the provisions of this chapter shall consist of pages 2
of a uniform size. Each page, excluding the text of the 3
measure, shall be no larger than eight and one-half by 4
70 __________________
71 (Printed Name of Affiant)
72 __________________
73 Address of Affiant
74
75
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ______ day
of ______, A.D. ______
76 __________________
77 Signature of Notary
78 Address of Notary
79 Notary Public (Seal)
80 My commission expires ______
SB 1721 8
fourteen inches. The text of the proposed measure shall be 5
in a font that is not smaller than twelve-point Times New 6
Roman and have a top, bottom, left, and right margin of not 7
less than one inch. Page numbers may appear in the bottom 8
margin. Each page of an initiative petition shall be 9
attached to or shall contain a full and correct text of the 10
proposed measure. Each page of a referendum petition shall 11
be attached to or shall contain a full and correct text of 12
the measure on which the referendum is sought. 13
2. The full and correct text of all initiative and 14
referendum petition measures shall: 15
(1) Contain all matter which is to be deleted included 16
in its proper place enclosed in brackets and all new matter 17
shown underlined; 18
(2) Include all sections of existing law or of the 19
constitution which would be repealed by the measure; and 20
(3) Otherwise conform to the provisions of [Article 21
III, Section 28 and] Article III, [Section] Sections 28, 49, 22
50, 51, and 52(a) of the Constitution of Missouri and those 23
of this chapter. 24
116.080. 1. Each petition circulator shall be [at 1
least] a citizen of the United States, eighteen years of age 2
or older, a resident of this state or physically present in 3
this state for at least thirty consecutive days prior to the 4
collection of signatures, and registered with the secretary 5
of state. No petition circulator shall be paid anything of 6
value that is based on the number of signatures collected. 7
Signatures collected by any circulator who has not 8
registered with the secretary of state pursuant to this 9
chapter on or before 5:00 p.m. on the final day for filing 10
petitions with the secretary of state shall not be counted. 11
A petition circulator shall be deemed registered at the time 12
SB 1721 9
such circulator delivers a signed circulator's affidavit 13
pursuant to section 116.030, with respect to a referendum 14
petition, or section 116.040, with respect to an initiative 15
petition, to the office of the secretary of state. No 16
person shall qualify as a petition circulator who has been 17
convicted of, found guilty of, or pled guilty to an offense 18
involving forgery under the laws of this state or an offense 19
under the laws of any other jurisdiction if that offense 20
would be considered forgery under the laws of this state. 21
2. Each petition circulator shall subscribe and swear 22
to the proper affidavit on each petition page such 23
circulator submits before a notary public commissioned in 24
Missouri. When notarizing a circulator's signature, a 25
notary public shall sign his or her official signature and 26
affix his or her official seal to the affidavit only if the 27
circulator personally appears before the notary and 28
subscribes and swears to the affidavit in his or her 29
presence. 30
3. Any circulator who falsely swears to a circulator's 31
affidavit knowing it to be false is guilty of a class A 32
misdemeanor punishable, notwithstanding the provisions of 33
section [560.021] 558.002 to the contrary, for a term of 34
imprisonment not to exceed one year in the county jail or a 35
fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars or both. 36
116.090. 1. Any person who commits any of the 1
following actions is guilty of the crime of petition 2
signature fraud: 3
(1) Signs any name other than his or her own to any 4
petition, or who knowingly signs his or her name more than 5
once for the same measure for the same election, or who 6
knows he or she is not at the time of signing or circulating 7
SB 1721 10
the same a Missouri registered voter and a resident of this 8
state; [or] 9
(2) Intentionally submits petition signature sheets 10
with the knowledge that the person whose name appears on the 11
signature sheet did not actually sign the petition; [or] 12
(3) Causes a voter to sign a petition other than the 13
one the voter intended to sign; [or] 14
(4) Forges or falsifies signatures; or 15
(5) Knowingly accepts or offers money or anything of 16
value to another person in exchange for a signature on a 17
petition. 18
2. Any person who knowingly causes a petition 19
circulator's signatures to be submitted for counting, and 20
who either knows that such circulator has violated 21
subsection 1 of this section or, after receiving notice of 22
facts indicating that such person may have violated 23
subsection 1 of this section, causes the signatures to be 24
submitted with reckless indifference as to whether such 25
circulator has complied with subsection 1 of this section, 26
shall also be deemed to have committed the crime of petition 27
signature fraud. 28
3. A person who violates subsection 1 or 2 of this 29
section, shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a 30
class A misdemeanor punishable, notwithstanding the 31
provisions of section [560.021] 558.002 to the contrary, by 32
a term of imprisonment not to exceed one year in the county 33
jail or a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars or both. 34
4. Any person employed by or serving as an election 35
authority, that has reasonable cause to suspect a person has 36
committed petition signature fraud, shall immediately report 37
or cause a report to be made to the appropriate prosecuting 38
SB 1721 11
authorities. Failure to so report or cause a report to be 39
made shall be a class A misdemeanor. 40
116.110. Any voter who has signed an initiative or 1
referendum petition may withdraw his or her signature from 2
that petition by submitting to the secretary of state, 3
before the petition is filed with the secretary of state, a 4
sworn statement requesting that his or her signature be 5
withdrawn and affirming the name of the petition signed, the 6
name the voter used when signing the petition, the address 7
of the voter and the county of residence. It is a class A 8
misdemeanor punishable, notwithstanding the provisions of 9
section [560.021] 558.002 to the contrary, for a term of 10
imprisonment not to exceed one year in the county jail or a 11
fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars or both, to 12
knowingly file a false withdrawal statement with the 13
secretary of state. 14
116.130. 1. The secretary of state may send copies of 1
petition pages to election authorities to verify that the 2
persons whose names are listed as signers to the petition 3
are registered voters. Such verification may either be of 4
each signature or by random sampling as provided in section 5
116.120, as the secretary shall direct. If copies of the 6
petition pages are sent to an election authority for 7
verification, such copies shall be sent pursuant to the 8
following schedule: 9
(1) Copies of all pages from not less than one 10
petition shall be received in the office of the election 11
authority not later than two weeks after the petition is 12
filed in the office of the secretary of state; 13
(2) Copies of all pages of a total of three petitions 14
shall be received in the office of the election authority 15
SB 1721 12
not later than three weeks after the petition is filed in 16
the office of the secretary of state; 17
(3) If more than three petitions are filed, all copies 18
of petition pages, including those petitions selected for 19
verification by random sample pursuant to section 116.120, 20
shall be received in the office of the election authority 21
not later than the fourth week after the petition is filed 22
in the office of the secretary of state. 23
Each election authority shall check the signatures against 24
voter registration records in the election authority's 25
jurisdiction, but the election authority shall count as 26
valid only the signatures of persons registered as voters in 27
the county named in the circulator's affidavit. Signatures 28
shall not be counted as valid if they have been struck 29
through or crossed out. Signatures shall be recorded using 30
a black or dark ink. 31
2. If the election authority is requested to verify 32
the petition by random sampling, such verification shall be 33
completed and certified not later than thirty days from the 34
date that the election authority receives the petition from 35
the secretary of state. If the election authority is to 36
verify each signature, such verification [must] shall be 37
completed, certified and delivered to the secretary of state 38
by 5:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday in July prior to the 39
election, or in the event of complete verification of 40
signatures after a failed random sample, full verification 41
shall be completed, certified and delivered to the secretary 42
of state by 5:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday in July or by 43
5:00 p.m. on the Friday of the fifth week after receipt of 44
the signatures by the local election authority, whichever is 45
later. 46
SB 1721 13
3. If the election authority or the secretary of state 47
determines that the congressional district number written 48
after the signature of any voter is not the congressional 49
district of which the voter is a resident, the election 50
authority or the secretary of state shall correct the 51
congressional district number on the petition page. Failure 52
of a voter to give the voter's correct congressional 53
district number shall not by itself be grounds for not 54
counting the voter's signature. 55
4. The election authority shall return the copies of 56
the petition pages to the secretary of state with 57
annotations regarding any invalid or questionable signatures 58
which the election authority has been asked to check by the 59
secretary of state. The election authority shall verify the 60
number of pages received for that county, and also certify 61
the total number of valid signatures of voters from each 62
congressional district which the election authority has been 63
asked to check by the secretary of state. 64
5. The secretary of state is authorized to adopt rules 65
to ensure uniform, complete, and accurate checking of 66
petition signatures either by actual count or random 67
sampling. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated pursuant 68
to this section shall become effective unless it has been 69
promulgated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 536. 70
6. After a period of three years from the time of 71
submission of the petitions to the secretary of state, the 72
secretary of state, if the secretary determines that 73
retention of such petitions is no longer necessary, may 74
destroy such petitions. 75
[116.190. 1. Any citizen who wishes to 1
challenge the official ballot title or the 2
fiscal note prepared for a proposed 3
SB 1721 14
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
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
SB 1721 15
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
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
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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
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
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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] Missouri registered voter 1
who wishes to challenge the official ballot title or the 2
fiscal note prepared for a proposed constitutional amendment 3
submitted by the general assembly, by initiative petition, 4
or by constitutional convention, or for a statutory 5
initiative or referendum measure, may bring an action in the 6
circuit court of Cole County. The action must be brought 7
within ten days after the official ballot title is certified 8
by the secretary of state in accordance with the provisions 9
of this chapter. 10
2. The secretary of state shall be named as a party 11
defendant in any action challenging the official ballot 12
title prepared by the secretary of state. When the action 13
challenges the fiscal note or the fiscal note summary 14
prepared by the auditor, the state auditor shall also be 15
named as a party defendant. The president pro tem of the 16
senate, the speaker of the house and the sponsor of the 17
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measure and the secretary of state shall be the named party 18
defendants in any action challenging the official summary 19
statement, fiscal note or fiscal note summary prepared 20
pursuant to section 116.155. 21
3. The petition shall state the reason or reasons why 22
the summary statement portion of the official ballot title 23
is insufficient or unfair and shall request a different 24
summary statement portion of the official ballot title. 25
Alternatively, the petition shall state the reasons why the 26
fiscal note or the fiscal note summary portion of the 27
official ballot title is insufficient or unfair and shall 28
request a different fiscal note or fiscal note summary 29
portion of the official ballot title. 30
4. The action shall be placed at the top of the civil 31
docket. Insofar as the action challenges the summary 32
statement portion of the official ballot title, the court 33
shall consider the petition, hear arguments, and in its 34
decision certify the summary statement portion of the 35
official ballot title to the secretary of state. Insofar as 36
the action challenges the fiscal note or the fiscal note 37
summary portion of the official ballot title, the court 38
shall consider the petition, hear arguments, and in its 39
decision, either certify the fiscal note or the fiscal note 40
summary portion of the official ballot title to the 41
secretary of state or remand the fiscal note or the fiscal 42
note summary to the auditor for preparation of a new fiscal 43
note or fiscal note summary pursuant to the procedures set 44
forth in section 116.175. Any party [to the suit] may 45
appeal [to the supreme court] within ten days after [a 46
circuit court decision] the entry of judgment by the circuit 47
court. In making the legal notice to election authorities 48
under section 116.240, and for the purposes of section 49
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116.180, the secretary of state shall certify the language 50
which the court certifies to him. 51
5. Any action brought under this section that is not 52
fully and finally adjudicated within one hundred eighty days 53
of filing, and more than fifty-six days prior to the 54
election in which the measure is to appear, including all 55
appeals, shall be extinguished, unless a court, before the 56
expiration of the foregoing periods, extends such period 57
upon [a] an express finding of good cause for such extension 58
but no extension shall cause the final adjudication to occur 59
less than fifty-six days before the date of the election. 60
Such good cause shall consist only of court-related 61
scheduling issues and shall not include requests for 62
continuance by the parties. No court, including any 63
appellate court, shall have the authority to issue any form 64
of relief after the expiration of the foregoing periods. 65
116.200. 1. After the secretary of state certifies a 1
petition as sufficient or insufficient, any [citizen] 2
Missouri registered voter may apply to the circuit court of 3
Cole County to compel [him] the secretary of state to 4
reverse his or her decision. The action must be brought 5
within ten days after the certification is made. All such 6
suits shall be advanced on the court docket and heard and 7
decided by the court as quickly as possible. 8
2. If the court decides the petition is sufficient, 9
the secretary of state shall certify it as sufficient and 10
attach a copy of the judgment. If the court decides the 11
petition is insufficient, the court shall enjoin the 12
secretary of state from certifying the measure and all other 13
officers from printing the measure on the ballot. 14
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3. Any party may appeal within ten days after [a 15
decision is rendered, any party may appeal it to the supreme 16
court] the entry of the judgment by the circuit court. 17
116.332. 1. Before a constitutional amendment 1
petition, a statutory initiative petition, or a referendum 2
petition may be circulated for signatures, a sample sheet 3
[must] shall be submitted to the secretary of state in the 4
form in which it will be circulated. Sample sheets may be 5
submitted to the secretary of state any time after a general 6
election until six months prior to the next general 7
election. When a person submits a sample sheet of a 8
petition he or she shall designate to the secretary of state 9
the name and address of the person to whom any notices shall 10
be sent pursuant to sections 116.140 and 116.180 and, if a 11
committee or person, except the individual submitting the 12
sample sheet, is funding any portion of the drafting or 13
submitting of the sample sheet, the person submitting the 14
sample sheet shall submit a copy of the filed statement of 15
committee organization required under subsection 5 of 16
section 130.021 showing the date the statement was filed. 17
The secretary of state shall refer a copy of the petition 18
sheet to the attorney general for his approval and to the 19
state auditor for purposes of preparing a fiscal note and 20
fiscal note summary. The secretary of state and attorney 21
general [must] shall each review the petition for 22
[sufficiency as to form] compliance with section 116.050 and 23
Article III, Sections 28, 49, 50, 51, and 52(a) of the 24
Constitution of Missouri and approve or reject the form of 25
the petition, stating the reasons for rejection, if any. 26
2. Within two business days of receipt of any such 27
sample sheet, the office of the secretary of state shall 28
conspicuously post on its website the text of the proposed 29
SB 1721 21
measure, a disclaimer stating that such text may not 30
constitute the full and correct text as required under 31
section 116.050, and the name of the person or organization 32
submitting the sample sheet. The secretary of state's 33
failure to comply with such posting shall be considered a 34
violation of chapter 610 and subject to the penalties 35
provided under subsection 3 of section 610.027. The posting 36
shall be removed within three days of either the withdrawal 37
of the petition under section 116.115 or the rejection for 38
any reason of the petition. 39
3. Upon receipt of a petition from the office of the 40
secretary of state, the attorney general shall examine the 41
petition [as to form] and determine whether it complies with 42
section 116.050 and Article III, Sections 28, 49, 50, 51, 43
and 52(a) of the Constitution of Missouri. If the petition 44
is rejected [as to form], the attorney general shall forward 45
his or her comments to the secretary of state within ten 46
days after receipt of the petition by the attorney general. 47
If the petition is approved [as to form], the attorney 48
general shall forward his or her approval [as to form] to 49
the secretary of state within ten days after receipt of the 50
petition by the attorney general. 51
4. The secretary of state shall review the comments 52
and statements of the attorney general [as to form] and make 53
a final decision as to the approval or rejection [of the 54
form] of the petition. The secretary of state shall send 55
written notice to the person who submitted the petition 56
sheet of the approval within fifteen days after submission 57
of the petition sheet. The secretary of state shall send 58
written notice if the petition has been rejected, together 59
with reasons for rejection, within fifteen days after 60
submission of the petition sheet. 61
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[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
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
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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 under 1
section 116.332, the secretary of state shall make a copy of 2
the sample petition available on the secretary of state's 3
website. For a period of fifteen days after the petition is 4
approved [as to form] under section 116.332, the secretary 5
of state shall accept public comments regarding the proposed 6
measure and provide copies of such comments upon request. 7
Within twenty-three days of receipt of such approval, the 8
secretary of state shall prepare and transmit to the 9
attorney general a summary statement of the measure which 10
shall be a concise statement not exceeding one hundred 11
words. This statement shall [be in the form of a question 12
using] use language neither intentionally argumentative nor 13
likely to create prejudice either for or against the 14
proposed measure. The attorney general shall within ten 15
days approve the legal content and form of the proposed 16
statement. 17
2. Signatures obtained prior to the date the official 18
ballot title is certified by the secretary of state shall 19
not be counted. 20
3. Signatures for statutory initiative petitions shall 21
be filed not later than six months prior to the general 22
election during which the petition's ballot measure is 23
submitted for a vote, and shall also be collected not 24
earlier than the day after the day upon which the previous 25
general election was held. 26
[116.153. Within thirty days of issuing 1
certification that the petition contains a 2
sufficient number of valid signatures pursuant 3
to section 116.150, the joint committee on 4
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legislative research shall hold a public hearing 5
in Jefferson City to take public comments 6
concerning the proposed measure. Such hearing 7
shall be a public meeting under chapter 610. 8
Within five business days after the end of the 9
public hearing, the joint committee on 10
legislative research shall provide a summary of 11
the hearing to the secretary of state or his or 12
her designee and the secretary of state shall 13
post a copy of the summary on the website of the 14
office of the secretary of state.] 15