Did the Missouri AG approve the fair ballot language for SJR 14 & 9 (extending the two-term restriction to all statewide elected officials)?
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This page answers the general question as of 2019. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Missouri law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
When the Missouri legislature refers a proposed constitutional amendment to the voters (a "joint resolution"), the Secretary of State prepares two short voter-facing documents: a "summary statement" that goes on the ballot itself, and a "fair ballot language statement" that explains what a yes vote and a no vote each mean. Section 116.025 RSMo requires the AG to review the fair ballot language for legal content and form. This opinion approves that language for Senate Substitute for SCS for Senate Joint Resolution Nos. 14 and 9.
What the resolution proposed: amending Article VII of the Missouri Constitution to extend the existing two-term restriction. Currently Article IV § 17 of the Missouri Constitution caps the Governor and the State Treasurer at two terms. SJR 14 & 9 would have extended that cap to the Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, and Attorney General as well.
The fair ballot language the AG approved was:
A "yes" vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to impose a two term restriction on all statewide elected officials, which currently only applies to the Governor and Treasurer.
A "no" vote will leave the terms that statewide elected officials may serve unchanged.
If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes.
The companion opinion 108-2019 (issued the same day) approves the separate summary statement that would appear at the top of the ballot. Together the two opinions are the AG's procedural sign-off on the voter-facing language for the term-limits measure.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Common questions
Q: What is "fair ballot language" and how is it different from the ballot summary?
A: Two different things. The ballot summary (§ 116.155 / § 116.334 RSMo) is the question voters actually mark yes or no on. The fair ballot language (§ 116.025 RSMo) is a separate explainer that says what a yes vote does and what a no vote does, and notes any tax impact. The fair ballot language is published in the official voter guide and posted at polling places. The AG reviews both, in separate opinions.
Q: Who is covered by the existing two-term cap?
A: The opinion identifies the Governor and Treasurer as the offices currently subject to the two-term cap. Article IV § 17 of the Missouri Constitution is the source of that cap. SJR 14 & 9 would have added the Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, and Attorney General to the list.
Q: Did this measure pass?
A: The AG opinion does not say. SJR 14 & 9 was a legislative referendum, meaning the General Assembly itself voted to put it on the ballot. To take effect it would have needed a majority of Missouri voters on the next general or special election ballot. Readers should check Missouri election results or the General Assembly's bill history to confirm what happened.
Q: Why does the language say "no impact on taxes"?
A: Section 116.025 requires the fair ballot statement to include "a clear statement of any tax impact" of the measure. For purely structural amendments like a term-limit cap, the standard finding is that the measure imposes no tax. The AG's approval includes a sign-off that this no-tax-impact statement is legally accurate.
Q: How does Missouri get a constitutional amendment in front of voters?
A: Two paths. By legislature: a joint resolution passing both chambers by simple majority (Article XII § 2(a)). By initiative: signatures from 8% of votes cast for governor in two-thirds of the congressional districts (Article III § 50). SJR 14 & 9 used the legislative path, so it bypassed the initiative-signature gauntlet entirely.
Background and statutory framework
When a constitutional amendment reaches the ballot in Missouri, three pieces of voter-facing language run through the AG's office:
- The official ballot summary statement (the question voters mark). Reviewed under § 116.334 RSMo.
- The fair ballot language statement (the yes/no explainer; this opinion). Reviewed under § 116.025 RSMo.
- The fiscal-note summary (the cost/revenue summary). Reviewed under § 116.175 RSMo.
For a legislative joint resolution like SJR 14 & 9, the Secretary of State drafts (1) and (2); the State Auditor drafts (3). Each goes to the AG separately for legal content and form.
Article IV § 17 of the Missouri Constitution is the source of the current two-term cap on the Governor and Treasurer. Extending it to additional offices requires a constitutional amendment because the qualifications for state constitutional offices are themselves set in the constitution.
Citations and references
Statutes: § 116.025, RSMo (the operative provision for fair ballot language review).
Constitutional provisions referenced: Mo. Const. art. IV § 17 (existing two-term cap on Governor and Treasurer); Mo. Const. art. VII (qualifications and disabilities of public officers, the article being amended); Mo. Const. art. XII § 2(a) (legislative path to constitutional amendments).
Companion opinion: 108-2019 (summary statement for the same SJR 14 & 9).
Source
- Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/107-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Original opinion text
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT
June 27, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 107-2019
The Honorable John R. Ashcroft
Missouri Secretary of State
James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center
600 West Main Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Dear Secretary Ashcroft:
This opinion letter responds to your request dated June 17, 2019, for our review under § 116.025, RSMo, of a proposed fair ballot language statement for Senate Substitute for Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Joint Resolution Nos. 14 & 9 relating to an amendment to Article VII of the Missouri Constitution. The proposed fair ballot language statement is as follows:
A "yes" vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to impose a two term restriction on all statewide elected officials, which currently only applies to the Governor and Treasurer.
A "no" vote will leave the terms that statewide elected officials may serve unchanged.
If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes.
Pursuant to § 116.025, RSMo, we approve the legal content and form of the proposed fair ballot language statement.
Because our review of the fair ballot language statement is mandated by statute, no action we take with respect to such review should be construed as an endorsement of the joint resolution, nor as the expression of any view regarding the objectives of its proponents.
Very truly yours,
ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General
Supreme Court Building
207 W. High Street
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3321
Fax: (573) 751-0774
www.ago.mo.gov
OP-2019-0128
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