Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Winston Apple's 2019 initiative letting Missouri cities and counties set local minimum wages above state and federal floors (file 2020-093)?

Plain-English summary

Petition 2020-093 was Winston Apple's initiative to amend Mo. Const. art. III, § 39, which lists categories of laws the General Assembly cannot pass. The petition would have added a provision allowing any county, city, town, or village to require employers to pay a minimum wage or employment benefit higher than the floor set by federal or state law, "regardless of any action of the Missouri General Assembly."

The petition responds to a long-running fight over local-government authority to set wages above state law. The General Assembly passed laws in the mid-2010s preempting cities and counties from setting their own minimum wages, blocking ordinances that St. Louis and Kansas City had enacted. The Apple petition would constitutionally re-empower local governments to do so, and would override any future state preemption attempt.

After the Secretary of State drafted the ballot summary, the AG reviewed it under § 116.334 RSMo. AG Schmitt's letter here approves the legal content and form of that summary. The AG's review is narrow, a legal-form check on the ballot question voters would see, not an endorsement of the policy.

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.

The exact ballot summary the AG approved

Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to give any county, city, town, or village the right to require employers to pay a minimum wage or employment benefit that exceeds federal or state law, rules, or regulations, regardless of any action of the Missouri General Assembly?

Common questions

Q: Why constitutional, not statutory?
A: A statutory grant could be repealed by the next General Assembly. A constitutional amendment cannot, except by another constitutional amendment. Apple's petition takes the local-authority question off the table for routine legislative repeal.

Q: What benefits would this cover?
A: The summary references "minimum wage or employment benefit." That phrasing is broad enough to include sick leave, paid leave, scheduling rules, and other employment standards, in addition to the basic minimum wage. The exact scope of "employment benefit" would likely have been litigated.

Q: Did this petition reach the ballot?
A: The opinion does not say. Apple's 2019 petitions do not appear to have advanced to the 2020 ballot.

Q: How does this compare to similar fights elsewhere? A: Many states have passed minimum-wage preemption statutes blocking cities from setting local wages. Constitutional carve-outs of the kind this petition proposes are unusual. New Jersey, Illinois, and California have at various times allowed local minimum wages by statute; constitutional protection is rarer.

Background and statutory framework

Chapter 116 RSMo lays out the initiative-petition pipeline:

1. Proponent files the petition with the Secretary of State.
2. AG reviews sufficiency as to form under § 116.332 RSMo.
3. State Auditor prepares a fiscal note; AG reviews under § 116.175.4 RSMo.
4. Secretary of State drafts a summary statement; AG reviews under § 116.334 RSMo (this opinion).
5. Petition certified for circulation.

Citations and references

Statutes: § 116.334 RSMo (the operative provision); Mo. Const. art. III, § 39 (limits on legislative power, the section the petition would amend).

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/160-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT
August 2, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 160-2019
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 July 25,- 2019, for our review under § 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Winston Apple regarding a proposed constitutional amendment to amend Article III, Section 39 of the Missouri Constitution (2020-093). The proposed summary statement is as follows: Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to give any county, city, town, or village the right to require employers to pay a minimum wage or employment benefit that exceeds federal or state law, rules, or regulations, regardless of any action of the Missouri General Assembly? Pursuant to § 116.334, RSMo, we approve the legal content and form of the proposed statement. Because our review of the statement is mandated by statute, no action that we take with respect to such review should be construed as an endorsement of the petition, 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-2019-0185