Did Missouri's Attorney General approve the legal content and form of a proposed ballot summary for petition 2024-170?

Plain-English summary

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey approved the legal content and form of a proposed ballot summary statement for Deidre Hirner's initiative petition 2024-170. The proposed question asked voters whether to amend the Missouri Constitution to allow county voters to set and control county taxes on cigarettes or tobacco products. It covered tax questions submitted either by a county governing body or through an initiative petition.

The proposed statement also listed uses of county tobacco tax proceeds: education, health and mental health, crime prevention, job creation, veterans' services, or another local use specifically approved by voters. The Attorney General approved the wording under § 116.334, RSMo, while expressly saying the mandatory review was not an endorsement of the petition or a view about its proponents' objectives.

What this means for you

Missouri voters and tobacco retailers

The letter identifies the proposed ballot question for petition 2024-170, including both county voter control of tobacco taxes and the listed uses of proceeds. The Attorney General's approval concerned the statement's legal content and form; it did not express a position on the proposal itself.

County and election officials

The opinion records the text submitted for review and the AG's approval under the summary-statement statute. It does not describe implementation of a tax or say the proposed amendment was adopted.

Common questions

Q: Did Opinion 2-2024 approve a county tobacco tax?
A: The Attorney General approved only the legal content and form of a proposed summary statement. The letter did not enact the amendment or impose a tax.

Q: What uses of tobacco-tax revenue did the proposed ballot question list?
A: It listed education, health and mental health, crime prevention, job creation, veterans' services, and another local use specifically approved by voters.

Q: Did the AG endorse the petition?
A: No. The letter says the required review should not be construed as an endorsement or a view on the proponents' objectives.

Background and statutory framework

The Secretary of State requested review in December 2023. The Attorney General quoted the proposed question in full and approved its legal content and form under § 116.334, RSMo. The opinion contains no analysis of the policy merits or fiscal effects of the proposed tax.

Citations and references

• § 116.334, RSMo: the summary-statement review provision cited by the Attorney General.

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2-2024.pdf

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ANDREW BAILEY
January 2, 2024
OPINION LETTER NO. 2-2024
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 December 20, 2023, for our review under § 116.334, RSMo of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Deidre Hirner, 2024-170. The proposed summary statement is as follows: Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:

• allow county voters to set and control county taxes on cigarettes or tobacco products, whether submitted to county voters by the county governing body or by initiative petition; and
• use the county tobacco tax proceeds solely for education, health and mental health, crime prevention, job creation, veterans' services, or other local use specifically approved by voters? 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,

ANDREW BAILEY
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-2024-002