Did the Missouri AG approve the Secretary of State's summary statement for Winston Apple's state-run health cooperative initiative (2020-141)?
Subject
The Missouri AG's review under § 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement that the Secretary of State prepared for an initiative petition submitted by Winston Apple to amend Chapter 192, RSMo (2020-141), creating state-run health cooperatives.
Topics: INITIATIVES. INITIATIVE PETITIONS.
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.
Plain-English summary
When a Missouri initiative petition is circulated for signatures, the petition carries a short summary statement describing what the measure would do. The Secretary of State drafts that statement, and under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334 the Attorney General reviews it for legal content and form.
This letter is AG Eric Schmitt's approval of the summary statement for an initiative petition submitted by Winston Apple. Unlike the constitutional amendments elsewhere in this series, this petition proposed amending Chapter 192, RSMo (a statute, not the constitution), and was designated 2020-141. The summary statement that the AG approved read:
Do you want to amend Missouri law to create a state-run health insurance cooperative and a state-run health care cooperative administered by the Department of Health and Senior Services, allowing Missouri citizens the choice to participate in a state-run health cooperative that only provides coverage for treatments, procedures, and prescription medications deemed medically necessary by the Department of Health and Senior Services; and with membership dues (premiums) and out-of-pocket maximums to be adjusted annually based on a participant's income?
The AG noted the standard caveat: the approval is mandated by statute and is not an endorsement of the petition or its objectives. The companion fiscal note summary for petition 2020-141 was reviewed separately in opinion letter 265-2019.
Common questions
Q: What would this initiative have created?
As described in the summary, it would have set up a state-run health insurance cooperative and a state-run health care cooperative run by the Department of Health and Senior Services. Coverage would be limited to care the Department deemed medically necessary, and premiums and out-of-pocket maximums would be adjusted each year based on a participant's income.
Q: Why does this petition amend a statute instead of the constitution?
This proposal targeted Chapter 192, RSMo, which is part of Missouri's statutes, rather than the state constitution. Missouri's initiative process allows proposals to change either statutes or the constitution; the review under § 116.334 is the same either way.
Q: Did approving this summary mean the AG supported the proposal?
No. The AG is required to review summary statements regardless of subject. The letter states that the approval should not "be construed as an endorsement of the petition, nor as the expression of any view regarding the objectives of its proponents."
Background and statutory framework
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334 directs the Secretary of State to prepare a summary statement for a proposed initiative petition and the Attorney General to review it for legal content and form. The approved summary appears on the petition used for signature gathering and, if the measure qualifies, on the ballot.
Citations
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334 (AG review of the Secretary of State's summary statement)
- Companion fiscal-note review for 2020-141: 265-2019
Source
- Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/280-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
Eric Schmitt
December 26, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 280-2019
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 December 16, 2019, for our review under § 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Winston Apple regarding a proposed amendment to amend Chapter 192, Revised Statutes of Missouri, (2020-141). The proposed summary statement is as follows:
- Do you want to amend Missouri law to create a state-run health insurance cooperative and a state-run health care cooperative administered by the Department of Health and Senior Services, allowing Missouri citizens the choice to participate in a state-run health cooperative that only provides coverage for treatments, procedures, and prescription medications deemed medically necessary by the Department of Health and Senior Services; and with membership dues (premiums) and out-of-pocket maximums to be adjusted annually based on a participant's income?
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
OP-2019-0315