Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the form of Rik Combs’s Article X petition (2020-038)?

Plain-English summary

Rik Combs submitted initiative petition 2020-038 to amend Article X of the Missouri Constitution. The Attorney General approved it as to form under § 116.332, RSMo. The letter does not describe the proposed amendment’s substance.

The Attorney General says the Secretary of State retains final authority to approve or reject the petition. Approval as to form does not determine substantive sufficiency and does not endorse the petition or its proponents’ objectives.

Currency note

This letter was issued in 2019. Consult current law and the petition text for present requirements and the proposal’s substance.

Common questions

Q: Could the Secretary of State still reject the petition?
A: Yes. The letter expressly says the Secretary of State has final authority under § 116.332 and that the Attorney General’s approval does not prevent rejection.

Q: Did the Attorney General approve the petition’s substance?
A: No. The letter limits its decision to form and disclaims a determination of substantive sufficiency or an endorsement.

Q: What change to Article X was proposed?
A: The letter identifies the article and petition number but does not reproduce the proposed amendment. Read the petition itself for its terms.

Background and statutory framework

The Secretary of State requested the Attorney General’s review of the petition’s sufficiency as to form under § 116.332, RSMo. This opinion records the Attorney General’s approval and explains the limits of that decision.

Citations and references

Statute cited: § 116.332, RSMo.

Source

• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/34-2019.pdf

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI

Eric Schmitt
Attorney General
JEFFERSON CITY
P.O. Box 899
65102
(573) 751-3321

January 30, 2019

OPINION LETTER NO. 34-2019

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 January 18, 2019, for our review under § 116.332, RSMo, of the sufficiency as to form of an initiative petition to amend Article X of the Missouri Constitution submitted by Rik Combs, (2020-038).

We approve the petition as to form, but § 116.332 gives the Secretary of State final authority to approve or reject the petition. Therefore, our approval of the form of the petition does not preclude you from rejecting the petition.

Because our review of the petition is simply for the purpose of determining sufficiency as to form, the fact that we do not reject the petition is not to be construed as a determination that the petition is sufficient as to substance. Likewise, because our review is mandated by statute, no action that we take with respect to such review should be construed as an endorsement of the petition or of the objectives of its proponents, or the expression of any view respecting the adequacy or inadequacy of the petition generally.

Very truly yours,

ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General

OP-2019-0025