Did the Missouri AG approve the Secretary of State's summary statement for Patricia Thomas's 2020-021 petition restricting removal or renaming of historic memorials on Missouri public property?

Plain-English summary

On February 7, 2019, AG Eric Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's proposed summary statement for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition 2020-021, a proposed amendment to Article XIV, Section 1 of the Missouri Constitution. The summary reads:

Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to require that certain historic memorials of any age on public property, such as statues, names of schools, streets, bridges and buildings named or dedicated in honor of any historic conflict, entity, event, or figure, may not be removed, renamed, or otherwise changed in certain ways unless provided by law?

The petition is part of the broader wave of state-level "monuments preservation" legislation that emerged in the late 2010s in response to local government decisions to remove Confederate monuments and rename schools and streets. By placing the rule in the Missouri Constitution rather than in statute, the petition would make changes to such memorials harder to accomplish: a city council or school board could no longer simply vote to remove or rename, even if local residents wanted the change.

The AG's approval addresses only the summary statement's form and content. The AG took no position on the substance of the proposed amendment, whether it would affect any specific monument, or how the "unless provided by law" carve-out should be construed.

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

What kinds of memorials would the petition cover?

The summary identifies statues, names of schools, names of streets, and names of bridges and buildings, where they have been "named or dedicated in honor of any historic conflict, entity, event, or figure." Anything that meets that description on Missouri public property would be subject to the new constitutional restriction.

What changes would be barred?

Removal, renaming, "or otherwise changed in certain ways." The petition itself (not just the summary) would presumably elaborate on what other changes were covered. The summary's "unless provided by law" qualifier indicates the Legislature could authorize some changes by statute.

Could a city still take down a memorial?

Not unilaterally, under the petition's framework. The municipality would need affirmative legal authorization (presumably from state law). This is a significant shift from the default rule, which gives local governments substantial control over their own monuments and naming.

Did this opinion address First Amendment concerns about government speech and historical monuments?

No. The AG's review under § 116.334, RSMo is limited to summary statement form. Government-speech doctrine, including cases like Pleasant Grove City v. Summum and Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, would be relevant to any later challenge to the petition's substance, but those issues fall outside the scope of this opinion.

Background and statutory framework

§ 116.334, RSMo, governs AG review of initiative-petition summary statements. The Missouri Constitution authorizes constitutional amendments by initiative under art. III, §§ 49-53.

The 2020-021 petition would amend Article XIV, Section 1, which currently houses Missouri's medical-marijuana provisions added by 2018's Amendment 2. The proposed amendment would either replace or supplement existing Article XIV, Section 1 (the petition text itself, not reproduced in this short opinion letter, would clarify the structural placement).

Citations

• § 116.334, RSMo (AG review of initiative-petition summary statements)
• Mo. Const. art. III, §§ 49-53 (initiative process)
• Mo. Const. art. XIV, § 1 (article the petition would amend)
• Initiative petition 2020-021 (proposed amendment, submitted by Patricia Thomas)

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/38-2019.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
Attorney General
JEFFERSON CITY
P.O. Box 899
65102
(573) 751-3321

February 7, 2019

OPINION LETTER NO. 38-2019

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 28, 2019, for our review under § 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Patricia Thomas regarding a proposed constitutional amendment to amend Article XIV, Section 1 of the Missouri Constitution, (2020-021). The proposed summary statement is as follows:

Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to require that certain historic memorials of any age on public property, such as statues, names of schools, streets, bridges and buildings named or dedicated in honor of any historic conflict, entity, event, or figure, may not be removed, renamed, or otherwise changed in certain ways unless provided by law?

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.

OP-2019-0028

Very truly yours,

ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General