Did Missouri approve ballot wording for an Osage River gambling boat license funding public pre-K?

Plain-English summary

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey approved the legal content and form of a proposed ballot summary statement for Greta Bax's initiative petition 2024-164. The proposed question asked whether to allow the Missouri Gaming Commission to issue one additional gambling boat license on the Osage River segment from the Missouri River to Bagnell Dam.

It also proposed a location definition including artificial water spaces within 500 feet of the 100-year base flood elevation established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Under the quoted question, all state revenues derived from issuing the license would go to public pre-kindergarten education programs for children in the year before kindergarten eligibility. The Attorney General approved the statement under § 116.334, RSMo, and expressly said that mandatory review was not an endorsement of the petition or its proponents' objectives.

What this means for you

Missouri voters and education officials

Petition 2024-164's quoted statement identified public pre-kindergarten in the year before kindergarten eligibility as the use of state license revenues. The AG's letter approved ballot wording; it did not conclude that a license had been issued or that funding was available.

Gaming and election officials

The letter records the proposed license limit, river segment, and location definition that appeared in the summary statement. It offers no decision on how the proposed amendment would be implemented.

Common questions

Q: Did the AG approve a gambling boat license on the Osage River?
A: The AG approved the legal content and form of a proposed ballot summary asking voters about one additional license. The letter did not issue a license.

Q: What would petition 2024-164 do with the state license revenue?
A: Its quoted statement directed all state revenue from issuing that license to public pre-kindergarten programs for students in the year before kindergarten eligibility.

Q: Where did the proposed license apply?
A: The statement described the Osage River from the Missouri River to Bagnell Dam and specified a location rule involving artificial water spaces and the 100-year base flood elevation.

Q: Did the AG support the petition?
A: No. The letter explicitly withheld any endorsement or view on its proponents' objectives.

Background and statutory framework

The Secretary of State requested review of this statement in November 2023. The Attorney General quoted the proposed ballot question and approved its legal content and form under § 116.334, RSMo. The letter contains no separate fiscal analysis or conclusion that the proposed amendment became law.

Citations and references

• § 116.334, RSMo: summary-statement review provision cited in the letter.

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/433-2023.pdf

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ANDREW BAILEY
November 27, 2023
OPINION LETTER NO. 433-2023
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 November 15, 2023, for our review under § 116.334, RSMo of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Greta Bax, 2024-164. The proposed summary statement is as follows:

Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:

• allow the Missouri Gaming Commission to issue one additional gambling boat license to operate on the portion of the Osage River from the Missouri River to the Bagnell Dam;
• require the prescribed location shall include artificial spaces that contain water and are within 500 feet of the 100-year base flood elevation as established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and
• require all state revenues derived from the issuance of the gambling boat license shall be appropriated to public pre-kindergarten education programs for students in the year prior to kindergarten eligibility? 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

OP-2023-425
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