Why did the Missouri Attorney General reject Jackie Johnson’s petition 2020-050 as to form?

Plain-English summary

The Attorney General reviewed Jackie Johnson’s petition 2020-050 under § 116.332, RSMo, and concluded it must be rejected for at least two reasons. The petition was not in the form prescribed by § 116.040, RSMo. It also failed § 116.050, RSMo, which requires deleted matter to appear in brackets at its proper place and all new matter to be underlined.

The letter expressly says the Attorney General did not review for additional deficiencies. The Secretary of State makes the final form decision under § 116.332.4, RSMo. The opinion does not promise that fixing the two cited defects would be enough for approval.

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: Would correcting these two issues guarantee approval?
A: No. The letter lists at least two reasons and says the Attorney General did not review whether additional deficiencies existed.

Q: Who makes the final form decision?
A: The Secretary of State may review the Attorney General’s opinion and make the final decision under § 116.332.4, RSMo.

Background and statutory framework

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

Citations and references

Statutes cited: § 116.040, § 116.050, § 116.332, and § 116.332.4, RSMo.

Source

• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/61-2019.pdf

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT
JEFFERSON CITY
ATTORNEY GENERAL
65102
P.O. Box 899
(573) 751-3321

March 28, 2019

OPINION LETTER NO. 61-2019

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 March 18, 2019, for our review under § 116.332, RSMo, of the sufficiency as to form of an initiative petition submitted by Jackie Johnson (2020-050).

We conclude that the petition must be rejected for at least the following reasons:

1. The petition is not in the form prescribed by § 116.040, RSMo.

2. The petition does not contain "all matter which is to be deleted included in its proper place enclosed in brackets and all new matter shown underlined" as required pursuant to § 116.050, RSMo.

Because of our rejection of the form of the petition for the reasons stated above, we have not reviewed the petition to determine whether additional deficiencies exist. Pursuant to § 116.332.4, RSMo, the Secretary of State is authorized to review this opinion and "make a final decision as to the approval or rejection of the form of the petition."

OP-2019-0061

The Honorable John R. Ashcroft
Page 2

Very truly yours,

ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General

OP-2019-0061