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MO Opinion No. 68-2019 April 12, 2019

Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the Steven Reed initiative petition to amend Article I of the Missouri Constitution?

Short answer: Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the form of the Steven Reed initiative petition (2020-055), which proposed to amend Article I of the Missouri Constitution (Bill of Rights). § 116.332 leaves final form authority with the Secretary of State; the AG's review is procedural form review, not a determination of substantive sufficiency.

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This page answers the general question as of 2019. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Missouri law, with citations.

Currency note: this opinion is from 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.
Disclaimer: This is an official Missouri Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Missouri attorney for advice on your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official AG opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
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Plain-English summary

Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the form of the Steven Reed initiative petition designated 2020-055, which proposed to amend Article I of the Missouri Constitution. Article I is Missouri's Bill of Rights. The AG's form-approval is procedural only: the petition meets the formal requirements, and is eligible to move forward in the initiative process.

Two standard caveats applied. § 116.332 leaves final form-approval authority with the Secretary of State, who can still reject the petition. The AG's review is limited to form, not substance. The related opinions in this 2019 series (74, 76, 78, 81, 82) handle the parallel ballot summary and fiscal note summary reviews for petitions that cleared form review.

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 does form-approval mean?

The AG reviewed the petition for compliance with the formatting and structural rules in Chapter 116 (markup conventions, layout). Form-approval lets the petition proceed to the next step (ballot-summary preparation, fiscal-note preparation).

Does this mean the petition will appear on the ballot?

No. The petition still needs sufficient signatures and survival of any subsequent challenges.

Why is final authority with the Secretary of State?

§ 116.332 makes the Secretary of State the formal decision-maker on form. The AG advises. In practice the Secretary almost always follows the AG's recommendation.

What is Article I of the Missouri Constitution?

The Missouri Bill of Rights. It covers free speech, due process, equal protection, and similar individual-rights provisions.

Who is Steven Reed in the context of these petitions?

Reed was a 2019 initiative proponent who filed multiple petitions in this cycle, including this Article I petition, an Article IV petition rejected in Opinion No. 80-2019, and a fiscal-note follow-up in Opinion No. 81-2019.

Background and statutory framework

Chapter 116 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri governs initiative and referendum procedure. § 116.332 sets the AG's form-review process and reserves final authority for the Secretary of State. The constitutional initiative process is governed by Mo. Const. art. III, §§ 49 to 53.

Citations

  • § 116.332, RSMo (AG form review of initiative petitions)
  • Mo. Const. art. I (Missouri Bill of Rights, the article the petition proposed to amend)
  • Mo. Const. art. III, §§ 49 to 53 (initiative and referendum process)
  • Initiative Petition 2020-055 (Reed, Article I)

Source

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
JEFFERSON CITY, P.O. Box 899

April 12, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 68-2019

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 for our review under § 116.332, RSMo, of the sufficiency as to form of an initiative petition submitted by Steven Reed (2020-055).

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-2019-0069

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