Did Missouri approve the ballot wording for a county cigarette and tobacco tax controlled by county voters?

Plain-English summary

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey approved the legal content and form of the proposed summary statement for Deirdre Hirner's initiative petition 2026-005. This version of the tobacco-tax measure was shorter than the companion petitions filed the same day: it described a constitutional amendment to let county voters set and control county taxes on cigarettes or tobacco products, whether submitted by the county governing body or by initiative petition, without the added list of dedicated uses.

The attorney general reviewed the statement under § 116.334, RSMo for its legal content and form. Approval did not endorse the petition.

What this means for you

County officials and voters

The reviewed statement described giving county voters authority over a local cigarette and tobacco tax. Petition 2026-005 dropped the earmarking language found in some of the related petitions, so the wording focused only on the power to set and control the tax.

Tobacco retailers

Had this measure passed, counties could adopt their own cigarette and tobacco taxes. The opinion approves only the summary voters would see; it sets no rate and decides no policy.

Missouri voters and researchers

Opinion 8-2025 records approval of the summary statement for petition 2026-005, one of several near-identical tobacco-tax petitions Deirdre Hirner filed. The attorney general expressly did not endorse it.

Common questions

Q: How is petition 2026-005 different from the others filed the same day?
A: It used a shorter statement that described only the power of county voters to set and control the tax, without the list of dedicated uses that appears in the companion petitions.

Q: Who could impose the tax under the described amendment?
A: County voters, whether the measure was submitted by the county governing body or by initiative petition.

Q: Did the attorney general endorse the proposal?
A: No. The opinion approved the summary statement's legal content and form and disclaimed any endorsement.

Background and statutory framework

The Missouri Secretary of State requested review on December 30, 2024. Under § 116.334, RSMo, the attorney general reviews a proposed summary statement for legal content and form before circulation. The attorney general approved the statement on January 9, 2025.

The proposal was identified as Deirdre Hirner's petition 2026-005.

Citations and references

Statute: § 116.334, RSMo.

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/8-2025.pdf

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ANDREW BAILEY

January 9, 2025

OPINION LETTER NO. 8-2025

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 December 30, 2024, for our review under § 116.334, RSMo of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Deirdre Hirner, 2026-005. The proposed summary statement is as follows:

Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to allow county voters to set and control county taxes on cigarettes or tobacco products, whether submitted to county voters by the county governing body or by initiative petition?

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-2025-008

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