Did Missouri approve the summary statement for Jamie Howard's initiative petition 2026-009?

Plain-English summary

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey approved the legal content and form of the proposed summary statement for Jamie Howard's initiative petition 2026-009. The statement described a proposal to limit legislative changes that would weaken the initiative process, require an 80 percent House and Senate vote to change citizen-initiated laws or constitutional amendments, and place ballot measures at general elections unless the same supermajority approved a special election.

The review was limited to the summary statement under § 116.334, RSMo. The opinion did not endorse the petition or express a view about its objectives.

What this means for you

Initiative petition proponents

The summary statement for petition 2026-009 passed the attorney general's legal-content-and-form review. The opinion did not decide whether the proposal itself should be adopted.

Missouri voters

The reviewed statement described changes to legislative control over citizen initiatives and to the timing of ballot-measure elections. The opinion addressed the statement's wording, not the proposal's merits.

Missouri election officials

Opinion 18-2025 completed the attorney general's summary-statement review under § 116.334, RSMo and expressly disclaimed endorsement.

Common questions

Q: Did the attorney general approve petition 2026-009?
A: The attorney general approved the proposed summary statement's legal content and form, not the petition's policy.

Q: What legislative vote threshold did the statement describe?
A: Eighty percent of both the House and Senate for changes to citizen-initiated laws or constitutional amendments.

Q: When would ballot measures be decided under the proposal?
A: At a general election, unless eighty percent of both legislative chambers approved calling a special election.

Background and statutory framework

The Missouri Secretary of State requested review on January 10, 2025. The attorney general reviewed the proposed summary statement for petition 2026-009 under § 116.334, RSMo and approved its legal content and form on January 21, 2025.

The statement framed the proposal as protecting citizens' direct lawmaking power against legislative changes that would make initiatives harder to propose or enact.

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/18-2025.pdf

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ANDREW BAILEY

January 21, 2025

OPINION LETTER NO. 18-2025

The Honorable Denny Hoskins
Missouri Secretary of State
James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center
600 West Main Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Dear Secretary Hoskins:

This opinion letter responds to your request dated January 10, 2025, for our review under § 116.334, RSMo of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Jamie Howard, 2026-009. The proposed summary statement is as follows:

Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:

• prohibit the weakening of citizens' direct lawmaking power by not allowing the legislature to make changes in initiative petition laws which would make it more difficult to propose or enact laws or amendments through the initiative process;

• prohibit the legislature from changing any citizen-initiative law or constitutional amendment except if eighty percent of the House and Senate approve the change; and

• provide that every ballot measure shall be decided at a general election, except in the event eighty percent of the House and Senate approve calling a special election?

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-2025-018

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