Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for James Owen's 2019 Chapter 393 renewable-energy-standard initiative petition (version 2, file 2020-114)?

Plain-English summary

James Owen filed a family of parallel statutory initiative petitions in 2019 (file numbers 2020-113 through 2020-116) to amend Chapter 393 RSMo, which regulates investor-owned electric and other utilities. Petition 2020-114 is version 2.

After the Secretary of State drafted a summary statement (the ballot question voters would see), AG Schmitt's office reviewed it under § 116.334 RSMo. This opinion approves the legal content and form of the summary for version 2.

According to the summary the AG approved, version 2 would raise Missouri's renewable energy standard for investor-owned electric utilities from the existing 15% of retail sales (stated as the 2021 figure) on a multi-year ramp: 20% by 2022, 27% by 2025, 35% by 2028, 42% by 2031, and 50% by 2035. It would also restrict renewable energy credits to those tied to electricity the utility sold to Missouri customers, and require each utility to buy at least half of the renewable energy it uses to meet the standard from resources it does not own.

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.

The exact ballot summary the AG approved

Do you want to amend Missouri law regarding the renewable energy standard applicable to investor-owned electric utilities as follows:

• increase the minimum renewable energy amount from the existing 15% of retail sales in 2021 to 20% by 2022, 27% by 2025, 35% by 2028, 42% by 2031, and 50% by 2035;
• only allow the use of renewable energy credits if they are associated with electricity the utility sold to Missouri customers;
• require each utility to purchase at least half of the renewable energy used to meet the standard from resources it does not own?

Common questions

Q: What is Missouri's "renewable energy standard"?
A: It is the state requirement that investor-owned electric utilities source a percentage of their retail electricity sales from renewable resources. The summary the AG approved describes the existing minimum as 15% of retail sales (the 2021 figure) and would raise it on the ramp set out above.

Q: What did version 2 actually propose?
A: Three things, per the approved summary: raise the renewable minimum from 15% in 2021 up to 50% by 2035 on a step schedule; allow renewable energy credits only when associated with electricity the utility sold to Missouri customers; and require each utility to buy at least half of the renewable energy it uses to meet the standard from resources it does not own. This opinion covers version 2 (2020-114); it does not describe the other three versions in the family.

Q: What does "renewable energy credits" mean and why does the petition limit their use?
A: A renewable energy credit (REC) is a tradeable certificate representing renewable generation that utilities use to show compliance with the standard. Per the summary, version 2 would allow RECs only when "associated with electricity the utility sold to Missouri customers", which on its face would stop a utility from using credits unconnected to power it actually sold in Missouri.

Q: Did this petition reach the ballot?
A: The opinion does not say. AG approval of the summary is one early step in the Chapter 116 process; it is not a record of whether signatures were gathered or the measure qualified.

Background and statutory framework

This letter is the summary-statement step of the Chapter 116 RSMo initiative process: after a petition clears form review, the Secretary of State drafts the summary statement (the ballot question), and the AG reviews its legal content and form. The only statute the letter cites is § 116.334 RSMo, the provision under which the AG approves that summary. The Owen petitions are statutory initiatives to amend Chapter 393 RSMo rather than constitutional amendments.

Citations and references

Statutes: § 116.334 RSMo (the operative provision for AG review of a summary statement, the only statute the opinion cites); Chapter 393 RSMo (the chapter the petition would amend, named in the letter).

Sister Owen renewable-energy-standard summary statement opinions: 218-2019 (version 1, 2020-113), 220-2019 (version 3, 2020-115), 221-2019 (version 4, 2020-116).

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/219-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2

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

October 11, 2019

OPINION LETTER NO. 219-2019

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 October 4, 2019, for our review under § 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by James Owen regarding a proposed amendment to amend Chapter 393, Revised Statutes of Missouri, version 2 (2020-114). The proposed summary statement is as follows:

Do you want to amend Missouri law regarding the renewable energy standard applicable to investor-owned electric utilities as follows:

• increase the minimum renewable energy amount from the existing 15% of retail sales in 2021 to 20% by 2022, 27% by 2025, 35% by 2028, 42% by 2031, and 50% by 2035;
• only allow the use of renewable energy credits if they are associated with electricity the utility sold to Missouri customers;
• require each utility to purchase at least half of the renewable energy used to meet the standard from resources it does not own?

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,

ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General

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

OP-2019-0253