Why did Missouri reject Katherine Floyd's initiative petition 2026-013?

Plain-English summary

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey rejected the form of Katherine Floyd's initiative petition 2026-013. The signature sheet did not correctly address the current secretary of state and incorrectly described the petition as a constitutional amendment rather than a proposed change to the Missouri Revised Statutes.

The opinion did not look for additional defects after finding those two problems. It also stated that the secretary of state had final authority to approve or reject the petition's form under § 116.332.4, RSMo.

The official 2024 archive labels Opinion 42-2024 as an approval, but the linked official PDF says, "We conclude that the petition must be rejected." This page follows the opinion text while preserving the archive's title in the source metadata.

What this means for you

Initiative petition proponents and drafters

For petition 2026-013, the opinion treated the addressee and the description of the proposal's legal form as grounds for rejection. It did not determine whether other defects existed.

Missouri Secretary of State staff

The attorney general's opinion rejected the petition's form but recognized the secretary of state's authority to make the final approval or rejection decision.

Election lawyers and ballot-measure researchers

Opinion 42-2024 applies § 116.332, RSMo, to form review and identifies two Section 116.040 signature-sheet defects. Its holding differs from the approval label on the official archive index.

Common questions

Q: Why was petition 2026-013 rejected?
A: Its signature sheet addressed the wrong current secretary of state and called the proposal a constitutional amendment instead of a change to the Missouri Revised Statutes.

Q: Did the attorney general find every possible defect?
A: No. After rejecting the petition for the two stated reasons, the opinion said it did not review the petition for additional deficiencies.

Q: Who had the final decision on the petition's form?
A: The opinion said the secretary of state could review the opinion and make the final approval or rejection decision under § 116.332.4, RSMo.

Background and statutory framework

The Missouri Secretary of State requested review on December 17, 2024. The attorney general reviewed the form of Katherine Floyd's Ch. 213 initiative petition 2026-013 under § 116.332, RSMo.

The opinion identified two failures to comply with Section 116.040, both appearing on the signature sheet. It then stopped without examining whether the petition had other deficiencies.

Citations and references

Statutes: § 116.332, RSMo; Section 116.040; § 116.332.4, RSMo.

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/2020-opinions/2024-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/42-2024.pdf

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ANDREW BAILEY
December 30, 2024
OPINION LETTER NO. 42-2024
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 17, 2024 for our
review under § 116.332, RSMo of the sufficiency as to form of an initiative petition
submitted by Katherine Floyd, Ch. 213, 2026-013.
We conclude that the petition must be rejected for at least the following reasons:
•
•

failure to correctly address the signature sheet to the current secretary of state
as required in Section 116.040;
failure to correctly identify the petition on the signature sheet as a proposed
change to the Missouri Revised Statutes rather than an amendment to the
Missouri Constitution as required by Section 116.040.

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.”

Very truly yours,

ANDREW BAILEY
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-2024-044