Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the Heidi Miller initiative petition to amend Chapter 208 (2020-053)?
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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.
Plain-English summary
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the form of Heidi Miller's initiative petition (designated 2020-053), which proposed amendments to Chapter 208, Revised Statutes of Missouri. Chapter 208 is the public-assistance chapter of Missouri statutes; it covers Medicaid (MO HealthNet), Temporary Assistance, child-welfare assistance, and similar programs. The 2019-2020 initiative cycle in Missouri included a Medicaid-expansion drive that ultimately produced Amendment 2 (approved by voters in August 2020), and several Miller-filed Chapter 208 petitions were part of that picture.
Approval is form-review only. The petition cleared the structural and formatting requirements set by Chapter 116. Substantive review (whether the proposed text would survive a constitutional challenge, whether it amounted to a single subject, whether it conflicted with federal law) is not part of the AG's § 116.332 task. § 116.332 leaves final form authority with the Secretary of State, who can still reject the petition.
This approval pairs with Opinion No. 63-2019, which rejected Miller's parallel Article IV constitutional petition on form grounds. So the statutory half of the package cleared while the constitutional half did not.
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 Chapter 208 cover?
Chapter 208 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri governs public-assistance programs, including MO HealthNet (Medicaid), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, child-welfare assistance, and program administration. Initiative drives targeting Medicaid expansion in 2019-2020 commonly proposed amendments to Chapter 208.
What does form-approval mean in this context?
It means the petition complies with the structural and layout requirements of Chapter 116 (the chapter that governs initiative-petition procedure). It does not mean the substance has been blessed.
Who has the final say on form?
§ 116.332 reserves it to the Secretary of State. The AG advises; the Secretary decides. In practice the Secretary follows the AG.
What happened next in the 2019-2020 Medicaid initiative cycle?
A separate Medicaid-expansion measure (Amendment 2) reached the August 2020 ballot and was approved by Missouri voters, adding Medicaid expansion to the state constitution as Mo. Const. art. IV, § 36(c). Whether this specific Miller petition (2020-053) made it to circulation, gathered signatures, or appeared on the ballot is not addressed by the form-review opinion.
What was different about the Article IV petition that got rejected (Opinion No. 63-2019)?
The Article IV petition failed on form. The Chapter 208 petition's form was acceptable. Form review is mechanical; substantive consistency between the two petitions was not the AG's concern.
Background and statutory framework
Missouri's initiative-petition process is in Chapter 116. § 116.332 sets out AG form review and reserves the final form decision to the Secretary of State. The initiative process for statutory measures is grounded in Mo. Const. art. III, §§ 49-53. Chapter 208 of RSMo is the public-assistance code, including MO HealthNet (Missouri Medicaid).
Citations
- § 116.332, RSMo (AG form review of initiative petitions; Secretary of State has final authority on form)
- Chapter 208, RSMo (the chapter the petition proposed to amend; covers MO HealthNet and public assistance)
- Mo. Const. art. III, §§ 49 to 53 (initiative and referendum process)
- Initiative Petition 2020-053 (Miller, Chapter 208)
- Op. Mo. Att'y Gen. 63-2019 (Miller's parallel Article IV constitutional petition, rejected as to form)
Source
- Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/64-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Original opinion text
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT
JEFFERSON CITY
ATTORNEY GENERAL
65102
P.O. Box 899
(573) 751-3321
April 1, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 64-2019
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 March 22, 2019 for our review under § 116.332, RSMo, of the sufficiency as to form of an initiative petition to amend Chapter 208, Revised Statutes of Missouri, submitted by Heidi Miller (2020-053).
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-2019-0064
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