Did Missouri's AG approve the form of Gerald Peterson's initiative petition to amend Chapter 147 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri (Petition 2020-026)?

Plain-English summary

Under § 116.332, RSMo, the Missouri Attorney General reviews initiative petitions for sufficiency as to form at the request of the Secretary of State. The review checks structural compliance with Chapter 116, RSMo, not substantive constitutionality.

For Petition 2020-026, submitted by Gerald Peterson to amend Chapter 147 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, the AG approved the form. Two reservations attach:

1. Final authority is the Secretary's. The AG's approval does not preclude the Secretary of State from rejecting the petition.
2. Form approval is not substance approval. The AG is not opining on whether the proposed amendment is constitutional, lawful, or sound policy.

Chapter 147 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri is the chapter on the Missouri corporation franchise tax. The opinion does not describe what change to Chapter 147 the petition proposes; that information is in the petition itself, filed with the Secretary of State.

See companion opinion 9-2019, issued the same day, approving Peterson's parallel petition (2020-027) to amend Chapter 208 (the Missouri Medicaid and public assistance statutes).

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. Whether Petition 2020-026 was actually circulated and qualified for the ballot is a separate question that the Missouri Secretary of State's records would show.

Common questions

What is Chapter 147, RSMo?

The Missouri statutory chapter on the corporate franchise tax (historically) and currently various tax provisions affecting Missouri corporations.

Does AG form approval mean the petition will go on the ballot?

No. Form approval is one step. The petition still needs a summary statement, a fiscal note, valid signatures from enough registered voters in enough congressional districts, and survival of any pre-election court challenges.

Why is the AG's role advisory?

Because § 116.332 explicitly gives the Secretary of State final authority on form. The AG's review is a recommendation to the Secretary, not a binding decision.

Where can I see the proposed text?

In the petition filed with the Missouri Secretary of State's office, available through the office's public initiative petition records.

Background and statutory framework

Missouri's initiative process runs through Chapter 116, RSMo. The statute the AG cites in this letter is § 116.332, which directs the AG to review a submitted petition for sufficiency as to form on the Secretary of State's request and reserves to the Secretary the final decision on form.

Form review at this stage is the first procedural gate before the petition can circulate for signatures. Other steps in the process (summary-statement review, the fiscal note, signature gathering, and certification) follow under separate provisions of Chapter 116, but this letter addresses only the form question under § 116.332.

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/8-2019.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, ATTORNEY GENERAL
JEFFERSON CITY, P.O. Box 899, 65102
(573) 751-3321

January 7, 2019

OPINION LETTER NO. 8-2019

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 December 27, 2018, for our review under § 116.332, RSMo, of the sufficiency as to form of an initiative petition to amend Chapter 147, Revised Statutes of Missouri, submitted by Gerald Peterson, (2020-026).

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_2018_0132