HB 1788 -- Initiative Petitions and Referendums

Sponsor:  Parson

This bill changes the laws regarding initiative petitions and
referendums.  In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Requires a petition circulator to be a United States citizen
and a Missouri resident;

(2)  Specifies that a petition circulator cannot have been
convicted of, found guilty of, or pled guilty to any offense
involving forgery;

(3)  Prohibits the compensation of petition circulators on a
per-signature basis;

(4)  Requires petition circulators to supply certain information
to the Office of the Secretary of State verifying their
eligibility and to swear by affidavit that they comply with the
requirements of the bill;

(5)  Specifies that signatures collected before the circulator
registers with the Secretary of State or signatures collected by
circulators who have violated the payment-per-signature
requirement will not be counted;

(6)  Specifies that anyone who knowingly signs any name other
than his or her own to any petition will be guilty of a class one
election offense;

(7)  Requires a refundable deposit of $500 for filing a ballot
measure for certification by the Secretary of State.  If the
ballot measure is not certified, the deposit will be forfeited to
the General Revenue Fund; but a person may withdraw and resubmit
a petition without paying an additional deposit if it is
withdrawn before the Secretary of State's rejection of the
petition; and

(8)  Establishes a mechanism for reducing the tax rate imposed by
any taxing authority by voter petition.  If at least 33% of the
registered voters petition for a lower tax rate, their proposal
must be considered at the next regular election; and if 66% or
more registered voters approve the petition, it will take effect.
The election process and tax rate adjustment process are
specified in the bill.

The provisions regarding petition circulators and knowingly
signing a false name on a petition become effective January 1,
2011.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:12 pm