HCS HB 228 -- CIRCULATION OF PETITIONS

SPONSOR:  Jones, 89 (Parson)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
General Laws by a vote of 12 to 2.

This substitute changes the laws regarding the circulation of
petitions.  In its main provisions, the substitute:

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

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

(3)  Requires petition circulators to supply information to the
Office of the Secretary of State verifying their eligibility and
to swear by affidavit that they will comply with the conditions
of the substitute;

(4)  Specifies that signatures collected by unregistered
circulators will not be counted; and

(5)  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.

The substitute becomes effective January 1, 2011.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2010, FY 2011, and
FY 2012.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill will help prevent
outside influences from corrupting the Missouri political
process.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Parson; Missouri
Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Missouri Municipal League;
Missouri National Education Association; Missouri Farm Bureau;
Missouri Restaurant Association; and Jeff Windett, Missouri
Cattlemens Association.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that the requirement of
Missouri residency is unconstitutional and has been struck down
in numerous federal courts.  The prohibition on paying
circulators on a per-signature basis is also unconstitutional and
should be removed.  The Eighth Judicial Circuit upheld these
measures in the past, but the cases are unlikely to survive
current judicial review.  The prohibition on collecting
signatures for multiple petitions limits political speech and is
also likely to be unconstitutional.

Testifying against the bill were Americans for Prosperity and
Foundation; American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri;
Ron Calzone, Missouri First; Tim Ascher, Missouri Civil Rights
Initiative; Patrick Tuohey; Paul Jacob, Citizens in Charge
Foundation; John Paulifugot; and Bev Ehlen.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated November 17, 2009 at 9:24 am