EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 73
102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR SCHROER.
3045S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri, an amendment repealing sections 50, 51, and 52(b)
of article III of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting five new sections in lieu
thereof relating to procedures for ballot measures submitted to the voters, with penalty
provisions.
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring therein:
That at the next general election to be held in the 1
state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday 2
in November, 2024, or at a special election to be called by 3
the governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to 4
the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or 5
rejection, the following amendment to article III of the 6
Constitution of the state of Missouri:7
Section A. Sections 50, 51, and 52(b), article III, 1
Constitution of Missouri, are repealed and five new sections 2
adopted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 50, 51, 51(a), 3
52(b), and 54, to read as follows:4
Section 50. 1. Initiative petitions proposing 1
amendments to the constitution shall be signed by eight 2
percent of the legal voters in each of two-thirds of the 3
congressional districts in the state, and petitions 4
proposing laws shall be signed by five percent of such 5
voters. Every such petition shall be filed with the 6
secretary of state not less than six months before the 7 SJR 73 2
election and shall contain an enacting clause and the full 8
text of the measure. 9
2. Upon filing an initiative petition proposing a 10
constitutional amendment with the secretary of state, the 11
person or entity filing the petition shall indicate on the 12
sample sheet any sponsoring campaign committee responsible 13
for the measure. Any supporting campaign committee that is 14
formed or amends its status to support the measure shall 15
notify the secretary of state of such fact. 16
3. Petitions for constitutiona l amendments shall not 17
contain more than one amended and revised article of this 18
constitution, or one new article which shall not contain 19
more than one subject and matters properly connected 20
therewith, and the enacting clause thereof shall be "Be it 21
resolved by the people of the state of Missouri that the 22
Constitution be amended:". Petitions for laws shall contain 23
not more than one subject which shall be expressed clearly 24
in the title, and the enacting clause thereof shall be "Be 25
it enacted by the people of the state of Missouri:". 26
Section 51. 1. The initiative shall not be used : 1
(1) For the appropriation of money other than of new 2
revenues created and provided for thereby [,]; or 3
(2) For any other purpose prohibited by this 4
constitution. [Except as provided in this constitution, ] 5
2. (1) Any measure [proposed] proposing laws shall 6
take effect when approved by a majority of the votes cast 7
thereon. 8
(2) Notwithstanding section 2(b) of article XII of 9
this constitution to the contrary, any measure proposing an 10
amendment to this constitution shall only take effect as 11
provided in this subdivision, as follows: 12 SJR 73 3
(a) If the sponsoring campaign committee or any 13
supporting campaign committee accept s contributions during 14
the election cycle from only in -state contributors, the 15
measure shall take effect when approved by a majority of the 16
votes cast thereon; 17
(b) If the sponsoring campaign committee or any 18
supporting campaign committee accepts contributions during 19
the election cycle from an out -of-state contributor, the 20
measure shall take effect when approved by a majority plus 21
an additional one percent for every whole increment of two 22
percent of the total percentage of contributions that ar e 23
received, in the aggregate, from an out -of-state contributor 24
by the sponsoring campaign committee or any supporting 25
campaign committee during the election cycle. 26
3. When conflicting measures are approved at the same 27
election the one receiving the largest affirmative vote 28
shall prevail. 29
Section 51(a). 1. In addition to any report required 1
to be made by law, a sponsoring or supporting campaign 2
committee sponsoring or supporting an initiative petition 3
proposing a constituti onal amendment shall make the 4
following disclosure reports to the Missouri ethics 5
commission, or in the event the Missouri ethics commission 6
is dissolved, to the secretary of state: 7
(1) Not later than the eighth day prior to the 8
election at which the measure is to appear on the ballot for 9
the period closing on the twelfth day before the election, 10
the committee shall report the total amount of all 11
contributions received during the election cycle, identified 12
by name and address of each contribut or; 13
(2) Not later than seventy -two hours prior to the 14
election at which the measure is to appear on the ballot, 15 SJR 73 4
the committee shall report the total percentage of 16
contributions received from out -of-state contributors and in - 17
state contributors, re spectively. 18
2. Not less than forty-eight hours prior to the 19
election at which an initiative petition proposing a 20
constitutional amendment is to be voted on, the Missouri 21
ethics commission shall transmit all the reports made 22
pursuant to subsection 1 of this section to the secretary of 23
state. 24
3. Not less than twenty -four hours prior to the 25
election at which an initiative petition proposing a 26
constitutional amendment is to be voted on, the secretary of 27
state shall calculate and announce the voter approval 28
threshold for any initiative petition proposing a 29
constitutional amendment to be approved. For every whole 30
increment of two percent of the total percentage of 31
contributions that are received, in the aggregate, from an 32
out-of-state contributor by the sponsoring campaign 33
committee or any supporting campaign committee of an 34
initiative petition proposing a constitutional amendment 35
during the election cycle, the secretary of state shall add 36
one percentage point to the simple majority th reshold needed 37
for approval. 38
4. (1) Any natural person may file a complaint with 39
the Missouri ethics commission, as provided in this 40
subsection, within thirty days of the date of the election. 41
Any such complaint shall be in writing, shall state all 42
facts known by the complainant that have given rise to the 43
complaint, and shall be sworn to, under penalty of perjury, 44
by the complainant. 45
(2) Any natural person may file a complaint with the 46
Missouri ethics commission challenging the accura cy of: 47 SJR 73 5
(a) Any report made pursuant to subsection 1 of this 48
section; or 49
(b) The calculation of the voter approval threshold 50
pursuant to subsection 3 of this section. 51
(3) Upon receipt of a complaint filed pursuant to 52
subdivision (2) of this subsection, the commission shall 53
refer the matter to the state auditor who shall audit the 54
reports of the sponsoring campaign committee and all 55
supporting campaign committees filed pursuant to subsection 56
1 of this section to verify the percentage of contributions 57
received from in-state contributors and the percentage of 58
contributions received from out -of-state contributors. If 59
the state auditor finds evidence that funds were misreported 60
or the voter approval threshold was miscalculated, then t he 61
state auditor shall compile a report for the attorney 62
general detailing such facts. 63
(4) (a) Upon receipt of report made pursuant to 64
subdivision (3) of this subsection, the attorney general 65
shall petition the supreme court for a hearing, at wh ich 66
point the court shall, as soon as practicable, hold a 67
hearing and either dismiss the petition or issue an order as 68
provided in this subdivision. 69
(b) If the court determines that contributions were 70
knowingly misreported and the initiative peti tion proposing 71
the constitutional amendment was adopted pursuant to section 72
51 of this section, then the election results shall be 73
stricken and the amendment shall be null and void and of no 74
legal effect. 75
(c) If the court determines that the cont ributions 76
were misreported due to no fault of the sponsoring or 77
supporting committees, the court shall adjust the voter 78
approval threshold in compliance with subsection 3 of this 79 SJR 73 6
section and the amendment shall only take effect if it 80
received the requisite number of votes needed to meet such 81
threshold. 82
(d) If the court determines that the voter approval 83
threshold was miscalculated, the court shall recalculate the 84
threshold in the same manner that is required pursuant to 85
subsection 3 of this s ection and the amendment shall only 86
take effect if it received the requisite number of votes 87
needed to meet such threshold. 88
(e) Upon issuance of any order from the supreme court 89
issued pursuant to this subsection in which it is determined 90
that an initiative petition proposing a constitutional 91
amendment received the requisite number of votes for 92
approval, the amendment shall take effect immediately or at 93
the end of thirty days after the election, whichever is 94
later. 95
5. No person shall transfer anything of value to any 96
sponsoring or supporting committee with the intent to 97
conceal, from the Missouri ethics commission or the 98
secretary of state, the identity of the actual source. Any 99
violation of this subsection shall be punishable as fol lows: 100
(a) For the first violation, the person transferring 101
the funds shall be guilty of a class E felony; 102
(b) For the second violation, the person transferring 103
the funds shall be guilty of a class D felony; 104
(c) For the third and subsequ ent violations, the 105
person transferring the funds shall be guilty of a class C 106
felony. 107
6. It shall be unlawful for: 108
(1) A government of a foreign country or a foreign 109
political party to sponsor an initiative petition; 110 SJR 73 7
(2) A government of a foreign country or a foreign 111
political party to directly or indirectly make: 112
(a) A contribution or donation of money or other thing 113
of value, or make an express or implied promise to make a 114
contribution or donation, in connection with an init iative 115
petition; 116
(b) A contribution or donation to a political 117
committee or a political party favoring or opposing an 118
initiative petition; or 119
(c) An expenditure, independent expenditure, or 120
disbursement for an electioneering communication, whether 121
print, broadcast, or digital media, or otherwise, related to 122
an initiative petition; or 123
(3) A person to solicit, accept, or receive a 124
contribution or donation from a government of a foreign 125
country or a foreign political party, in connect ion with an 126
initiative petition. 127
Section 52(b). The veto power of the governor shall 1
not extend to referendum measures [referred to the people ]. 2
All elections on referendum measures [referred to the 3
people] shall be had at the gene ral state elections, except 4
when the general assembly shall order a special election. 5
Any referendum measure [referred to the people ] shall take 6
effect when approved by a majority of the votes cast 7
thereon, and not otherwise. This section shall not b e 8
construed to deprive any member of the general assembly of 9
the right to introduce any measure. 10
Section 54. For purposes of sections 49 to 54 of this 1
article, the following terms mean: 2
(1) "Contribution", the same meaning as i n article 3
VIII, section 23, of this constitution; 4 SJR 73 8
(2) "Election cycle", the period beginning on the day 5
after a general election and ending on the day of the 6
election at which an initiative petition is to be voted on; 7
(3) "In-state contributor", a person or entity that 8
has established residence in the state of Missouri, or 9
maintains a substantial and veritable nexus, such as a 10
business operation, legal incorporation, or permanent 11
presence within the state of Missouri; 12
(4) "Out-of-state contributor", a person or entity 13
that does not meet the definition of "in -state contributor"; 14
(5) "Person", the same meaning as in article VIII, 15
section 23, of this constitution; 16
(6) "Sponsoring campaign committee", a campaign 17
committee that otherwise meets the definition of "campaign 18
committee" as provided by law that is primarily responsible 19
for sponsoring and supporting the measure and is designated 20
as such on the sample sheet submitted to the secretary of 21
state; 22
(7) "Supporting campaign committee", a campaign 23
committee that otherwise meets the definition of "campaign 24
committee" as provided by law that is not designated as the 25
sponsoring campaign committee on the sample sheet submitted 26
to the secretary of state but is form ed for the purpose of 27
supporting the measure in the election. 28