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Missouri Senate Bill SB22

Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB22 Compare Versions

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22 EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
33 and is intended to be omitted in the law.
44 FIRST REGULAR SESSION
5-[TRULY AGREED TO AND FINALLY PASSED ]
5+[PERFECTED]
66 SENATE SUBSTITUTE NO. 2 FOR
77 SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
88 SENATE BILL NO. 22
99 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
10-2025
11-0713S.08T
10+INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BRATTIN.
11+0713S.08P KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
1212 AN ACT
1313 To repeal sections 116.155, 116.160, 116.190, 116.334, and 526.010, RSMo, and to enact in lieu
1414 thereof five new sections relating to judicial proceedings, with an emergency clause for
1515 a certain section.
1616
1717 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
1818 Section A. Sections 116.155, 116.160, 116.190, 116.334, 1
1919 and 526.010, RSMo, are repealed and five new sections enacted 2
2020 in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 116.155, 116.160, 3
2121 116.190, 116.334, and 526.010, to read as follows:4
2222 116.155. 1. The general assembly may include the 1
2323 official summary statement and a fiscal note summary in any 2
2424 statewide ballot measure that it refers to the voters. 3
2525 2. The official summary statement approved by the 4
2626 general assembly shall, taken together with the approv ed 5
2727 fiscal note summary, be the official ballot title and such 6
2828 summary statement shall contain no more than [fifty] one 7
2929 hundred words, excluding articles. The title shall be a 8
3030 true and impartial statement of the purposes of the proposed 9
3131 measure in language neither intentionally argumentative nor 10
3232 likely to create prejudice either for or against the 11
3333 proposed measure. 12 SS#2 SCS SB 22 2
3434 3. The fiscal note summary approved by the general 13
3535 assembly shall contain no more than fifty words, excluding 14
3636 articles, which shall summarize the fiscal note prepared for 15
3737 the measure in language neither argumentative nor likely to 16
3838 create prejudice for or against the proposed measure. 17
3939 116.160. 1. If the general assembly adopts a joint 1
4040 resolution proposing a co nstitutional amendment or a bill 2
4141 without a fiscal note summary, which is to be referred to a 3
4242 vote of the people, after receipt of such resolution or bill 4
4343 the secretary of state shall promptly forward the resolution 5
4444 or bill to the state auditor. If the general assembly 6
4545 adopts a joint resolution proposing a constitutional 7
4646 amendment or a bill without an official summary statement, 8
4747 which is to be referred to a vote of the people, within 9
4848 twenty days after receipt of the resolution or bill, the 10
4949 secretary of state shall prepare and transmit to the 11
5050 attorney general a summary statement of the measure as the 12
5151 proposed summary statement. The secretary of state may seek 13
5252 the advice of the legislator who introduced the 14
5353 constitutional amendment or bill and th e speaker of the 15
5454 house or the president pro tem of the legislative chamber 16
5555 that originated the measure. The summary statement may be 17
5656 distinct from the legislative title of the proposed 18
5757 constitutional amendment or bill. The attorney general 19
5858 shall within ten days approve the legal content and form of 20
5959 the proposed statement. 21
6060 2. If the general assembly adopts a joint resolution 22
6161 proposing a constitutional amendment or statutory measure 23
6262 that includes an official summary statement, the statement 24
6363 shall appear on the ballot, unless it is challenged pursuant 25
6464 to section 116.190, in which case the provisions of that 26
6565 section shall apply. 27 SS#2 SCS SB 22 3
6666 3. The official summary statement shall contain no 28
6767 more than [fifty] one hundred words, excluding articles. 29
6868 The title shall be a true and impartial statement of the 30
6969 purposes of the proposed measure in language neither 31
7070 intentionally argumentative nor likely to create prejudice 32
7171 either for or against the proposed measure. 33
7272 116.190. 1. Any citizen who wishes to challenge the 1
7373 official ballot title or the fiscal note prepared for a 2
7474 proposed constitutional amendment submitted by the general 3
7575 assembly, by initiative petition, or by constitutional 4
7676 convention, or for a statutory initiative or ref erendum 5
7777 measure, may bring an action in the circuit court of Cole 6
7878 County. The action [must] shall be brought within ten days 7
7979 after the official ballot title is certified by the 8
8080 secretary of state in accordance with the provisions of this 9
8181 chapter, in the case of an initiative petition and not later 10
8282 than the twenty-second Tuesday prior to the general election 11
8383 at which the ballot measure will be submitted to the voters, 12
8484 in the case of all other statewide ballot measures . 13
8585 2. The secretary of stat e shall be named as a party 14
8686 defendant in any action challenging the official ballot 15
8787 title prepared by the secretary of state. When the action 16
8888 challenges the fiscal note or the fiscal note summary 17
8989 prepared by the auditor, the state auditor shall also b e 18
9090 named as a party defendant. The president pro tem of the 19
9191 senate, the speaker of the house and the sponsor of the 20
9292 measure and the secretary of state shall be the named party 21
9393 defendants in any action challenging the official summary 22
9494 statement, fiscal note or fiscal note summary prepared 23
9595 pursuant to section 116.155. 24
9696 3. The petition shall state the reason or reasons why 25
9797 the summary statement portion of the official ballot title 26 SS#2 SCS SB 22 4
9898 is insufficient or unfair [and shall request a different 27
9999 summary statement portion of the official ballot title ]. 28
100100 Alternatively, the petition shall state the reasons why the 29
101101 fiscal note or the fiscal note summary portion of the 30
102102 official ballot title is insufficient or unfair and shall 31
103103 request a different fiscal note or fiscal note summary 32
104104 portion of the official ballot title. 33
105105 4. (1) The action shall be placed at the top of the 34
106106 civil docket. 35
107107 (2) (a) Insofar as the action challenges the summary 36
108108 statement portion of the official ballot title, the court 37
109109 shall consider the petition, hear arguments, and in its 38
110110 decision certify the summary statement portion of the 39
111111 official ballot title to the secretary of state as 40
112112 originally written if the court finds the summary statement 41
113113 to be sufficient and fair. If the court finds the summary 42
114114 statement to be insufficient or unfair, the court may offer 43
115115 suggested revisions for the summary statement to remedy the 44
116116 legal flaws, but it shall, in its decision, order the 45
117117 secretary of state to write a first revised summa ry 46
118118 statement that is sufficient and fair. 47
119119 (b) The secretary of state shall submit a first 48
120120 revised summary statement to the court within seven days. 49
121121 If, after submission to the court of a first revised summary 50
122122 statement by the secretary of state, the court finds the 51
123123 first revised summary statement to be sufficient and fair, 52
124124 the court shall certify to the secretary of state that 53
125125 statement and order it to appear on the ballot. If the 54
126126 court finds the first revised summary statement to be 55
127127 insufficient or unfair, the court may offer suggested 56
128128 revisions for the statement to remedy the legal flaws, but 57
129129 it shall, in its decision, order the secretary of state to 58 SS#2 SCS SB 22 5
130130 write a second revised summary statement that is sufficient 59
131131 and fair. 60
132132 (c) The secretary of state shall submit a second 61
133133 revised summary statement to the court within five days. 62
134134 If, after submission to the court of a second revised 63
135135 summary statement by the secretary of state, the court finds 64
136136 the second revised summary statement to be sufficient and 65
137137 fair, the court shall certify to the secretary of state that 66
138138 statement and order it to appear on the ballot. If the 67
139139 court finds the second revised summary statement to be 68
140140 insufficient or unfair, the court may offer suggested 69
141141 revisions for the statement to remedy the legal flaws, but 70
142142 it shall, in its decision, order the secretary of state to 71
143143 write a third revised summary statement that is sufficient 72
144144 and fair. 73
145145 (d) The secretary of state shall submit a third 74
146146 revised summary statement to the court within three days. 75
147147 If, after submission to the court of a third revised summary 76
148148 statement by the secretary of state, the court finds the 77
149149 third revised summary statement to be sufficient and fair, 78
150150 the court shall certify to the sec retary of state that 79
151151 statement and order it to appear on the ballot. If the 80
152152 court finds the third revised summary statement to be 81
153153 insufficient or unfair, or if the secretary of state 82
154154 neglects or refuses to submit any of the revised summary 83
155155 statements within the times mandated by this subdivision 84
156156 when so ordered, the court shall revise the summary 85
157157 statement in a manner that is sufficient and fair and order 86
158158 the secretary of state to place that summary statement on 87
159159 the ballot with the measure. 88
160160 (e) During all revisions as provided in this 89
161161 subdivision, the case shall remain open. 90 SS#2 SCS SB 22 6
162162 (f) Any non-prevailing party may make appeals as 91
163163 provided by law only following: 92
164164 a. The finding of the circuit court that a summary 93
165165 statement was sufficien t and fair; or 94
166166 b. The circuit court ordering its own summary 95
167167 statement to be placed on the ballot pursuant to paragraph 96
168168 (d) of this subdivision. 97
169169 (g) Any action brought pursuant to this section 98
170170 challenging a statewide ballot measure appearing on the 99
171171 ballot at an election called by the governor pursuant to 100
172172 Article XII, Section 2(b), Missouri Constitution, whether at 101
173173 the primary election or at a special election, or at a 102
174174 special election for a referendum petition measure called by 103
175175 the general assembly pursuant to Article III, Section 52(b), 104
176176 Missouri Constitution, shall be expedited by the court to 105
177177 bring a resolution of the matter prior to the printing of 106
178178 ballots. The court may shorten any timeframe under this 107
179179 section to achieve this pur pose. 108
180180 (3) Insofar as the action challenges the fiscal note 109
181181 or the fiscal note summary portion of the official ballot 110
182182 title, the court shall consider the petition, hear 111
183183 arguments, and in its decision, either certify the fiscal 112
184184 note or the fiscal n ote summary portion of the official 113
185185 ballot title to the secretary of state or remand the fiscal 114
186186 note or the fiscal note summary to the auditor for 115
187187 preparation of a new fiscal note or fiscal note summary 116
188188 pursuant to the procedures set forth in section 1 16.175. 117
189189 Any party to the suit may appeal to the supreme court within 118
190190 ten days after a circuit court decision pursuant to this 119
191191 subdivision. [In making the legal notice to election 120
192192 authorities under section 116.240, and for the purposes of 121 SS#2 SCS SB 22 7
193193 section 116.180, the secretary of state shall certify the 122
194194 language which the court certifies to him. ] 123
195195 5. Any action brought under this section that is not 124
196196 fully and finally adjudicated within one hundred eighty days 125
197197 of filing, and more than [fifty-six] seventy days prior to 126
198198 election in which the measure is to appear, including all 127
199199 appeals, shall be extinguished, unless a court extends such 128
200200 period upon a finding of good cause for such extension. 129
201201 Such good cause shall consist only of court -related 130
202202 scheduling issues and shall not include requests for 131
203203 continuance by the parties. 132
204204 116.334. 1. If the petition form is approved, the 1
205205 secretary of state shall make a copy of the sample petition 2
206206 available on the secretary of state's website. For a period 3
207207 of fifteen days after the petition is approved as to form, 4
208208 the secretary of state shall accept public comments 5
209209 regarding the proposed measure and provide copies of such 6
210210 comments upon request. Within twenty-three days of receipt 7
211211 of such approval, the secretary of state shall prepare and 8
212212 transmit to the attorney general a summary statement of the 9
213213 measure which shall be a concise statement not exceeding one 10
214214 hundred words. This statement shall be in the form of a 11
215215 question using language neither intentionally argumentative 12
216216 nor likely to create prejudice either for or against the 13
217217 proposed measure. The attorney general shall within ten 14
218218 days approve the legal content and form of the proposed 15
219219 statement. 16
220220 2. Signatures obtained prior to the date the official 17
221221 ballot title is certified by the secretary of state shall 18
222222 not be counted. Once the secretary of state certifies the 19
223223 official ballot title, signatures may be collected, even if 20
224224 the ballot title is subject to an action in court 21 SS#2 SCS SB 22 8
225225 challenging the sufficiency and fairness of the ballot 22
226226 title. If a court orders a change that alters the content 23
227227 of the official ballot title, then all signatures gathered 24
228228 before such change occurred shall not be invalidated based 25
229229 upon the fact that o ne or more signatures were gathered 26
230230 prior to the alteration of the official ballot title, 27
231231 regardless of whether those signatures were gathered on 28
232232 petition pages that displayed what was previously the 29
233233 official ballot title as certified by the secretary of 30
234234 state. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the 31
235235 invalidation of a signature for a reason otherwise allowed 32
236236 by this chapter. 33
237237 3. Signatures for statutory initiative petitions shall 34
238238 be filed not later than six months prior to the general 35
239239 election during which the petition's ballot measure is 36
240240 submitted for a vote, and shall also be collected not 37
241241 earlier than the day after the day upon which the previous 38
242242 general election was held. 39
243243 526.010. 1. Injunctions may be granted by a circuit 1
244244 judge[,] or an associate circuit judge. 2
245245 2. In any action in which the state or a statewide 3
246246 official is preliminarily enjoined from implementing, 4
247247 enforcing, or otherwise effectuating any provision of the 5
248248 Constitution of Missouri, any Missouri statute, or any 6
249249 Missouri regulation, the attorney general may appeal the 7
250250 preliminary injunction. 8
251251 3. The attorney general may appeal any preliminary 9
252252 injunction that existed prior to August 28, 2025, under 10
253253 subsection 2 of this section. 11
254254 Section B. Because immediate action is necessary to 1
255255 ensure judicial efficiency, the repeal and reenactment of 2
256256 section 526.010 of section A of this act is deemed necessary 3 SS#2 SCS SB 22 9
257257 for the immediate preservation of the public health, 4
258258 welfare, peace and safety, and is hereby declared to be an 5
259259 emergency act within the meaning of the constitution, and 6
260260 the repeal and reenactment of section 526.010 of section A 7
261261 of this act shall be in full force and effect upon its 8
262262 passage and approval. 9
263263