A previously thrown out law over rewriting Missouri ballot summaries is on track to be revived.
The bill gives greater authority to the secretary of state to write summary statements for proposed ballot initiatives, like constitutional amendments. It also limits how much a court can intervene. The Missouri House passed the bill 90-55 on Wednesday. It now goes to the Senate, where the law last year originated.
Under the law, the secretary of state gets three chances to rewrite ballot language. A Circuit Court judge then reviews the language and can deem it sufficient at any time in this process. If after three attempts the circuit court still doesn't approve the language, the judge can rewrite it.
Currently, courts have that ability during litigation.
"We give authority to the chief election authority where we're trying to make sure that the courts, for recent history, have been actually circumventing the will of the General Assembly, the elected people, in writing a lot of these statements on their own," said Rep. John Simmons, R-Washington, who sponsored the bill.
The bill is similar to a law passed last year. However, the Missouri Supreme Court threw it out in January because of an additional policy allowing the attorney general to appeal preliminary injunctions against state laws or constitutional provisions.
That decision sparked ire from Republicans, and led to the cancellation of the annual State of the Judiciary speech to the legislature in late January.
Before it was struck down, that new process was put to the test last year over the ballot language on a proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit most abortions in Missouri.
Secretary of State Denny Hoskins went through several iterations of ballot language before his second attempt was deemed sufficient by a judge.
However, that language was overturned and rewritten by an appeals court.
All House Democrats, along with a few Republicans, voted against the new bill.
In speaking against it, Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee's Summit, said if lawmakers stand behind their proposed ballot language, then it should be able to withstand a court challenge.
"If you all think that this is the black-robed tyrants across the street, it's likely you that don't want to adhere to the Constitution," Ingle said.
Like last year's bill, the new version expands the ballot summary limit for measures proposed by the General Assembly from 50 to 100 words.
However, an amendment to the bill that lawmakers approved on Monday goes further than last year's law. It strips the ability to rewrite ballot language from both appellate courts and the Missouri Supreme Court.
That means only circuit court judges would have the ability to rewrite ballot language instead of judges in courts above them.
Rep. Eric Woods, D-Kansas City, called the new language "pretty egregious from a legal and constitutional perspective."
"We all know that's a temper tantrum reaction to Senate Bill 22 being struck down. It's a kick back at the court, which is not what we should be in the business of doing. We know it's not going to pass muster," Woods said.
Simmons said the higher courts will still get their say.
"We're not taking away from the court's authority, the Appellate Court, the Supreme Court, they can still look at the reasoning that there's legal flaws with the ballot summary still, and instruct the circuit court what they need to do," Simmons said.
The legislation is HB 3146.
Other bills passed
The House passed 18 bills on Wednesday, just two days before the start of the legislative spring break.
One of those bills expands the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Currently, any action to recover damages must begin within 10 years of the survivor turning 21 or within three years the plaintiff realizes the injury or illness was caused by childhood sexual abuse, whichever is later.
This bill extends that time frame to 20 years.
"The victims of this horrific act need your voice with a yes vote. To vote no is a slap in the face," Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, said.
Also included in the bill is the shrinking of the statute of limitations window to begin personal injury lawsuits from five years to three.
Some Democrats spoke against that portion of the bill, including Rep. Will Jobe, D-Independence.
"When you take this statute of limitations down, what you're doing is closing the door for people that are victims of a crime, being able to come back and get redressed for their grievances in a civil action," Jobe said.
However, Rep. Ian Mackey, D-St. Louis, spoke in favor of the change.
"This legislation lowering the personal injury statute from five years down to three years puts us more in line with 47 other states," Mackey said.
Ultimately, the bill passed 95-12, with 39 representatives, most of them Democrats, voting present.
The legislation is HB 1664.
Other bills passed include:
- HB 2505, which prioritizes grandparents in situations of child custody if they need to be placed within a third party.
- HB 1625, which creates stronger penalties for drug trafficking, including fentanyl distribution.
- HB 3035, which creates a depreciation schedule for car valuations for tax purposes.
- HB 2335, which changes the required training school employees must complete annually to give districts the ability to set those requirements for employees who have worked beyond three years.
Those bills all now go to the Senate.
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