To repeal sections 116.040, 116.160, 116.170, 116.180 and 116.190, RSMo 1994, relating to initiative and referendum petitions, and to enact in lieu thereof five new sections relating to the same subject.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

     Section A. Sections 116.040, 116.160, 116.170, 116.180 and 116.190, RSMo 1994, are repealed and five new sections enacted in lieu thereof to be known as sections 116.040, 116.160, 116.170, 116.180 and 116.190, to read as follows:

     116.040. 1. The following shall be substantially the form of each page of each petition for any law or amendment to the Constitution of the State of Missouri proposed by the initiative:

      County ..........

      Page No. ..........

     It is a class A misdemeanor for anyone to sign any initiative petition with any name other than his own, or knowingly to sign his name more than once for the same measure for the same election, or to sign a petition when he knows he is not a registered voter.

INITIATIVE PETITION

To the Honorable .........., Secretary of State for the state of Missouri:

     We, the undersigned, registered voters of the state of Missouri and .......... County (or city of St. Louis), respectfully order that the following proposed law (or amendment to the constitution) shall be submitted to the voters of the state of Missouri, for their approval or rejection, at the general election to be held on the ........ day of .........., 19..., and each for himself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the state of Missouri and ........ County (or city of St. Louis); my registered voting address and the name of the city, town or village in which I live are correctly written after my name.

CIRCULATOR'S AFFIDAVIT STATE OF MISSOURI, COUNTY OF ............ I, .........., a Missouri registered voter and a resident of the state of Missouri, being first duly sworn, say (print or type names of signers)

REGISTERED VOTING

NAME DATE ADDRESS ZIP CONGR. NAME (Signature)SIGNED(Street) (City, Town CODE DIST. (Printed

or Village) or Typed)

(Here follow numbered lines for signers)

signed this page of the foregoing petition, and each of them signed his name thereto in my presence; I believe that each has stated his name, registered voting address and city, town or village correctly, and that each signer is a registered voter of the state of Missouri and .......... County.

.............................

Signature of Affiant

(Person obtaining signatures)

.............................

Address of Affiant

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ...... day of .........., A.D. 19....

.............................                                  Signature of Notary

Notary Public (Seal)

My commission expires ...........

     2. The text of the petition shall:

     (1) Contain a full and complete text of the proposed measure, with matter which is to be deleted included in its proper place enclosed in brackets and all new matter be printed in bold-face type;

     (2) Incorporate all sections of existing law or of the constitution which would be repealed by the proposal; and

     (3) Otherwise conform to the provisions of article III, section 28 and article III, section 50 of the constitution and those of this chapter.

     3. If this form is followed substantially, it shall be sufficient, disregarding clerical and merely technical errors.

     116.160. 1. After the general assembly adopts a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment or a bill which is to be referred to a vote of the people and it has been delivered to the secretary of state, the [committee on legislative research] secretary of state shall, within ten days after such delivery, provide an official ballot title for the measure [to the secretary of state]. The secretary of state may seek the advice of the attorney general, the legislator who introduced the constitutional amendment or bill and the speaker of the house or the president pro tem of the house that originated the measure. The official ballot title may be distinct from the legislative title of the proposed constitutional amendment.

     2. The official ballot title shall [contain no more than thirty-five words] be written as concisely as may be to accurately describe the measure. The title shall be a true and impartial statement of the purposes of the proposed measure in language neither intentionally argumentative nor likely to create prejudice either for or against the proposed measure.

     116.170. 1. After the general assembly adopts a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment or a bill which is to be referred to a vote of the people and it has been delivered to the secretary of state, [the oversight division of the committee on legislative research] the secretary of state and the auditor, shall, within ten days after such delivery, prepare a fiscal note for the proposed measure, and [the committee on legislative research shall provide] a fiscal note summary for the official ballot for the proposed measure [to the secretary of state]. The secretary of state and the auditor after consulting the relevant records of the committee on legislative research, the legislator who introduced the measure and the speaker of the house or the president pro tem of the senate, as the case may be, of the house that originated the measure.

     2. A statement of fiscal impact shall be submitted with each petition for a constitutional amendment, statutory revision and for a referendum. The statement shall be prepared by a certified public accountant with experience in public finance. It shall estimate the cost of the proposal in a manner consistent with the standards of the governmental accounting standards board and with section 23.140, RSMo. Within five days after certifying a constitutional amendment petition, a statutory initiative petition or a referendum petition as sufficient, the secretary of state shall transmit a copy of the measure to the state auditor [oversight division of the committee on legislative research]. The auditor shall assess the statement of fiscal impact, and may consult with state departments, the general assembly and others with knowledge pertinent to the cost of the proposal. Within ten days thereafter the [oversight division of the committee on legislative research] state auditor shall prepare a fiscal note for the proposed measure, and the [committee on legislative research] auditor and secretary of state shall provide a fiscal note summary to be printed on the official ballot for the proposed measure to the secretary of state.

     3. The fiscal note and fiscal note summary shall state the measure's estimated cost or savings, if any, to state or local governmental entities. Each summary shall [contain no more than thirty-five words] be written as concisely as may be to accurately describe the measure. Persons circulating the petition shall include the fiscal note summary on the petition in a separate paragraph immediately following the petition title.

     116.180. Within three days after receiving the official ballot title [from the attorney general or the committee on legislative research] and within three days after receiving the fiscal note and fiscal note summary [from the oversight division of the committee on legislative research], the secretary of state shall send a copy of each by certified mail to the person whose name and address are designated under section 116.100. The secretary of state shall send or transmit a copy of the fiscal note and fiscal note summary to any person who has requested to be notified.

     116.190. 1. Any citizen who wishes to challenge the official ballot title or the fiscal note summary [provided for] and fiscal note prepared for a proposed constitutional amendment submitted by the general assembly, by initiative petition, or by constitutional convention, or for a statutory initiative or referendum measure, may bring an action in the circuit court of Cole County. The action must be brought within ten working days after the official ballot title or fiscal note summary is provided to the secretary of state in accordance with sections 116.160, 116.170, and 116.334.

     2. [When the secretary of state has provided the official ballot title in dispute, the petition shall name him as a party defendant. When the committee on legislative research has provided the official ballot title in dispute, the petition shall name the committee as a party defendant and service may be had on the director of research for the committee on legislative research. When the fiscal note and fiscal note summary are in dispute, the petition shall name the committee on legislative research as a party defendant and service may be had on the director of the oversight division for the committee on legislative research.

     3.] The petition shall state the reason or reasons why the official ballot title is insufficient or unfair or why the fiscal note and fiscal note summary are insufficient or unfair and shall request a different official ballot title or fiscal note and fiscal note summary.

     [4.] 3. The action shall be placed at the top of the civil docket. The court shall consider the petition, hear arguments, and in its decision certify the official ballot title or fiscal note and fiscal note summary to the secretary of state. In making the legal notice to election authorities under section 116.240, the secretary of state shall certify the language which the court certifies to him.