House passes reforms to initiative petition process

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri House gave their stamp of approval to a bill altering the initiative petition process.

In a 104-42 vote, the chamber sent to the Senate Rep. Dan Shaul’s HCB 10 upping the requirement for filing an initiative petition.

The measure would require a $350 refundable fee for filing an initiative petition with the office of the Missouri secretary of state The fee is refunded if the petition is authorized to appear on the ballot within the two year period after a summary statement is prepared for the petition. It also imposes an additional $25 per page filing fee for initiative petitions in excess of 10 pages.

Provisions added to the bill during perfection include allowing each political party to submit a list of election judge candidates, providing a word count on ballot measures, and the “selfie rule,” which decriminalizes the act of taking photographs of a ballot.

Read more: https://themissouritimes.com/60282/house-passes-reforms-to-initiative-petition-process/