Missouri
Missouri Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, has introduced a resolution aimed at making voter referendums and initiatives a more difficult process. Senate Joint Resolution 13, brought to the Senate floor for a first read on Monday, would require that petition initiatives proposing constitutional changes be signed by 8 percent of legal voters in each congressional district ”” as opposed to the current requirement of 8 percent of voters in two-thirds of the congressional districts in Missouri ”” to make the ballot.
Yesterday, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, certified the Ballot Title for a citizen’s initiative petition called “The Petition Rights Protection Act” submitted by The Committee to Protect Petition Rights.
The group is very unhappy with the description Secretary Carnahan wrote to be used on the petition and  ballot.
A group backed by wealthy political activist Rex Sinquefield said Monday that it would pursue an initiative petition for local control of the Kansas City and St. Louis police departments. For decades, police forces in both cities have been controlled by boards dominated by gubernatorial appointees. The group, A Safer Missouri, hopes to put a measure on the ballot giving the cities independent control over the departments.
Missouri voters could be asked to sign an initiative petition changing how future initiatives are considered in the state. Missouri allows groups and citizens to get questions on statewide ballots through the initiative petition system. Steps include getting a certain number of registered voters to sign petitions.
It will be up to voters to decide whether to prohibit smoking in enclosed public places in Springfield, as well as whether some movie theaters will be barred from selling alcohol, members of the City Council decided Monday night.
The Cape Girardeau City Council did not put a proposed smoking ban on the April ballot, leaving the future of the issue unsettled. Three members of the council voted against the proposal Monday night, meaning it didn’t get the five votes required to put the initiative petition on the ballot.
Supporters of a proposed Missouri ballot measure to allow for early voting can begin collecting signatures. The Missouri secretary of state’s office approved a summary of the initiative petition Thursday. Supporters must collect between 91,800 and 99,600 signatures. It would appear on the 2012 ballot.
Coming in right at the finish line, Clean Air Springfield got the required number of signatures on its ballot initiative. The signatures were due by 5pm Wednesday. The proposal would prohibit smoking at all indoor places with workers present.
The debate over smoking indoors heats back up with a new initiative petition circulating that could lead to a ballot initiative. Back in June, Springfield Mayor Jim O’Neal killed a proposed no-smoking ordinance at a city council meeting, telling advocacy groups to get signatures to put this on a ballot. And that’s just what the American Cancer Society has been doing leading up to the Wednesday, December 29 deadline.
The Springfield News-Leader, which had previously editorialized against Missouri’s “Puppy Mill Petition”, has now come out against efforts to repeal the measure. The paper takes the principled position that the voters have spoken and their will should be honored.
It’s a new group, with a new proposal, but the goal is the same: making businesses in Springfield smoke-free. Clean Air Springfield is trying to get a ban on the April ballot, by submitting an initiative petition. This would be more of a sweeping ban than the ordinance council considered earlier this year.
A group that had pushed for a City Council-imposed smoking ban in public places in Joplin will now try to place the issue before voters via initiative petition. Krista Stark, spokeswoman for Smoke-Free Joplin, said Wednesday that the group has voted to proceed with an effort to collect voter signatures.
Packing into a theater to see the latest big screen flick is a teenage rite of passage. Plenty of popcorn and soda is at the service counter but there’s also something strictly for adults: alcohol. For some, though, the combination of liquor and kids in such a close proximity is too much. “We think it just sends the wrong message,” said Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Darrell Moore.
It’s official. Kansas City voters will go to the polls April 5 to consider the renewal of the earnings tax. After some speculation that the measure might go on the March 22 ballot, the City Council voted today to place the earnings tax renewal question on the April ballot.