Republicans introduce bills to tighten regulations on initiative petitions — again

JEFFERSON CITY — Two Missouri House bills that had a committee hearing Tuesday would make it more difficult for Missourians to amend state statutes and the Missouri Constitution using initiative petitions.
In the House Elections Committee hearing, bill sponsors Rep. Brad Banderman, R-St. Clair, and Rep. John Martin, R-Columbia, noted their bills HB 551 and HB 575 are very similar to bills introduced by former Rep. Mike Haffner in the last two years.
Martin said his HB 551 is meant to standardize the format of petitions, requiring dark ink for signatures and text no smaller than 12-point “Times New Roman” font.
“This is not making it harder for people in Missouri to participate and make their voice heard — it’s organizing it,” Martin said.
The bill also changes the qualifications for circulators and removes a provision requiring a public hearing on proposed measures. It also stops completed signature pages from being released.
Under the bill, circulators — the person who represents a petition and asks for signatures — are required to be residents of the state or reside in the state for 30 consecutive days prior to collecting signatures.
Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia, added that he’s worried this requirement could slow down the initiative petition process since it depends on circulators collecting signatures.
“I am always suspicious of bills, or provisions in bills, that seem to slow down the process because ... you may have to rely on those other (out-of-state) people to help you get these petitions out,” Smith said. “The idea is that somehow we don’t want other people involved, but the reality is other people are involved ... there is out-of-state interest involved in these petition processes.”
The bill also stipulates that circulators cannot be paid per signature they collect. Smith said he is not completely opposed to this change.
“I could see how that could be incentive to get more signatures, as opposed to paying somebody by hour,” he said.

Most of Tuesday’s discussion revolved around a section of the bill that was added as an amendment in the Missouri Senate during the 2024 legislative session.The amendment prevents completed petition pages with signatures from being released unless a U.S. citizen and Missouri resident petitions the court to review the documents under supervision. Violating this provision is considered a misdemeanor and is punishable by up to one year in prison and/or a maximum fine of $10,000.
Banderman explained this is meant to prevent fraud against those who sign a petition. The names and voter ID’s of signees will still be available, only their signatures will be protected under this requirement.
After questioning from Rep. Peggy McGaugh, R-Carrollton, Banderman clarified that anyone who knowingly released an image of someone’s signature from a petition could be penalized, including local election authorities.
Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, sought information about how these cases would be investigated and by whom. Neither Banderman nor Martin were able to provide that information.
The committee then heard from witnesses, who largely opposed the bills’ attempts to impose restrictions on the initiative petition process.
Marcel Hagens, policy coordinator at Action St. Louis, said the current initiative process holds importance to their organization and others across the state.
“The ballot initiative process is at its core inclusive, allowing all Missouri voters of all backgrounds to be heard when they feel the work of the state isn’t enough,” Hagens said.