FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Contact: Communications Department, (573) 526-0949

Initiative petitions relating to municipal police force, cigarette and other tobacco product taxation certified for November 2012 ballot

Jefferson City, MO – Secretary of State Robin Carnahan today announced that two initiative petitions have been certified to appear on the November 2012 ballot.

Missouri voters will have the opportunity to vote on two ballot measures, a statutory amendment relating to municipal police force and a statutory amendment relating to cigarette and other tobacco product taxation.

The ballot summary relating to municipal police force reads:

Shall Missouri law be amended to:

• allow any city not within a county (the City of St. Louis) the option of transferring certain obligations and control of the city’s police force from the board of police commissioners currently appointed by the governor to the city and establishing a municipal police force;
• establish certain procedures and requirements for governing such a municipal police force including residency, rank, salary, benefits, insurance, and pension; and
• prohibit retaliation against any employee of such municipal police force who reports conduct believed to be illegal to a superior, government agency, or the press?

State governmental entities estimated savings will eventually be up to $500,000 annually. Local governmental entities estimated annual potential savings of $3.5 million; however, consolidation decisions with an unknown outcome may result in the savings being more or less than estimated.

The ballot summary relating to cigarette and other tobacco product taxation reads:

Shall Missouri law be amended to:

• create the Health and Education Trust Fund with proceeds of a tax of $0.0365 per cigarette and 25% of the manufacturer's invoice price for roll-your-own tobacco and 15% for other tobacco products;
• use Fund proceeds to reduce and prevent tobacco use and for elementary, secondary, college, and university public school funding; and
• increase the amount that certain tobacco product manufacturers must maintain in their escrow accounts, to pay judgments or settlements, before any funds in escrow can be refunded to the tobacco product manufacturer and create bonding requirements for these manufacturers?

Estimated additional revenue to state government is $283 million to $423 million annually with limited estimated implementation costs or savings. The revenue will fund only programs and services allowed by the proposal. The fiscal impact to local governmental entities is unknown. Escrow fund changes may result in an unknown increase in future state revenue.

For a petition seeking to change a Missouri statute, valid signatures from registered voters equal to five (5) percent of the total votes cast in the 2008 governor's election in six of the state's nine congressional districts must be submitted. Depending on the combination of districts, the number of signatures required ranges between approximately 91,818 and 99,600 valid signatures.

Two other initiative petitions were not certified for the November 2012 ballot due to an insufficient number of valid signatures.  

A Statutory Amendment relating to minimum wage had a sufficient number of valid signatures in four of the six required Congressional Districts.

A Statutory Amendment relating to payday, title, installment, and consumer credit loans had a sufficient number of valid signatures in five of the six required congressional districts.

Ballot language and full text for the issues is available on the secretary of state’s website at http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/2012petitions/12init_pet.asp

For valid signatures by congressional district, please click here: www.sos.mo.gov/elections/2012petitions/Valid_sign_congress_district.pdf

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To find out more about Missouri's Secretary of State's office, visit www.sos.mo.gov

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