Bill Text: MO HB1936 | 2014 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Changes the primary election day from August to June
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-04-29 - Second read and referred: Senate Financial and Governmental Organizations and Elections(S) [HB1936 Detail]
Download: Missouri-2014-HB1936-Engrossed.html
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[PERFECTED]
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
6149H.02P D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 115.063, 115.065, 115.121, 115.123, 115.341, 115.349, 115.615, and 115.621, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof eight new sections relating to primary elections.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 115.063, 115.065, 115.121, 115.123, 115.341, 115.349, 115.615, and 115.621, RSMo, are repealed and eight new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 115.063, 115.065, 115.121, 115.123, 115.341, 115.349, 115.615, and 115.621, to read as follows:
115.063. 1. When any question or candidate is submitted to a vote by any political subdivision or special district and no other question or candidate is submitted at the same election, all costs of the election shall be paid from the general revenue of the political subdivision or special district submitting a question or candidate at the election.
2. All costs of special elections involving a statewide candidate or statewide issue and all costs of special elections involving candidates for state senator or state representative shall be paid by the state, except that if a political subdivision or special district holds an election on the same day, the costs shall be shared proportionately by the state and the political subdivisions and special districts affected in the manner provided in section 115.065.
3. The state shall not be liable for any costs of a general election [or primary election] held in even-numbered years as designated in subsections 1 and 2 of section 115.121.
4. When a proposed political subdivision submits a petition requesting an election as part of the formation thereof, the petitioners shall submit together with the petition sufficient security to pay all costs of the election. If such proposition is successful, the political subdivision thereby created shall reimburse those persons advancing funds to pay the costs of the election.
115.065. 1. Except as provided in sections 115.069, 115.071, 115.073 and 115.077, when any question or candidate is submitted to a vote by two or more political subdivisions or special districts, or except in [primary and] general elections by the state and one or more political subdivisions or special districts at the same election, all costs of the election shall be paid proportionally from the general revenues of the state and all political subdivisions and special districts submitting a question or candidate at the election, except that costs of publications of legal notice of elections shall not be paid proportionally. The state and each political subdivision and each special district shall pay for publication of its legal notice of election. At the discretion of the election authority, ballot printing costs, if any, may be paid proportionally or the state and each political subdivision and each special district may pay for such ballot printing costs, if any.
2. Except as provided in sections 115.069, 115.071 and 115.073, when any question or candidate is submitted to a vote by two or more political subdivisions or special districts at the same election, all costs of the election shall be paid proportionally from the general revenues of all political subdivisions and special districts submitting a question or candidate at the election. 3. Proportional election costs paid under the provisions of subsection 2 of this section shall be assessed by charging each political subdivision and special district the same percentage of the total cost of the election as the number of registered voters of the political subdivision or special district on the day of the election is to the total number of registered voters on the day of the election, derived by adding together the number of registered voters in each political subdivision and special district submitting a question or candidate at the election.
4. "Proportional costs" and "election costs", as used in this chapter, are defined as those costs that require additional out-of-pocket expense by the election authority in conducting an election. It may include reimbursement to county general revenue for the salaries of employees of the election authority for the hours worked to conduct an election, any indirect expenses identified under an independent cost allocation study and an amount not to exceed five percent of the total cost of election to be credited to the election services fund of the county. The election services fund shall be budgeted and expended at the direction of the election authority and shall not be used to substitute for or subsidize any allocation of general revenue for the operation of the election authority's office without the express consent of the election authority. The election services fund may be audited by the appropriate auditing agency, and any unexpended balance shall be left in the fund to accumulate from year to year with interest. The election services fund shall be used by the election authority for training programs and purchase of additional supplies or equipment to improve the conduct of elections, including anything necessarily pertaining thereto. In addition to these costs, the state shall, subject to appropriation, compensate the election services fund for transactions submitted pursuant to the provisions of section 115.157.
115.121. 1. The general election day shall be the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.
2. The primary election day shall be the first Tuesday after the [first] third Monday in [August] June of even-numbered years.
3. The election day for the election of political subdivision and special district officers shall be the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April each year; and shall be known as the general municipal election day.
4. In addition to the primary election day provided for in subsection 2 of this section, for the year 2003, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August, 2003, also shall be a primary election day for the purpose of permitting school districts and other political subdivisions of Missouri to incur debt in accordance with the provisions of article VI, section 26(a) through 26(g) of the Missouri Constitution, with the approval of four-sevenths of the eligible voters of such school district or other political subdivision voting thereon, to provide funds for the acquisition, construction, equipping, improving, restoration, and furnishing of facilities to replace, repair, reconstruct, reequip, restore, and refurnish facilities damaged, destroyed, or lost due to severe weather, including, without limitation, windstorms, hail storms, flooding, tornadic winds, rainstorms and the like which occurred during the month of April or May, 2003.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of section 115.125, the officer or agency calling an election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of August, 2003, shall notify the election authorities responsible for conducting the election not later than 5:00 p.m. on the sixth Tuesday prior to the election. For purposes of any such election, all references in section 115.125 to the tenth Tuesday prior to such election shall be deemed to refer to the sixth Tuesday prior to such election.
6. In addition to the general election day provided for in subsection 1 of this section, for the year 2009 the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November shall be a general election day for the purpose of permitting school districts to incur debt in accordance with the provisions of article VI, section 26(a) through 26(g) of the Missouri Constitution, with the approval of four-sevenths of the eligible voters of such school district, to provide funds for school districts to acquire, construct, equip, improve, restore, and furnish public school facilities in accordance with the provisions of Section 54F of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which provides for qualified school construction bonds and the provisions of Section 54AA of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which provides for build America bonds, as well as in accordance with the provisions of Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which provides for traditional government bonds.
115.123. 1. All public elections shall be held on Tuesday. Except as provided in subsections 2 and 3 of this section, and section 247.180, all public elections shall be held on the general election day, the primary election day, the general municipal election day, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, or on another day expressly provided by city or county charter, and in nonprimary years on the first Tuesday after the [first] third Monday in [August] June. Bond elections may be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February but no other issue shall be included on the ballot for such election.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section, an election for a presidential primary held pursuant to sections 115.755 to 115.785 shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February of each presidential election year.
3. The following elections shall be exempt from the provisions of subsection 1 of this section:
(1) Bond elections necessitated by fire, vandalism or natural disaster;
(2) Elections for which ownership of real property is required by law for voting;
(3) Special elections to fill vacancies and to decide tie votes or election contests; and
(4) Tax elections necessitated by a financial hardship due to a five percent or greater decline in per-pupil state revenue to a school district from the previous year.
4. Nothing in this section prohibits a charter city or county from having its primary election in March if the charter provided for a March primary before August 28, 1999.
5. Nothing in this section shall prohibit elections held pursuant to section 65.600, but no other issues shall be on the March ballot except pursuant to this chapter.
115.341. For the nomination of candidates to be elected at the next general election, a primary election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the [first] third Monday in [August] June of even-numbered years.
115.349. 1. Except as otherwise provided in sections 115.361 to 115.383 or sections 115.755 to 115.785, no candidate's name shall be printed on any official primary ballot unless the candidate has filed a written declaration of candidacy in the office of the appropriate election official by 5:00 p.m. on the [last] first Tuesday in [March] February immediately preceding the primary election.
2. No declaration of candidacy for nomination in a primary election shall be accepted for filing prior to 8:00 a.m. on the [last] second Tuesday in [February] January immediately preceding the primary election.
3. Each declaration of candidacy for nomination in a primary election shall state the candidate's full name, residence address, office for which such candidate proposes to be a candidate, the party ticket on which he or she wishes to be a candidate and that if nominated and elected he or she will qualify. The declaration shall be in substantially the following form: I, ........................., a resident and registered voter of the county of ........... and the state of Missouri, residing at ......., do announce myself a candidate for the office of ...... on the ...... party ticket, to be voted for at the primary election to be held on the .... day of ......, ..., and I further declare that if nominated and elected to such office I will qualify. ............................... Subscribed and sworn to Signature of candidate before me this ..... day
of ........., ....... ............................... ...................... ....... Residence address Signature of election
official or other officer
authorized to administer oaths ............................... Mailing address (if different) ............................... Telephone Number (Optional) If the declaration is to be filed in person, it shall be subscribed and sworn to by the candidate before an official authorized to accept his or her declaration of candidacy. If the declaration is to be filed by certified mail pursuant to the provisions of subsection 2 of section 115.355, it shall be subscribed and sworn to by the candidate before a notary public or other officer authorized by law to administer oaths.
115.615. In years when a primary election is held pursuant to subsection 2 of section 115.121, each county committee shall meet at the county seat on the [third Tuesday of August] first Tuesday immediately following the primary election. In each city not situated in a county, the city committee shall meet on the same day at such place within the city as the chair of the current city committee may designate. In all counties of the first, second and third classification the county courthouse shall be made available for such meetings and any other county political party meeting at no charge to the party committees. At the meeting, each committee shall organize by electing one of its members as chair and one of its members as vice chair, a man and a woman, and a secretary and a treasurer, a man and a woman, who may or may not be members of the committee. The county chair and vice chair so elected shall by virtue thereof become members of the party congressional, senatorial and judicial committees of the district of which their county is a part.
115.621. 1. The members of each congressional district committee shall meet at some place within the district, to be designated by the current chair of the committee, on the [last] third Tuesday in [August] June after each primary election. The county courthouse in counties of the first, second and third classification in which the meeting is to take place, as designated by the chair, shall be made available for such meeting and any other congressional district political party committee meeting at no charge to the committee. At the meeting, the committee shall organize by electing one of its members as chair and one of its members as vice chair, one of whom shall be a woman and one of whom shall be a man, and a secretary and a treasurer, one of whom shall be a woman and one of whom shall be a man, who may or may not be members of the committee.
2. The members of each legislative district committee shall meet at some place within the legislative district or within one of the counties in which the legislative district exists, to be designated by the current chair of the committee, on the [third] second Wednesday after each [August] June primary election. The county courthouse in counties of the first, second and third classification in which the meeting is to take place, as designated by the chair, shall be made available for such meeting and any other legislative district political party committee meeting at no charge to the committee. At the meeting, the committee shall organize pursuant to subsection 1 of section 115.619.
3. The members of each senatorial district committee shall meet at some place within the district, to be designated by the current chair of the committee, if there is one, and if not, by the chair of the congressional district in which the senatorial district is principally located, on the [third] second Saturday after each [August] June primary election. The county courthouse in counties of the first, second and third classification in which the meeting is to take place, as so designated pursuant to this subsection, shall be made available for such meeting and any other senatorial district political party committee meeting at no charge to the committee. At the meeting, the committee shall organize by electing one of its members as chair and one of its members as vice chair, one of whom shall be a woman and one of whom shall be a man, and a secretary and a treasurer, one of whom shall be a woman and one of whom shall be a man, who may or may not be members of the committee. The members of each senatorial district shall also meet at some place within the district, to be designated by the current chair of the committee, if there is one, and if not, by the chair of the congressional district in which the senatorial district is principally located, on the Saturday after the third Tuesday in November after each general election. At the meeting, the committee shall proceed to elect two registered voters of the district, one man and one woman, as members of the party's state committee.
4. The members of each judicial district may meet at some place within the judicial district or within one of the counties in which the judicial district exists, to be designated by the current chair of the committee or the chair of the congressional district committee, on the [first] third Tuesday in [September] July after each primary election, or at another time designated by the chairmen of the committees. The county courthouse in counties of the first, second and third classification in which the meeting is to take place, as so designated pursuant to this subsection, shall be made available for such meeting and any other judicial district political party committee meeting at no charge to the committee. At the meeting, the committee shall organize pursuant to subsection 1 of section 115.619.
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