Four more initiative petition proposals were submitted to Secretary of State Jason Kander's office this week, and have been released for public comments.
• Tuesday, Feb. 11, is the deadline for comments on a proposed constitutional amendment submitted by Tony Nenninger, Bourbon, who submitted a change to the Constitution's Bill of Rights in Article I, to allow marijuana use and production in the state.
The amendment, if approved by voters statewide, would "guarantee the right of all patients with a medical condition to use medical marijuana" if a health care provider prescribes it; "the right of farmers and businesses to produce and manufacture cannabis hemp and products made from" it; and "the right of persons over 21 years of age to engage in use, possession, production, intrastate transportation, and distribution of marijuana, subject to reasonable regulations by state government."
• Wednesday, Feb. 12, is the deadline for comments on two more petition proposals submitted by Jefferson City lawyer Marc Ellinger, seeking to change the Constitution's Taxation section, Article X, to raise taxes on tobacco products and use the increased revenue to lower income taxes permanently.
• And Thursday, Feb. 13, is the deadline for commenting on a proposal by Karen Runk, Chesterfield, which asks the state "to prohibit breed specific legislation."
The petition notes that "Breed specific legislation has been proven to be an inefficient way to handle dangerous and/or aggressive dogs (which) should be deemed dangerous and/or aggressive/vicious based on their behavior and not their appearance."
In news releases announcing the petitions and their public comment periods, Kander noted his staff first must approve the form of each petition for its compliance with state laws and then take no more than 10 days to draft the ballot summary language that would appear on both the petitions and, if enough signatures are collected, on the Nov. 4 statewide ballot.
During the 15-day comment period, Kander's staff will review all comments submitted about each petition.
Those comments may be helpful in writing the ballot language.
The full text for each petition can be found through links on the secretary of state's website at www.sos.mo.gov/elections.
Comments can be made by clicking the "Submit Comment" button below the link to each petition; mailing a comment form to Elections Division, State Information Center, 600 W. Main St., Jefferson City, MO 65101; or calling the Elections Division, toll free, at 800-669-8683.