Tagged: ballot initiative

Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander is giving the public a chance to review potential ballot initiatives long before the petition gathering begins.

Kander said Friday that initiatives submitted to his office will be posted online, and the public will have a five-day comment period before his office drafts a summary for the measures.

Kander, a Democrat, took office Jan. 14.

Supporters of Missouri proposals to reform laws on the use eminent domain can begin working to get their measures on the 2014 state ballot.

Democratic Governor Jay Nixon and Republican challenger Dave Spence both oppose a ballot measure that would give the governor greater power in picking Missouri's top judges.

A November ballot measure would change the seven-person panel that nominates judicial candidates to the governor. It would increase the number of citizens named to the panel by the governor to four instead of three, with the rest selected by an attorneys' association. It also would increase the number of judicial nominees the panel submits to the governor to four instead of three.

Opponents of a tobacco tax initiative on the Missouri ballot say local governments could lose money if the measure passes.

The proposal would raise the state cigarette tax from 17 cents to 90 cents per pack and also increase taxes on other tobacco products.