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Citizen files initiative petition to end daylight savings time in Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Should Missouri adjust their clocks every year for daylight savings time? Citizens may get the chance to weigh in at the ballot box.

Steven Reed filed an initiative petition with the Secretary of State’s Office that would give voters the final say in daylight savings times. Petition 2020-55 seeks to amendment the constitution to state, “Beginning on the first Sunday in March of 2021, the state and its political subdivisions and agencies shall switch clocks to daylight saving for the last time and the use of daylight saving time for public purposes will be eliminated.”

Another recently filed petition seeks to make changes to minimum prison terms.

Shetova Hayes filed Petition 2020-56 which would require those with a non-dangerous felony conviction and one prior prison commitment to serve 50 percent of their sentence, or, for inmates that reach 70 years of age, 40 percent of their sentence.

The proposal states, “If the offender has maintained the best possible institutional score for the year prior to their scheduled parole hearing, then parole shall be granted.”

To date, the Secretary of State’s Office has received 56 initiative petitions for the 2020 general election ballot. Of those, 16 have been approved to circulate, five are open to comment, one is closed to comment, nine have been withdrawn, and 23 have been rejected.

Before circulating petitions for signatures, state law requires groups must first have the form of their petition approved by the Secretary of State’s Office. Every proposal received by the Secretary of State’s Office is sent to the Auditor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office.

The Attorney General’s Office reviews the petition and forwards its comments to the Secretary of State’s Office within 10 days after receiving the proposed petition. The Auditor’s Office prepares a fiscal note and fiscal note summary and forwards it to the Attorney General’s Office within 20 days after receiving the proposed petition.

Comments are taken pursuant to Section 116.334, RSMo. This provision allows Missourians to offer their observations on the submitted proposal online, by mail, or phone. Missourians can provide their comments online.

More about the initiative petition process can be found on Secretary of State’s webpage.

This article is part of a periodic update on the initiative petition process. Other stories in the series can be found here