HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 119 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE LOY.
3892H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
JOINT RESOLUTION Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri an amendment repealing Sections 25(a), 25(b), and 25(d) of Article V of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting two new sections in lieu thereof relating to the selection of judges.
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring therein:
That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on Tuesday next 2 following the first Monday in November, 2026, or at a special election to be called by the 3 governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to the qualified voters of this state, for 4 adoption or rejection, the following amendment to Article V of the Constitution of the state of 5 Missouri: Section A. Sections 25(a), 25(b), and 25(d), Article V, Constitution of Missouri, are 2 repealed and two new sections adopted in lieu thereof, to be known as Sections 25(a) and 25 3 (b), to read as follows: Section 25(a). Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of judge of any of the 2 following courts of this state, to wit: The supreme court, the court of appeals, or in the office 3 of circuit or associate circuit judge within the city of St. Louis and Jackson county, the 4 governor shall [fill such vacancy by appointing one of three persons possessing the 5 qualifications for such office, who shall be nominated and whose names shall be submitted to 6 the governor by a nonpartisan judicial commission established and organized as hereinafter 7 provided. If the governor fails to appoint any of the nominees within sixty days after the list 8 of nominees is submitted, the nonpartisan judicial commission making the nomination shall
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HJR 119 2
9 appoint one of the nominees to fill the vacancy], by and with the advice and consent of the 10 senate, appoint a judge to fill such vacancy. Section 25(b). At any general election the qualified voters of any judicial circuit 2 outside of the city of St. Louis and Jackson county, may by a majority of those voting on the 3 question elect to have the circuit and associate circuit judges appointed by the governor in the 4 manner provided for the appointment of judges to the courts designated in section 25(a), or, 5 outside the city of St. Louis and Jackson county, to discontinue any such [plan] appointment. 6 The question of whether the circuit and associate circuit judges of any such circuit shall be so 7 appointed shall be submitted to the voters of each county in any circuit at the next general 8 election whenever petitions therefor signed by ten percent of the legal voters of each county 9 in the circuit voting for the office of governor at the last election thereof are filed in the office 10 of secretary of state at least 90 days before such election. The question shall be presented as 11 follows: "Shall the circuit and associate circuit judges of the ______ judicial circuit be 12 selected as provided in Section 25 of Article V of the Missouri Constitution? Yes ☐ No ☐ 13 (Mark One)". The provisions of law with respect to initiative petitions shall apply insofar as 14 applicable relative to the certification of the petitions to local officials by the secretary of 15 state, the preparation, printing, publishing and distribution of the judicial ballots required by 16 this section, the holding and conduct of the election, and the counting, canvassing, return, 17 certification, and proclamation of the votes. If a majority of the votes upon the question are 18 cast in favor of the adoption in each county comprising the circuit, the [nonpartisan] selection 19 of the circuit and associate judges by appointment of the governor shall be adopted in the 20 circuit. The question of selection of circuit and associate circuit judges in the manner 21 provided in section 25(a) shall not be submitted more often than once every four years. If any 22 judicial circuit adopts the [nonpartisan] selection of the circuit and associate circuit judges by 23 appointment of the governor under the provisions of this section, the question of its 24 discontinuance shall not be submitted more often than once every four years and may be 25 submitted at any general election and shall be proceeded upon insofar as may be applicable in 26 like manner as prescribed in this section for the original adoption of the [plan] appointment. 27 The petition shall be in substantially the following form: 28 To the Honorable Officials in general charge of elections for the county 29 of ______ for the state of Missouri: 30 We, the undersigned, legal voters of the state of Missouri, and of the 31 county of ______, respectfully demand that the question of the 32 discontinuance of the [nonpartisan] selection of the circuit and 33 associate circuit judges by appointment of the governor be submitted 34 to the legal voters of the ______ judicial circuit, for their approval or HJR 119 3
35 rejection, at the general election to be held on the ______ day of _____ 36 _, A.D. 19______. 37 The ballot shall provide as follows: 38 "Shall the [nonpartisan] appointment by the governor of the circuit and 39 associate circuit judges be discontinued in the ______ judicial circuit? 40 ☐ Yes 41 ☐ No 42 (Place an "X" in one square.)" 43 If a majority of the votes upon the question are cast in favor of such discontinuance in 44 each county comprising the circuit, the [nonpartisan] selection of the circuit and associate 45 circuit judges by appointment of the governor shall be discontinued in such judicial circuit. 46 If the [nonpartisan] selection of the judges be discontinued in any such judicial circuit, 47 other than the city of St. Louis and Jackson county, the selection of such judges therein shall 48 be made as otherwise prescribed by law. This section shall be self-enforcing. [Section 25(d). Nonpartisan judicial commissions whose duty it shall 2 be to nominate and submit to the governor names of persons for appointment 3 as provided by sections 25(a)-(g) are hereby established and shall be organized 4 on the following basis: For vacancies in the office of judge of the supreme 5 court or of the court of appeals, there shall be one such commission, to be 6 known as "The Appellate Judicial Commission"; for vacancies in the office of 7 circuit judge or associate circuit judge of any circuit court subject to the 8 provisions of sections 25(a)-(g) there shall be one such commission, to be 9 known as "The ______Circuit Judicial Commission", for each judicial circuit 10 which shall be subject to the provisions of sections 25(a)-(g); the appellate 11 judicial commission shall consist of a judge of the supreme court selected by 12 the members of the supreme court, and the remaining members shall be chosen 13 in the following manner: The members of the bar of this state residing in each 14 court of appeals district shall elect one of their number to serve as a member of 15 said commission, and the governor shall appoint one citizen, not a member of 16 the bar, from among the residents of each court of appeals district, to serve as a 17 member of said commission, and the members of the commission shall select 18 one of their number to serve as chairman. Each circuit judicial commission 19 shall consist of five members, one of whom shall be the chief judge of the 20 district of the court of appeals within which the judicial circuit of such 21 commission, or the major portion of the population of said circuit is situated 22 and the remaining four members shall be chosen in the following manner: The 23 members of the bar of this state residing in the judicial circuit of such 24 commission shall elect two of their number to serve as members of said 25 commission, and the governor shall appoint two citizens, not members of the 26 bar, from among the residents of said judicial circuit to serve as members of 27 said commission, the members of the commission shall select one of their 28 number to serve as chairman; and the terms of office of the members of such 29 commission shall be fixed by law, but no law shall increase or diminish the HJR 119 4
30 term of any member then in office. No member of any such commission other 31 than a judge shall hold any public office, and no member shall hold any 32 official position in a political party. Every such commission may act only by 33 the concurrence of a majority of its members. The members of such 34 commission shall receive no salary or other compensation for their services 35 but they shall receive their necessary traveling and other expenses incurred 36 while actually engaged in the discharge of their official duties. All such 37 commissions shall be administered, and all elections provided for under this 38 section shall be held and regulated, under such rules as the supreme court shall 39 promulgate.]
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