SPONSOR: Hinman
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass by Consent" by the Standing Committee on Elections and Elected Officials by a vote of 16 to 0. Voted "Do Pass- Consent" by the Standing Committee on Consent and House Procedure by a vote of 7 to 0.
Currently, the filing time for declarations of candidacy for offices in political subdivisions or special districts not otherwise specified in law or charter is from the 17th Tuesday prior to the election through the 14th Tuesday prior to the election. This bill moves the filing time by one week, from the 16th Tuesday prior to the election to the 13th Tuesday prior to the election.
The bill also provides that if the 13th Tuesday prior to the election is a state or federal holiday, the closing filing date shall be the next day that is not a state or federal holiday.
This bill is the same as HCS HB 1214 (2023).
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that this bill is necessary because of an oversight in a 2021 bill that changed the filing dates for municipal elections. That bill did not take into account the fact that the new filing time may coincide with dates on which government offices are closed for holidays. This will standardize how to address this issue and alleviate this problem for candidates and local election authorities.
Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Hinman; Missouri Municipal League; Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities; City of St. Peters; City of Lee's Summit; Missouri School Boards' Association; Municipal League Metro St. Louis; and Arnie Dienoff.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: