Missouri Constitution Study Guide
Executive Branch
What is the governor’s term of office?
Who is the current governor?
How many terms can the governor serve?
What are the qualifications for governor?
List the duties of the governor?
What is a pardon?
What is a veto?
What is a line item veto?
Who takes over if the governor dies?
Who is the current Lieutenant Governor?
What are the qualifications for Lieutenant Governor?
List the duties of the Lieutenant Governor.
Who is the current State Treasurer?
List the duties of the Treasurer
Who is the current State Auditor?
List the duties of the Auditor.
4 years
Jay Nixon
2 terms
 at least thirty years old
 a citizen of the United States for at least fifteen years
 a resident of this state at least ten years before election
 The governor appoints the heads of all departments in state government.
 The governor also selects the members of the Supreme and Appellate Courts of Missouri.
 The governor addresses the General Assembly on the state of government and recommends changes or other actions to
be taken.
 A budget is submitted by the governor to the General Assembly.
 All bills passed by both houses of the legislature, except those referred to a vote of the people, are submitted to the
governor for his consideration.
 The governor may either approve a bill, making it law, or return it to the legislature with his objections.
 The governor also has the power to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons.
 Moreover, the governor is commander-in-chief of the state's militia, the Missouri National Guard.
A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. It is granted by the governor.
 The governor can reject a bill that has been presented to him by the legislature.
 If the governor vetoes a bill, it is returned to the chamber where it originated with the governor’s objections.
 A two-thirds vote by members of both the House and Senate is required to override the governor’s veto.
Some bills presented to the governor have multiple items in them. The governor may choose to veto parts of a bill but
allow other items to be placed into law.
Lieutenant Governor
Peter Kinder
 at least thirty years old
 a citizen of the United States for at least fifteen years
 a resident of this state at least ten years before election
 Serves as president of the Missouri Senate
 Takes over if the governor is out of the state or dies.
 Serves on several state boards and commissions
Clint Zweifel
 is the state's chief financial officer
 manages Missouri's $19 billion in annual state revenues
 custodian of all state funds
 invests those funds not needed for daily state operations
Tom Schweich
 Performs financial and performance audits
 Reviews management practices
 Checks systems and controls of state agencies
 Assists local governments in proper accounting practices
Who is the current State Attorney General?
List the duties of the Attorney General.
Who is the current Secretary of State?
List the duties of the Secretary of State.
Chris Koster
 represents the legal interests of Missouri and its people as a group
 prosecute or defend all appeals to which the state is a party
 He also may appear, interplead, answer or defend any proceedings in which the state's interests are involved, or appear
on behalf of the state in declaratory judgment proceedings when the constitutionality of a statute is challenged.
Robin Carnahan
The Secretary of State is the chief elections official in Missouri, bearing responsibility for administration of statewide
elections involving both issues and individuals, and oversees local verification of petition signatures for initiative
petitions. The Secretary of State's Commissions section authenticates official acts of the governor, and has the authority
to appoint and commission notaries public.
Legislative Branch
Who serves as the President of the Senate?
What is an initiative?
What is necessary to get an initiative on the ballot?
How many members are in the Missouri House of
Representatives?
What are the qualifications for state representatives?
What are the lengths of terms for a state
representative?
What Missouri state representative district is East
Lynne in and who represents it?
How many members are in the Missouri Senate?
What are the qualifications for state senators?
What are the lengths of terms for a state senator?
What Missouri state senate district is East Lynne in
and who represents it?
Missouri’s Representatives and Senate are divided
into districts based on what?
What is reapportionment?
What is the job of the General Assembly?
Under the Missouri Constitution, the lieutenant governor is ex-officio president of the Missouri Senate.
An imitative is the process by which people in the state of Missouri can get laws enacted and by-pass the regular
legislative process. A group of voters may draft a proposed law and require that it be submitted to the people for passage
through an “initiative,” a process in which advocates collect signatures from registered voters on petitions. Occasionally,
through a “referendum,” the legislature submits a proposal to the people for approval or disapproval.
Initiative petitions proposing amendments to the constitution shall be signed by eight percent of the legal voters in each of
two-thirds of the congressional districts in the state, and petitions proposing laws shall be signed by five percent of such
voters.
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 a person must be at least 24 years old
 a qualified voter in the state for at least two years
 a resident in his or her district for at least one year
Since the admission of Missouri to the Union in 1821, members of the state House of Representatives have served twoyear terms and members of the state Senate have served four-year terms, with half of the Senate being elected every two
years. Until 1992 there was no limit on the number of terms that a person could be elected to the House or Senate. In
November of 1992, an amendment to the Missouri Constitution was approved to limit total service in the House to eight
years and total service in the Senate to eight years, with total legislative service limited to sixteen years.
124th District – Rick Brattin
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 a person must be at least 30 years old
 a qualified voter in the state for three years
 a resident of his or her district for one year
The senators are elected for four-year terms, with an overlapping arrangement which provides that half the terms expire
every two years. No person may serve more than eight years in the Senate.
31st District – David Pearce
The districts are drawn according to population.
Redistribution of representation in a legislative body, especially the periodic re-allotment of state legislative seats
according to changes in the census figures.
The job of the general assembly is to create and vote on bills which are then sent to the Governor for his signature.
Who is the presiding officer in the House of
Representatives?
Who is the presiding officer in the Senate?
Explain the difference between a general election and
a primary election.
When are Missouri general elections?
What is the Hancock Amendment?
What is the sequence of how a bill becomes a law?
The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer in the House. Her/His responsibilities include appointing committee
chairs, establishing the number of members on each committee and appointing the majority party members of
committees. She/He also assigns bills to committees and signs all official actions of the House.
The president pro tem shall be chosen by the senate, and if the president pro tem so chosen is absent, or his office vacant,
the senate may proceed to elect an interim president pro tem to hold the office during such absence or other incapacity, at
the pleasure of the senate.
Primary - The general definition of the term primary means preliminary or first. It’s really no different in regard to a
primary election, which is the preliminary step in the process of electing a candidate running for office in the United
States. A primary election is held in the U.S. to see who will receive the nomination from his or her political party for a
particular office. The candidate, who receives the nomination, will run against the candidate nominated by the other party
- or parties as the case may be.
General – a nationwide or statewide election to choose from among candidates previously nominated in a primary
election
The first Tuesday in November.
The Hancock amendment was a state and local tax limitation amendment to the Missouri Constitution passed by the
voters of Missouri in 1980. Placed on the ballot by an initiative petition process, the Hancock Amendment limited total
state revenues and expenses in Missouri to a percentage of personal income of persons in Missouri, required the state of
Missouri to continue to fund expenditures of local political subdivisions required by state law, and required new local tax,
licenses or fees to be approved by the voters of such political subdivisions. The Hancock Amendment was one of the first
state tax limitation amendments in the United States and is still effective today.
1. A bill is introduced in the House or Senate
2. The bill is sent to the proper House committee
3. The committee holds hearings on the bill in order to get public opinion.
4. Changes are made to the bill.
5. The bill is brought up for debate in entire House and voted on.
6. If the bill is passed by the House it is passed on the Senate.
7. The bill is sent to the proper Senate committee.
8. Changes made be made to the bill.
9. The bill is brought up for debate in the entire Senate and voted on.
10. If the bill passes the Senate vote and was not changed from the version in the House, it goes on the Governor.
11. If the bill passes with changes, it goes back to the House for them to vote on it again.
12. Once all changes are completed and the bill has passed the House and Senate, it goes to the Governor.
13. If the Governor signs the bill it becomes law. If the Governor vetoes the bill then is goes back to the Legislature
and they may vote to override the veto with 2/3 voting yes.
Judicial Branch
For how long do Missouri Supreme Court judges
serve?
How many Missouri Supreme Court judges are there?
How are Missouri Supreme Court judges selected?
What are the Circuit Courts?
What is the Court of Appeals?
They serve 12-year terms. They select one of their numbers to be chief justice, usually for two years.
7 judges
Supreme Court judges are selected under Missouri’s nonpartisan court plan.
The court system concentrates all initial legal activity in the circuit court. Missouri has 46 judicial circuits, divided along
county lines. Each circuit contains at least one circuit judge and at least one associate circuit judge for each county
within the circuit. Many judges of the circuit court are elected, while some are selected under the nonpartisan court plan.
Circuit judges serve six years, while associate circuit judges serve four years. These courts handle original civil and
criminal cases.
There are three courts of appeals in Missouri. They hear cases from lower courts whose decisions have been appealed and
What is the Missouri Supreme Court?
What are municipal courts?
What is small claims court?
Explain the difference between a grand jury and a trial
jury.
which are not reserved exclusively for the Missouri Supreme Court. Cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction may be
transferred from the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court when it is determined that the case involves constitutional
issues that should be decided by the state’s highest court. Each district has at least three judges who serve 12-year terms
and are selected under the nonpartisan court plan. A chief judge is elected for each district by the judges in the districts,
and serves for such time as the districts determine.
The Missouri Supreme Court, highest in the state, hears cases appealed from the courts of appeals or involving the death
penalty, life imprisonment, a U.S. treaty or statute, or the United States and Missouri constitutions. It may also order
cases transferred to it from the Court of Appeals if the cases involve question of importance, if the Court thinks existing
law should be reexamined or for other reasons provided by law. In addition, the Court supervises lower state courts.
The municipal division of the circuit court has original jurisdiction to hear and determine municipal ordinance violations.
The small claims court is a division of the circuit court presided over by an associate circuit judge. The small claims court
is a people's court and was established to help people handle their small cases without an attorney.
Small claims proceedings are informal in nature. You must fill out all required forms and present your own evidence in
court. There are no jury trials. Any person or business with a civil claim that does not exceed $3,000.00 may bring a suit
in small claims court.
A grand jury is a group of people that are selected and sworn in by a court, just like jurors that are chosen to serve on a
trial jury. In fact, the grand jurors are usually chosen from the same pool of people that provide trial jurors: A judge
selects and swears in a grand jury, just like judges select and swear in trial juries. But grand juries differ from trial juries
in several ways.
For one thing, grand juries may sit for longer. In the federal system, a grand jury can sit for up to 36 months, although it
doesn't have to sit that long. The court that swears in a new grand jury can extend its term in 6-month increments, for a
total of 36 months, but a federal grand jury may only sit for 18 months or so. State grand juries sit for varying terms:
Depending on the state, a particular grand jury may sit for a month, six months, or even a year.
Unlike trial jurors, though, grand jurors don't convene every day. State practice varies, but a state grand jury might sit
twice a month, or even only once a month. Sometimes, the grand jury doesn't convene unless a prosecutor asks it to,
because the prosecutor has cases he or she wants the grand jury to hear.
Unlike trial juries, grand juries don't decide if someone is guilty of criminal charges that have been brought against them.
Grand juries listen to evidence and decide if someone SHOULD be charged with a crime.
Explain the difference between a civil court case and a
criminal court case.
What are the qualifications for being on a jury?
At what age are you no longer considered a juvenile in
Missouri?
Criminal cases involve violations of the law which causes injury to the state or society. Persons found guilty in a
criminal case may be fined, imprisoned or executed. In a criminal case, the person charged with a crime is the defendant.
The state is the prosecutor, and all crimes are prosecuted in the name of the State of Missouri. This is because when a
crime is committed, it is the laws of the state that are broken, and the offense is against the people of the state. The lawyer
who represents the state is called the prosecuting attorney or the circuit attorney. The charge or complaint in a criminal
case is made in writing. If made by a grand jury, the charge or complaint is called an indictment. If made by the
prosecuting attorney, it is called information. If more than one offense is charged, the charges may be combined, but they
are separately stated and each charge is called a count. For instance, an information may charge that the defendant (count
1) robbed the prosecuting witness, and (count 2) that the defendant assaulted and beat the prosecuting witness. Usually,
some time before the case is called, the defendant is arraigned. This means that the defendant is brought before a judge
and the charge is read to him or her. For each offense, the defendant is asked "How do you plead?" and he or she pleads
"guilty" or "not guilty" for example. If the defendant pleads not guilty, the case may be set for trial. More proof is
required to find a person guilty of a crime in a criminal case than is required to return a verdict for a plaintiff in a civil
case. The crime must be proven "beyond a reasonable doubt."
Civil cases involve disputes between persons, over interpretation of the law. The person who loses a civil lawsuit is not
subject to fine or imprisonment. However, the court may decide that the injured party should be paid damages. In order
for a plaintiff to win a civil case, it is typically only necessary to prove the case by a "preponderance of the evidence."
Sometimes in a civil case, a defendant will make a claim or claims, called a counter-claim against the original plaintiff,
which like the plaintiff's claim, requires a lower burden of proof than the criminal case.
 over age 21
 a United States citizen
 a resident of the county or city sending the summons, unless serving in another county by order of the court
 able to read, speak, and understand English.
You cannot serve on a jury if:
 convicted of a felony, unless restored to civil rights
 in the active military
 a judge
 a person who the court or jury commissioners find incapable because of mental or physical illness
Under Missouri law, it depends upon the circumstance as to when someone is a juvenile. Usually anyone under 18 years
of age is considered a juvenile. However, anyone 17 or older who is charged with a crime will be considered an adult and
tried as one.
Missouri History
What is the current capital of Missouri?
Who were the first European explorers in what
became Missouri?
Where was the first settlement in Missouri?
When did the area containing Missouri become part of
the United States?
What was the Missouri Compromise and when did it
occur?
When did Missouri become a state?
Where was the first capital of Missouri?
What role did Missouri play in the Civil War?
Jefferson City
Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet descended the Mississippi from the North and supplied the first written
accounts of exploration in Missouri.
Ste. Genevieve, Missouri’s first permanent settlement, was founded.
In 1803 the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon for $15 million.
In 1820 the “Missouri Compromise” was written, including measures allowing Missouri to enter the Union as a slave
state and Maine to enter as a free state to maintain the balance of slave and free states in Congress.
1821 as the 24th state.
St. Charles
Although admitted as a slave state, Missouri remained with the Union during the Civil War. Missouri was the site of
When was the current Missouri Constitution written?
more battles than all but two other states, and saw some of the most vicious guerrilla action along our border with Kansas.
Some of the major battles fought on Missouri soil were the Battle of Wilson’s Creek near Springfield, the Battle of
Westport near Kansas City, Lexington, Carthage, and Boonville among others. 1865 Missouri became the first slave state
to free slaves.
1945, It was the 4th one.
Famous Missourians
(1889-1975) captured the spirit of small town and rural life in the Midwest through his painting. The Neosho-born artist is recognized as a leader of the
American “regionalist” art movement of the 1930s. His historic murals adorn museums, libraries and capitols, one of which is located in the House
Lounge of the Missouri Capitol. He was the grandnephew of
Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton.
Thomas Hart
Benton
(1863-1943) aided agricultural research and the southern economy with the development of more than 300 by-products from the peanut and sweet potato.
The botanist, scientist and educator was born the son of slaves in Diamond Grove, Missouri. He pursued a career in science that led to national fame as
the first director of the Department of Agriculture at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
George Washington
Carver
(1916-2009) covered virtually every major news event throughout his more than 60 years in journalism. In 1954, he pioneered the first evening news
broadcast as “anchorman” of the CBS Evening News. For the next three decades, he covered such history-making events as the U.S. space program; the
assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Senator Robert Kennedy; the Watergate scandal; the hostage crisis in Iran;
and the Vietnam War. In January, 1981, President Jimmy Carter awarded him the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest award to a civilian. During his
career, he was affectionately nicknamed, “the most trusted man in America.”
Walter Cronkite
(1901-1966) was a film and animation pioneer and innovator whose achievements sparked the imagination of people throughout the world. His
accomplishments included producing the first feature-length animated picture, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), and creating the family theme
park, Disneyland. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Mr. Disney moved to a farm outside Marceline, Missouri, with his family in 1906. In 1910, the family moved
again to Kansas City where he opened his first animation studio.
Walt Disney
(1835-1910) is America’s greatest humorist and one of its greatest writers. Popularly known for two novels of boyhood life in his home town of Hannibal,
Missouri. His classic novels, Huckleberry Finn, and Tom Sawyer, were published in the mid-nineteenth century, Twain brought a robust energy to
American literature. His genius is attributed to an utter clarity of style, a supreme command of vernacular American English, and an ability to liberate
American humor and raise it to the level of high art.
“Mark Twain”
Samuel Clemens
(1884-1972) was one of the most highly regarded U.S. Presidents of our time and one of the most respected statesmen in American history. Born in
Lamar, Missouri, he became our 33rd president upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. As chief executive, he led the nation through the end of
World War II and guided our country through the Korean Conflict. He was also responsible for a major turning point in American foreign policy which
bears his name—the Truman Doctrine. He is buried in his beloved town of Independence.
Harry S. Truman
(1867-1957) recounted her childhood and adolescent experiences on the American frontier in autobiographical novels beloved by children and adults
alike. At Rocky Ridge Farm, her family home in the Missouri Ozarks near Mansfield, she wrote the “Little House” books such as Little House in the Big
Woods and Little House on the Prairie. Her work has remained continuously in print since the books first appeared in the 1930s and was the subject of
avery successful television series.
Laura Ingalls
Wilder