FIRST REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE JOINT
92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE SHOEMAKER (8).
Read 1st time April 7, 2003, and copies ordered printed.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
JOINT RESOLUTION
Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri, an amendment repealing section 12 of article IV of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting two new sections in lieu thereof relating to executive departments.
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 following the first Monday in November, 2004, or at a special election to be called by the governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or rejection, the following amendment to article IV of the Constitution of the state of Missouri:
Section A. Section 12, article IV, Constitution of Missouri, is repealed and two new sections adopted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 12 and 54, to read as follows:
Section 12. The executive department shall consist of all state elective and appointive officials and employees except officials and employees of the legislative and judicial departments. In addition to the governor and lieutenant governor there shall be a state auditor, secretary of state, attorney general, a state treasurer, an office of administration, a department of agriculture, a department of conservation, a department of natural resources, a department of elementary and secondary education, a department of higher education, a department of highways and transportation, a department of homeland security and emergency management, a department of insurance, a department of labor and industrial relations, a department of economic development, a department of public safety, a department of revenue, a department of social services, and a department of mental health. In addition to the elected officers, there shall not be more than [fifteen] sixteen departments and the office of administration. The general assembly may create by law two departments, in addition to those named, provided that the departments shall be headed by a director or commission appointed by the governor on the advice and consent of the senate. The director or commission shall have administrative responsibility and authority for the department created by law. Unless discontinued all present or future boards, bureaus, commissions and other agencies of the state exercising administrative or executive authority shall be assigned by law or by the governor as provided by law to the office of administration or to one of the [fifteen] sixteen administrative departments to which their respective powers and duties are germane.
Section 54. The department of homeland security and emergency management shall be in charge of a director to be appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate. The department shall administer the programs provided by law to assist in coordination of national, state, and local activities related to emergency functions by coordinating response, recovery, planning, and mitigation, and by assessing the readiness of the state and its communities to deter, prevent, and appropriately respond to acts of terrorism in Missouri.