Rob Landers
Owensville High School
GS 4.A—The student will examine the Missouri
Constitution and state government.
Complete text of Missouri Constitution.
http://www.moga.mo.gov/const/moconstn.htm
Governor is head of Executive Branch
Serves a four year term (limited to 2 terms)
Requirements:
30 years old
U.S. citizen for 15 years
Missouri citizen for 10 years
Duties/Powers of Governor:
Commander-in-Chief of National Guard
Appoint directors of agencies and State Judges
Issue Pardons and Reprieves
Annual “State of the State” address
Submit an annual budget
Approve or Veto bills
If the Governor dies or resigns, the Lieutenant
Governor takes over
Duties/Powers of Lt. Governor
Serves as president of Missouri Senate
Votes only if there is a tie
Serves on various boards and official groups
Qualifications are the same as Governor
The Secretary of State is responsible for
providing and preserving information for the
public
Oversees all elections
Qualifications: must be a resident of Missouri
for 1 year
The Attorney General serves as the chief legal
officer of the state
Represents the interests of government
agencies and citizens
Qualifications: Must be an attorney and live in
Jefferson City while in office
The Missouri legislature is known as the
General Assembly
It is divided into two houses:
Senate—upper house
House of Representatives—lower house
Legislature is in session from January to May
each year
Senate has 34 members
Senators serve 4 year terms (1/2 elected
every two years)—8 years max.
Presided over by Lt. Gov. (President pro
Tempore takes over in his absence)
Approves gubernatorial appointments
Qualifications:
30 years old
A qualified Missouri voter for 3 years
A resident of their district for 1 year
House of Representatives has 163 members
Representatives serve 2 year terms—8 years
max.
H.O.R. is presided over by the Speaker of
the House
Qualifications:
24 years old
A qualified voter of Missouri for 2 years
A resident of their district for 1 year
Bills can originate in either house
Bills are sent into committee for consideration
of validity and need
Committees can report on bills in 6 ways
No report at all
Report as “do pass”
Pass with amendments
Return the bill without recommendation
Replace with a “committee substitute” bill
Report as “do not pass” (which kills the bill)
The bill then goes through several readings and
is eventually voted on for passage
18 Senate votes and 82 House votes are
required to pass (constitutional majority)
If both houses pass same bill, it is declared
“truly agreed to and finally passed”
The governor then has 15 days to act on the bill
If vetoed, a 2/3 vote of both houses can
override that veto
Divided into three levels:
Circuit
Appeals
Supreme
All judges must be licensed to practice law and
are required to retire at age 70.
Circuit and Associate Circuit courts are
divided by county
Handle civil and criminal trials
Associate Circuit court judges must be at
least 25 years of age, a qualified voter of
Missouri, and a resident of the county and
serve 4 year terms
Circuit judges must be at least 30 years of
age, a citizen of the United States at least 10
years, a qualified voter of Missouri at least
three years, and a resident of the circuit at
least one year and serve 6 year terms
Appeals Court judges must be at least 30 years
old, U.S. citizen for 15 years, MO voter for 9
years.
They are appointed and then retained by a vote of
the people every 12 years
The State Supreme Court is highest court in
land
Has seven members
Chief position rotates every two years
Same qualifications as Appeals courts
Use the following link to review for the test:
http://www.studystack.com/menu-27386
http://www.studystack.com/menu-27386
http://www.moga.mo.gov/const/moconstn.h
tm
Senate, Missouri State (2007). Showing You the
Show-Me State.
http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/seals/
mo_seal.htm
Citizen of Missouri
Public Office
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