Bill > SJR87

This Joint Resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to be placed before Missouri voters at the November 2026 general election or a special election called by the governor, which would enshrine the office of the county sheriff into the state constitution. If approved, the measure mandates that most Missouri counties elect a sheriff to a four-year term who serves as the chief law enforcement officer and conservator of the peace, responsible for duties such as suppressing riots, jailing felons, attending court divisions, and executing legal processes. The proposed amendment explicitly excludes certain areas from these specific sheriff provisions, namely any city not within a county (such as St. Louis), certain charter counties adjacent to such a city, and charter counties with populations over four hundred thousand adjacent to a populous county over nine hundred thousand. Additionally, the resolution grants sheriffs the authority to hire and set the pay for their own staff within budget limits, protects elected sheriffs by ensuring they can only be removed from office through a legal action called a writ of quo warranto (a specialized court proceeding brought by the attorney general to challenge a person's right to hold public office), and outlines standard ballot language that frames the measure as a way to support law enforcement and preserve citizens' rights to elect their sheriffs.