Mo. Rev. Stat. § 115.306 — MO Code / Chapter 115 / Section 115.306
115.306 Disqualification as candidate for elective public office, when — filing of ...
Status: in_force

115.306. Disqualification as candidate for elective public office, when — filing of affidavit, contents — tax delinquency, effect of. — 1. No person shall qualify as a candidate for elective public office in the state of Missouri who has been found guilty of or pled guilty to a felony under the federal laws of the United States of America or to a felony under the laws of this state or an offense committed in another state that would be considered a felony in this state.

2. (1) Any person who files as a candidate for election to a public office shall be disqualified from participation in the election for which the candidate has filed if such person is delinquent in the payment of any state income taxes, personal property taxes, municipal taxes, real property taxes on the place of residence, as stated on the declaration of candidacy, or if the person is a past or present corporate officer of any fee office that owes any taxes to the state.

(2) Each potential candidate for election to a public office, except candidates for a county or city committee of a political party, shall file an affidavit with the department of revenue and include a copy of the affidavit with the declaration of candidacy required under section 115.349 . Such affidavit shall be in substantially the following form:

(3) Upon receipt of a complaint alleging a delinquency of the candidate in the filing or payment of any state income taxes, personal property taxes, municipal taxes, real property taxes on the place of residence, as stated on the declaration of candidacy, or if the person is a past or present corporate officer of any fee office that owes any taxes to the state, the department of revenue shall investigate such potential candidate to verify the claim contained in the complaint. If the department of revenue finds a positive affirmation to be false, the department shall contact the secretary of state, or the election official who accepted such candidate's declaration of candidacy, and the potential candidate. The department shall notify the candidate of the outstanding tax owed and give the candidate thirty days to remit any such outstanding taxes owed which are not the subject of dispute between the department and the candidate. If the candidate fails to remit such amounts in full within thirty days, the candidate shall be disqualified from participating in the current election and barred from refiling for an entire election cycle even if the individual pays all of the outstanding taxes that were the subject of the complaint.

(L. 2015 S.B. 104, A.L. 2016 H.B. 1477 merged with S.B. 786, A.L. 2017 S.B. 111) (2024) Under this section, any person who has previously pleaded guilty to a felony offense under Missouri law is not a qualified candidate for elective public office and is ineligible to be on an election ballot, notwithstanding a gubernatorial pardon. A gubernatorial pardon under Article IV, Section 7 of the Missouri Constitution extinguishes the fact of a felony conviction, but does not erase the fact of a felony guilty plea. Fletcher v. Young, 689 S.W.3d 161 (Mo.banc).