Missouri House gives initial approval to raising bar for voters to amend the constitution
Legislation to make it harder for voters to amend the state constitution through the initiative petition process won initial approval in the Missouri House on Wednesday.
After more than two hours of debate, the legislation sponsored by House Speaker Pro Tem Mike Henderson was approved 106-50. It will need to be approved one more time by the House before going to the Senate.
If it passes both chambers it would still need to be approved by voters on the statewide ballot.
Republicans have been unsuccessfully pushing changes to the initiative petition process for years, largely in response to successful ballot measures in recent years that repealed a right-to-work law, expanded Medicaid eligibility, raised the minimum wage and legalized marijuana.
“I believe that the Missouri Constitution is a living document, but not an ever expanding document,” said Henderson, R-Bonne Terre.
The bill approved Wednesday would raise the threshold needed for an initiative petition to require 60% of voters to approve of any proposed constitutional amendment.
Currently proposed amendments need only a simple majority for approval.
https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/01/missouri-house-gives-initial-approval-to-raising-bar-for-voters-to-amend-the-constitution/
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