Will Missouri Residents Vote To Weaken Their Own Legislative Power

(Jefferson City) Will Missouri voting citizens take one of their main forms of legislative power out of their own hands?

A majority of the Missouri House of Representatives is behind Representative Mike Henderson’s bill that would do just that.

This concerns the initiative petition process where Missouri citizens, with enough backing from residents of the state, can get their proposal placed on a statewide ballot for a vote of the people.

The Desloge lawmaker’s bill would start by upping the threshold of passing a constitutional amendment from the standard of just above 50-percent to a whopping 60-percent before official passage could be made.

State Representative Mike McGirl of Potosi is in favor of Henderson’s bill.

The Washington County lawmaker believes outsiders from both major parties, have been behind getting previous proposals on statewide election ballots and then believes the outsiders have swayed Missouri residents to vote in favor of these statewide proposals.

The republican state representative says there is another change that would be made to the initiative petition process if Henderson’s legislation is approved.

Henderson’s bill gained initial approval in the Missouri House last week but needs one more House vote before it goes to the State Senate for debate.

The State Legislature can not make these changes on their own, even if the Senate gives approval.

However, a question to change the initiative petition process would go before a future election of all registered voting Missourians.

Democrats claim Henderson’s legislation is a republican power grab, who are tired of seeing Missouri voters go around them on a few recent issues like expanding Medicaid, repealing a Right to Work law and legalizing medical and now recreational marijuana.