House votes to modify steps to amend constitution

The Missouri House of Representatives adopted a joint resolution Wednesday that could make it more difficult to amend the state Constitution.

The resolution, adopted on a voice vote, calls for a state referendum to modify the threshold of citizen approval for ballot initiatives from a simple majority to a supermajority of 60% of voters.

Republicans say the resolution would mean that more voices are represented on initiatives. Democrats, such as Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia, think it does the opposite.

"The legislature, they have a supermajority of the party in power. They want to stamp out anyone, any dissenting voice. (Ballot initiatives) are the only mechanism of getting around them," he said.

Bill sponsor Rep. Mike Henderson, R-Desloge, said that the resolution aims to preserve citizens' right to ballot initiatives, but he wants to stop the constitution from changing too much.

"I believe that the Missouri Constitution is a living document, but not an ever-expanding document. Right now, it has become an ever-expanding document with over 60 editions since 1945," he said.

During debate, Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, noted that 60 of 132 amendments approved by voters since 1945 would not have become amendments had the threshold for support been 60%, including amendments regarding the right to farm and legalizing marijuana.

Henderson cited "outside groups" throwing money at the state for their own goals as a leading reason why he wants to make changes. This argument raised issues for Democrats.

Smith was adamant that while there is "outside money" involved in petitions, that money comes from people who want to make the initiative process harder.

"The problem is that most of the people who do and work on issue petitions are grassroots people. The people who want to change it and make it harder, they have the big money interest," he said.

During debate, Democrats unsuccessfully suggested four amendments that aimed to change the wording of the beginning of the bill, which specifies that only people "registered to vote in Missouri and citizens of the United States" may vote.

In response, Henderson said he is not open to moving the stipulation farther down in the resolution's text. Rep. Darin Chappell, R-Rogersville, supported this by saying that this language clarifies the difference between what's already in the constitution and what's in the resolution.

"There is a significant difference between saying 'all citizens of the United States eligible to vote may do so' and saying 'only citizens of the United States eligible to vote may do so,'" he said. "The premise that only those who are actually citizens of the United States of America have the eligibility to vote ... is not a radical position."

Smith said the complaints against that wording come from a lack of transparency — the resolution is about raising the requirement to pass initiative petitions for constitutional amendments, not citizenship.

"People are going to think that when they're voting whether to endorse this proposal ... they're voting on whether citizens should have the right to vote," he said. "They're going to be misled into what it's really about."

The resolution will return to the House floor for a procedural vote. It is expected to pass and be sent for consideration in the Senate, which has similar bills of its own.