Travis Smith's Capitol Report

We received some great news at the Capitol this week. The Missouri Department of Economic Development awarded the White River Electric Coop with a grant of nearly 47 Million dollars. This grant can help with our county’s ARPA monies that have paved the way for implementation of high speed internet in our area.  One of the only positive thing that came from the COVID Pandemic was discovering a large percentage of workers can do their job from home……if they have high speed Internet. Because of where we live in the Ozarks with the rugged and rocky terrain it’s been hard to implement the installation of fiber needed for that high speed connection. Now, thanks to WRE that will be a realty.

I have often said that one of Southwest Missouri’s biggest exports has been our young people. I worked with two seasoned economics professors from the University of Missouri and our research found that from the time a child is born through high school graduation that the local, county, state, and federal government invests roughly $600,000 in each of those individuals. That means for every ten young people that leave we are losing $6,000,000 investments to other areas. With the execution of high speed internet now, those students can stay in the same area their families live, participate in the local economy, be productive citizens, and work from home doing business on a global scale. During my campaign, pushing for high speed internet was a top priority. It’s extremely satisfying to see that goal become a reality.

Our committees are now up and running and we’re hearing some great bills. One of those dealt with the Initiative Petition Process. I love the idea of the people being able to get a legislative agenda on the ballot but currently not all 8 congressional districts have to be included. If a bill is going to be placed on the ballot then signatures should have to come from all of the congressional districts, not just a select few. Below are some of the things we discussed regarding changing the IP Process.

House Committee Advances Initiative Petition Reform Legislation (HJR 43)

Legislation designed to protect the sanctity of the Missouri Constitution is moving quickly through the legislative process and is now on track for discussion on the House floor. House Speaker Dean Plocher and Speaker Pro Tem Mike Henderson said as early as next week the House will consider a constitutional amendment that would allow voters to change the initiative petition process. This week HJR 43 was approved by the House Committee on Elections and Elected Officials. If approved by the legislature and voters, the proposed constitutional amendment would change the threshold required to approve changes to the state constitution. Currently, changes to the constitution require only a simple majority for approval. HJR 43 would raise the threshold to 60 percent voter approval for passage.

Henderson, who sponsors the legislation, said, “I see the constitution as a living document but not an ever-expanding document. We have one of the largest state constitutions in the country and that’s because we keep adding and adding to it.” He added, “Since our current constitution was written in 1945 it has changed more than 60 times. In comparison, the United States Constitution has been amended 17 times since 1791. It takes 38 states to ratify an amendment to the constitution.”

Henderson noted Missouri is currently one of only 18 states to allow initiative petitions for a constitutional change and has one of the easier processes in the country for amending the constitution.

HJR 43 was approved by the House Elections and Elected Officials Committee by a vote of 11-5. It now moves to a House Rules Committee, which must approve the bill before it moves to the floor for discussion. The committee also passed three other proposed constitutional amendments (HJR 30, HJR 24, and HJR 25) that would modify the requirements to approve constitutional amendments. 

Thanks for taking the time to read our capitol report and being a part of the process. If we can be of any assistance with anything please don’t hesitate to call out office at 573-751-2042. God Bless