HCS HJR 85 -- INITIATIVE PETITIONS

SPONSOR: Lewis (6)

COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Elections and Elected Officials by a vote of 7 to 5.

The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HJR 85.

Upon voter approval, this proposed Constitutional amendment would require that initiative petitions for proposed amendments to the Constitution be signed by 10% of legal voters in each Congressional district in the state and that initiative petitions proposing laws be signed by 5% of such voters.

The substitute contains a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.

The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.

PROPONENTS: Supporters say that the bill ensures that changes to the fundamental law of the land have sufficient support. The state Constitution is very long and the initiative process has resulted in many obscure provisions being added which are better placed in state statute.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Lewis; Francine Glass; and the Opportunity Solutions Project.

OPPONENTS: Those who oppose the bill say that they wish to preserve the people's fundamental right to employ the initiative process in a fair and reasonable manner. It is very difficult to amend the state Constitution and almost all ballot measures fail to be certified for ballot placement.

Testifying against the bill were Susan Gibson; Jewish Community Relations Council; Cynthia Wegerer; Dawn Banks; Erin Gray; Getta R. Hall; Valerie K Larm; Clarisse Teepe-Fryrear; Daniel Curran; Dwight Rezny; Evelyn Maddox; Jacqueline Farr; James R Turner; Kane Sheek, Missouri Sierra Club; Melissa A Vatterott, Missouri Coalition for the Environment; Paige Witek; Rebecca Smith; Stephanie; Tim Mobley; Angela Allen; Beth Franklin; Cheri L Crockett; Danielle Meert; Denise D. Lieberman, Missouri Voter Protection Coalition; Don Crozier; Ellen Wentz; Missouri AFL- CIO; Joan Gentry; Kendra Varns Wallis, Missouri Parks Association; Linda Rezny; Lori Staub; Pro Choice Missouri; Margaret Hefner; Mary C Primm; Mary Gross; Michele Steinberg, Women S Voices Raised for Social Justice; Nancy Price; Nicole Cooper; Missouri NEA; Richard Egan; Sally Brooks; Scott Randolph; Sherry L Buchanan; Stephen W. Skrainka; Stuart Francis Murphy; Susan J. Williams; Susan Randolph; Trudy Marshall; Jobs with Justice Voter Action; Arnie C. Ac Dienoff; Chloe Owens, Missouri Health Care for All; Darla Kos; Gregory Woodhams; Jamie Newsham; Metropolitan Congregations United; Laura Gutierrez Perez; Luis Gutierrez; Margaret Phillips; Nomachot Adiang; Rebecca Shaw; Russella Levin; and Marilyn McLeod, League of Women Voters of Missouri.

Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.