HOUSE BILL NO. 1811 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE GRAGG.
5212H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To amend chapter 21, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to the appointment and duties of commissioners to attend an Article V convention.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 21, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be 2 known as section 21.950, to read as follows: 21.950. 1. When a convention is called to propose amendments to the United 2 States Constitution pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution, the selection 3 and participation of commissioners from Missouri to such convention shall be governed 4 by this section. 5 2. (1) Missouri shall have a number of commissioners equal to the number of 6 congressional districts in the state at the time with one commissioner from each 7 congressional district and a number of alternate commissioners equal to the number of 8 congressional districts in the state at the time with one alternate commissioner from 9 each congressional district. 10 (2) Commissioners and alternates shall be citizens of the state of Missouri and 11 shall otherwise meet the same qualifications necessary to hold office in the Missouri 12 house of representatives. Commissioners and alternates may include persons holding 13 public office, subject to further limits described below, except that no person shall be 14 eligible who is: 15 (a) A member of the United States House of Representatives or Senate; 16 (b) An employee of the United States;
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1811 2
17 (c) An employee or other representative of a contractor with the United States; 18 or 19 (d) An elected official holding a statewide office. 20 21 Commissioners and alternates are also subject to those existing ethics rules that apply to 22 members of the general assembly. 23 (3) The house of representatives and senate shall select, by adoption of a 24 concurrent resolution, the commissioners and alternates who meet the eligibility 25 requirements described in this section and who are submitted to the house of 26 representatives and the senate by the joint legislative committee as provided in 27 subsection 4 of this section. Of the commissioners, at least one-third shall not be sitting 28 members of the general assembly. Of the alternate commissioners, at least one-third 29 shall not be sitting members of the general assembly. 30 (4) A majority of the commissioners shall constitute a quorum for all decisions 31 made by the delegation, and no commissioner may give his or her vote by proxy or 32 otherwise to any other commissioner. The commissioners shall select a chair to 33 administer the work of the commissioners. 34 3. (1) Each commissioner and alternate shall, by oath or affirmation as a 35 condition of participating in the convention, agree to faithfully and impartially 36 discharge all the duties incumbent upon a commissioner, including the duty to abide by 37 instructions established by concurrent resolution of the general assembly for 38 participation in the convention and the duty to act only within the scope of the 39 general assembly's application for the convention if Missouri applied for the convention 40 in which the commissioners are participating. Each commissioner and alternate shall 41 further agree to immediately notify the joint legislative committee if he or she believes 42 that any Missouri commissioner or alternate has violated his or her oath or instructions 43 while participating in the convention. 44 (2) Prior to the Article V convention, the general assembly shall consider 45 "Recommended Commissioner Instructions" presented to it by the joint legislative 46 committee as discussed further in subsection 4 of this section and shall by concurrent 47 resolution provide duly approved instructions to the commissioners and alternates 48 regarding the scope of matters the commissioners may consider and vote on at the 49 convention, including rules of procedure and proposed amendments. Such instructions 50 may be changed by the general assembly prior to or during the convention. These 51 instructions shall include, but shall not be limited to: 52 (a) An instruction that the commissioners shall not support any voting rule other 53 than the rule whereby each state exercises one vote; and HB 1811 3
54 (b) An instruction that on all voting matters at the convention, the decision of a 55 simple majority of the Missouri commissioners shall constitute a single vote for the state 56 of Missouri. 57 (3) Any vote cast by a commissioner or alternate at an Article V convention that 58 is outside the scope of any of the following is an unauthorized vote and is therefore void: 59 (a) The instructions established by any concurrent resolution adopted under this 60 section; or 61 (b) Any limits identified in the Missouri general assembly's application for the 62 convention. 63 4. (1) After or near the time an Article V convention is called, a joint legislative 64 committee shall be duly authorized by the general assembly for the purposes described 65 in this section. The joint legislative committee shall be comprised of five members of the 66 senate appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate, with three members from 67 the majority party and two members from the minority party, and five members of the 68 house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, with 69 three members from the majority party and two members from the minority party, and 70 shall have the initial task of recommending eligible commissioners to the house of 71 representatives and the senate for consideration of appointment as commissioners. The 72 joint legislative committee shall submit at least three persons from each congressional 73 district who are eligible, as provided in this section, to serve as commissioners and at 74 least three different persons from each congressional district who are eligible, as 75 provided in this section, to serve as alternate commissioners. The house of 76 representatives and the senate shall select a commissioner and alternate commissioner 77 from each congressional district from the names submitted by the joint legislative 78 committee. The joint legislative committee shall also be charged with presenting 79 "Recommended Commissioner Instructions" to the full general assembly for 80 consideration leading to a concurrent resolution as discussed in subdivision (2) of 81 subsection 3 of this section. Such commissioner instructions shall define the scope of 82 matters the commissioners may consider and vote on at the Article V convention, 83 including rules of procedure and proposed amendments as discussed more fully in 84 subsection 3 of this section. All recommendations that secure a simple majority vote of 85 the members present shall be deemed approved "Recommended Commissioner 86 Instructions" to be submitted to the full general assembly for its consideration. 87 (2) After commissioners have been selected, the joint legislative committee may 88 recall any commissioner and revoke such commissioner's authority. However, the joint 89 legislative committee shall recall and revoke the authority only in the event the 90 commissioner casts or attempts to cast an unauthorized vote as described in this section. HB 1811 4
91 The joint legislative committee shall also appoint one of the selected alternates to take 92 the place of a commissioner so recalled. The joint legislative committee shall promptly 93 investigate any notice that a commissioner or alternate has cast an unauthorized vote or 94 otherwise exceeded the scope of the general assembly's application for the convention or 95 the general assembly's instructions to the commissioners. The joint legislative 96 committee shall act to ensure that the commissioners remain faithful to the terms of 97 the convention application and the general assembly's instructions. Before or during 98 the Article V convention, the joint legislative committee may advise the commissioners 99 on questions that arise regarding the scope of the convention and the legislative 100 instructions to commissioners. 101 (3) By concurrent resolution, the general assembly may change or supersede any 102 action of the joint legislative committee or recall commissioners or alternates to the 103 convention, or appoint new commissioners or alternates. 104 (4) The joint legislative committee shall be authorized to conduct its business via 105 telephone or by electronic communication. 106 5. If the provisions of this section conflict with the rules or procedures 107 established by the Article V convention, the general assembly may, by concurrent 108 resolution, conform these provisions to such rules or procedures. ✔
Statutes affected: