SPONSOR: Billington
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Elections and Elected Officials by a vote of 7 to 6.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HJR 65.
Currently, initiative petitions proposing amendments to the Constitution shall be signed by 8% of the legal voters in two- thirds of the Congressional districts in the state. Initiative petitions proposing laws shall be signed by 5% of such voters.
Upon voter approval, this proposed Constitutional amendment requires that signatures of the legal voters for either amendments or statutory law changes shall represent every Congressional district in the state. The percentage requirements are unchanged.
The substitute has an effective date of January 1, 2023.
This bill is similar to HJR 2 (2021).
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 it is good to obtain citizen input from each Congressional district in the state.
Testifying for the bill were Representative Billington; Julie Gaebe; and the Opportunity Solutions Project.
OPPONENTS: Those who oppose the bill say that it is already very difficult to amend the Constitution and that the number of petitions ultimately certified to be placed on the ballot is extremely small.
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; Tim Mobley; Angela Allen; Beth Franklin; Cheri L Crockett; Danielle Meert; Denise D. Lieberman, Missouri Voter Protection Coalition; Don Crozier; Ellen Wentz; Francine Glass; Missouri AFL-CIO; Joan Gentry; 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; Nomachot Adiang; Missouri NEA; Richard Egan; Sally Brooks; Scott Randolph; Sherry L Buchanan; Stephanie Todd; Stephen C Mann Sr; Stephen W. Skrainka; Stuart Francis Murphy; Susan Randolph; Terry Knies; Trudy Marshall; Darla Kos; Jobs with Justice Voter Action; Arnie C. Ac Dienoff; Chloe Owens, Missouri Health Care for All; Jamie Newsham; Janice Seele; Metropolitan Congregations United; Laura Gutierrez Perez; Luis Gutierrez; Margaret Phillips; Marilyn McLeod, League of Women Voters of Missouri; Rebecca Shaw; and Russella Levin.
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.