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DarraignTheSane

Missouri Republicans aren’t giving up on making state constitution harder to amend (news.stlpublicradio.org)

submitted 2 years ago by DarraignTheSane to c/[email protected]

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/160390

As the 2023 legislative session sputtered to a close, House Speaker Dean Plocher stood before a throng of reporters talking about what happened — including the failure to change ballot initiatives.

Republicans wanted to send a ballot item to voters that would raise the threshold to amend the state constitution from a simple majority to 57%. The Des Peres Republican said something that many in Missouri politics assumed all along: Making the constitution more difficult to amend was critical in stopping an initiative petition to expand abortion access in Missouri.

“We are pro-life,” Plocher said. “And if the Senate fails to take action on IP [initiative petition] reform, I think the Senate should be held accountable for allowing abortion to return to Missouri.”

Some Democrats, like House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, said Plocher was saying “the quiet part loud” about the motivations behind trying to get voters to approve a measure raising the constitutional amendment threshold. But in many respects, the proposal will have a far bigger impact than just stymying one potential initiative petition.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Ballot initiatives are like the one thing that seems to work well in this state gov

[–] DarraignTheSane 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Well sure, that's because our population largely votes in favor of progressive measures. We voted no on "Right to Work" multiple times now, voted for Medicare expansion, voted for marijuana legalization, etc.

And then we turn around and vote in asshole Republican politicians who immediately work against those interests. It's because they know what's best for us, of course. /s

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I don't think the state legislature working around citizen initiatives is unique to Missouri. I lived for 20+ years in Seattle -- Washington has a ballot initiative process as well.

Many years ago, a ballot initiative limiting the cost of license plate tabs (the yearly renewal sticker for your license plates) to $30 state-wide was proposed and voted on and passed. Then the state decided OK, the tab renewal fee is $30 -- we'll just make up the money by creating additional road taxes and fees. I never paid less than $100 for my tabs every year due to the additional fees, although the bill was itemized and "Tab Renewal" was always $30.

For the record, Washington has now, and had then, a Democratically controlled state legislature along with a Democratic governor.

[–] DarraignTheSane 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You're probably not wrong, but in your example that's "the state needs X amount of dollars to operate, either we get it here or we'll have to get it elsewhere". Not "we as politicians know better than you what's good for you regarding how you live your lives".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

Agreed -- Washington is a lot more socially liberal on the whole than Missouri, so that is the trend.