Legislative Update: 1.21.24

Citizen Initiative Petition Bills

Bill #: HJR 102 (similar to HJR 72 below; concurrent majority of state rep districts)

LWVMO OPPOSES

Short Description: Ends majority passage of initiative petitions by changing to a ‘concurrent’ majority passage system; a statewide majority of all legal voters (what we currently have) AND passage in a majority of MO state representative districts. Also forbids a foreign country from sponsoring or funding initiatives and prohibits taxes on food or property by initiative.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a committee hearing in the House on Tuesday, January 23, 2024 at 10:30 AM in the Elections and Elected Officials Committee

Link to the summary of the bill: Summary of HJR 102

5 for Democracy: Submit testimony online here

Bill #: HJR 72 (similar to HJR 102 above; concurrent majority of congressional districts)

LWVMO OPPOSES

Short Description: Ends majority passage of initiative petitions by changing to a ‘concurrent’ majority passage system; statewide majority of all legal voters AND majority of MO congressional districts. Also forbids a foreign country from sponsoring or funding initiatives and prohibits taxes on food or property by initiative.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for hearing in the House on Tuesday, January 23, 2024 at 10:30 AM in the Elections and Elected Officials Committee

Link to the summary of the bill: Summary of HJR 72

5 for Democracy: Submit testimony online here for HJR 72

Bill #: HB 1749 

LWVMO OPPOSES

Short Description: Sets up hurdles for the initiative petition (IP) process by making it more difficult to gather signatures and makes successful signature gathering efforts vulnerable to legal challenges. This bill creates a number of administrative changes to the initiative petition process.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for hearing in the House on Tuesday, January 23, 2024 at 10:30 AM in the Elections and Elected Officials Committee

Link to the summary of the bill: Summary of HB 1749    

5 for Democracy: Submit testimony online here for HB 1749

There are a lot more bills up this week but we don’t have time to cover them all here. For more information on other bills, visit LWVKC.org and scroll down to "Sign up to get our weekly Missouri Legislature Call to Action email". You'll get the information we talk about here, as well as additional talking points and bills that the League is tracking.