By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says the legislature missed a couple of opportunities during the previous session.
“I think the initiative petition process, the reform in that, is an issue that we really need to get done and across the finish line,” Parson tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post in a phone interview.
Republicans in Jefferson City have talked about increasing the voter threshold to amend the state constitution as well as changing some of the requirements for gathering signatures for ballot initiatives.
Parson, a Republican, wants to see changes to the entire initiative petition process.
“So, half the states in the United States have this, half of them don’t,” Parson says of the initiative petition process. “I just think it needs to be more difficult to change the constitution and change the law in the state of Missouri than currently what we’re doing right now. I just think long-term it’s going to get problematic as the years go forward if we don’t do something with it.”
Parson wants the state initiative petition process to change, contending it no longer serves as a grass roots check on the legislature. Critics have contended that such efforts merely mask a desire to thwart the will of the people.
“I mean when you say that, I would say that most of them anymore are driven by money, no matter what the issue is, whichever side of the aisle you’re on,” Parson says. “I don’t know that the everyday person, when you talk about taking away the people’s voice, I don’t know how many citizen-driven initiative petitions are out there anymore that there’s not backers and money behind it getting people to sign up and getting the requirements to do that.”
Parson suggests the last real citizen-driven petition campaign was the Hancock Amendment. The amendment won 55% of the vote in November of 1980, limiting the taxing and spending authority of state government.
Parson says initiative petitions now are pushed by special interest groups and funded with out-of-state money.
“I think we want to protect the people’s choice, but I think the reality of it is most things that are going on today are special interests that are using the initiative petition process.”
The new Missouri legislative session begins next month.
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