MO House Passes Changes to Initiative Petition Process

(MISSOURINET) – Proposed changes to the initiative petition process are halfway through the Missouri Legislature. The state House has passed a Republican-backed plan that would ban petition circulators from being paid based on the number of signatures collected. Pleasant Hill State Representative Mike Haffner is also proposing to require them to be Missouri residents or physically present in the state for at least 30 consecutive days prior to the collection of signatures.

Missouri House Democratic Leader Crystal Quade says the bill is unconstitutional because of the technical formalities in the legislation. It’s now the Senate’s turn to decide if it backs the bill.