Missouri measure gives state strongest protections for direct democracy in the country

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) -Missouri voters sent lawmakers a message: Hands off the laws we pass.

Missouri voters approved Amendment 6 on Tuesday, which requires lawmakers to get at least 80% approval from the General Assembly and approval from voters to change or amend a law or policy passed by voters. The amendment strengthens Missouri’s initiative petition process, which allows residents to enact new laws.

What the amendment requires

Of the 50 states, 26 have citizen-initiated ballot measures. Scott LaCombe, a University of Missouri political science professor who researches direct democracy, said Missouri is the only state with both an 80% legislative requirement and a requirement to send changes to voters.

“No state has both until now,” LaCombe said. “Missouri has the strongest requirement of 80% and sending it to the voters. So I would say, at least for statutory initiatives, Missouri is now having the most robust protections for direct democracy in the entire country.”

Amendment 6 came about after Missouri lawmakers reversed or severely weakened several voter-approved laws, including required paid sick leave and abortion access.

“Voters, in some way, are going to be able to have their cake and eat it too,” LaCombe said.

Lenny Jones, vice president and Missouri state director of SEIU Healthcare, celebrated the passage of Amendment 6.

“After years of organizing, Missourians finally won guaranteed paid sick leave through the ballot initiative process in 2024,” Jones said. “Just months later, Jefferson City politicians reversed our voter-approved, pro-worker law in a direct attack on working families.”

Possible legal action

Missouri Republicans who opposed Amendment 6 now say its passage is a lesson for the party.

“This is an electorate that knows what they want, and instead of sort of talking at them, we better, as elected officials, be listening and listening hard,” Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Kara Corches said the Chamber will evaluate what Amendment 6 means for the legislative process in the coming weeks.

“We believe Amendment 6 undermines that stability by making Missouri’s policymaking process less flexible and creating greater uncertainty for businesses across our state,” Corches said. “We know it will be much more difficult to address unintended consequences of voter-approved measures through the legislative process, and we anticipate more legal disputes over legislation.”

Hanaway said she will defend the amendment in court.

“Well, I don’t know who might sue us, but it’s our job to defend the law, and that’s the law as passed by Missourians,” Hanaway said.

The Respect Missouri Voters campaign, which supported Amendment 6, was not available for an interview Friday.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com. Please include the article info in the subject line of the email.