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Missouri House Bill 1763 (2008)
Missouri House Bill 1763 was introduced as legislation in Missouri in the 2008 Missouri General Assembly in order to aggressively restrict initiative rights in that state. It was sponsored by Rep. Michael Parson, but it ultimately died in legislation and was never enacted.[1][2]
Provisions
The proposed legislation would have:[2]
- Required people who circulate petitions to be Missouri residents;
- Prohibited them from being paid by the signature;
- Restricted them to circulating one petition at a time.
- Forbade people from asking for signatures "via the Internet" or "by mail."
The proposed penalty for violating the new restrictions, which was designated a Class A misdemeanor, amounted to up to a year in jail and a fine not to exceed $10,000, or both.[2]
House passes House Bill 1763
The Missouri House has passed HB 1763 on February 28, 2008. The bill was opposed by House Minority Floor Leader Paul LeVota (D, Independence), who said, "It's not a terrible bill, and that's typically what we find in Jefferson City...there's not (a lot of) bills that are so terrible, but overall I was concerned that this would limit the people of Missouri's right to use the petition-initiative process."[3]
A similar bill was being sponsored in the Missouri Senate by Kevin Engler, a Republican.
This bill, however, ultimately died in the legislature, without enactment.[2]
Newspaper Endorsements
The Joplin Globe opposed the bill saying it would restrict the initiative process and that it was a way to tell Missourians "not to interfere" with the legislature's agenda.[4]
See also
- Changes in 2008 to laws governing the initiative process
- Laws governing ballot initiative signature gatherers
- Nebraska Legislative Bill 39
- Washington House Bill 2601
- Petition blocking
External links
Additional reading
- Mo. lawmakers try to make harder for others to make laws, Associated Press, March 2, 2008
- Senators move to clean up initiative process (dead link)
- Associated Press, Lawmakers target initiatives (op-ed), March 5, 2008
Footnotes
- ↑ Legislation in Missouri would tighten rules for those who conduct petition drives (dead link) Kansas City Star, February 8, 2008
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Missouri House website, "Missouri House Bill 1763 (2008)," accessed March 3, 2014
- ↑ Missouri House passes stricter guidelines for petition workers, KWMU News, Feb. 28, 2008
- ↑ In our view: We have a right to use petitions, The Joplin Globe, March 4, 2008
