Missouri
Missouri Republicans push legislation to curb citizens’ petition power
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KFVS) – The crusade by Missouri Republicans to fortify the state’s constitution against citizen-led ballot measures is poised to take a big step.
The Senate Committee on Local Government and Elections is scheduled to hear 12 resolutions Monday afternoon, January 29 each of which is aimed at making it more difficult for Missouri citizens to make changes to the state’s fundamental governing document.
Republican lawmakers thrust the issue to the top of their priority list when a campaign was launched, despite a litany of court challenges, to collect the requisite signatures for an abortion rights question to be placed on November’s ballot.
“At this point where there’s so much at stake, gloves are off, and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to protect life, and to ensure that our constitution is protected,” said state Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, who is sponsoring one of the resolutions and has been openly critical of the initiative petition as an avenue for direct democracy.
In order to obstruct an increasingly likely ballot measure on abortion rights in November, Republicans said they intend to pass their resolution to put their initiative petition question on the August statewide ballot.
The initiative petition process was utilized by Missouri citizens to legalize recreational marijuana, expand medicaid and overturn the state’s “Right to Work” law.
“Politicians are kept under control of the voters by the citizen initiative process,” said Scott Charton, spokesperson for the political action committee Missourians for Fair Governance. “This is over 100 years time, a good process. It works. It doesn’t need fixing. But politicians want to take away the people’s right to set the agenda and to put laws in place. That’s not right. It shouldn’t be weakened.”
Freddie Steinbach was the finance director for former Gov. John D. Ashcroft’s Finance Director and the first mayor of Chesterfield.
“In 1992, my former boss Governor Ashcroft vetoed similar attacks on the citizen initiative process,” Steinbach said in a press release. “The then-Democratic majority was attacking the will of the people, and trying to make the initiative process more difficult, because the Democrats were bitter that conservatives had been using the citizen initiative, including to pass the Hancock Amendment with only 55% of the vote.”
Steinbach now works as outreach director for Conservatives Against Corruption and plans to speak out against the resolutions before the committee Monday.
“In his veto statement, Governor Ashcroft said, ‘the General Assembly should be reluctant…to enact legislation which places any impediments on the initiative power which are inconsistent with the reservation found in the Constitution.’ I ask that this legislature listen to the advice from our former Governor when considering further legislative action.”
Resolutions to be considered Monday:
SJR 48 – Would require constitutional amendments be approved by a simple majority in a majority of the constitutional districts in the state. This would eliminate the power of “one person, one vote,” by weighting any decision for amending the constitution more heavily on less-populated, rural districts.
SJR 49 – Same as SJR 48 and also bans certain topics from being the subject of an an initiative petition, including raising taxes, reducing money for law enforcements or public education. This also includes a “poison pill” amendment, wherein the entire amendment is automatically deemed unconstitutional if any part of a constitutional amendment is found to be so by a court.
SJR 51 – Same as SJR 48 and also bans tax increases on food sales, real estate and property from being the subject of the IP. Also prohibits foreign governments or political parties from sponsoring IPs, and empowers the general assembly to enforce the rules. Critics say this is merely an avenue for the general assembly to kill whatever initiative petition it doesn’t like.
SJR 56 – Tightens the requirements for how narrow the scope of an IP should be.
SJR 59 – Would require constitutional amendments be approved by a simple majority statewide and a simple majority of the votes cast in a majority of the state senate districts. (SJR 48, 49 & 51 aligned with congressional districts).
SJR 61 – Same as SJR 59, except aligning with state representative districts instead of state senate districts.
SJR 73 – Would impose a litany of new requirements and restrictions for voter-submitted ballot measures, including identification requirements for supporting campaigns, passage thresholds tied to campaign contributions, new bureaucratic steps for reporting contributions. The resolution also creates a public complaint structure as an additional obstacle.
SJR 74 – Same as SJR 48.
SJR 77 – Same as SJR 51.
SJR 79 – Same as SJR 49.
SJR 81 – Same as SJR 51, except aligning with state representative districts instead of congressional districts.
SJR 83 – Same as SJR 49, but without the prohibition on IPs related to reducing spending or raising taxes.
Copyright 2024 KFVS. All rights reserved.
JACKSON COUNTY, Mo. (KFVS) – Four years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Missouri became the first state to ban abortion, Planned Parenthood is once again offering abortions.
Medication abortions are returning, too, after a Jackson County Circuit Court ruling. However, the state’s legal battle continues with court cases and a new ballot measure.
The past four years
Four years ago, Missouri politicians used a 2019 trigger law to ban abortion within 20 minutes of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the limited federal abortion protections of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Abortion was put on the ballot in 2024 by an initiative petition that collected more than 380,000 signatures. Missouri became the first state to end an abortion ban by a vote of the people in 2024 and established the Right to Reproductive Freedom in the state constitution.
Another vote this year
This year will mark the second time Missourians vote on abortion. In November, Missourians will once again vote on abortion on the new Amendment Three. A “yes” vote is to ban abortions.
The new ballot measure has limited exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies, only if performed before the 12-week gestational period. It’s set to be on the statewide ballot for the November 2026 midterm election.
Bonnie Lee with 40 Days for Life said she hopes Missourians vote in favor of new restrictions in November.
“Missouri is waking up, and we will make a difference in November,” Lee said.
Missourians will see this question on their ballot:
“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
Repeal the 2024 voter-approved Amendment providing reproductive healthcare rights, including abortion through fetal viability;
Allow abortions for rape and incest (under twelve-weeks’ gestation), emergencies, and fetal anomalies;
Allow legislation regulating abortion;
Ensure parental consent for minors’ abortions;
Prohibit gender transition procedures for minors?”
A “yes” vote would essentially repeal the Amendment Three passed in November 2024. But this language may not be final. If lawyers appeal again, it can go to the Missouri Supreme Court.”
“I think voters are now seeing they didn’t know what they were voting on [in 2024]. There was a lot of misinformation, a lot of hidden information, a lot of legalese,” Lee said.
Maggie Olivia with Abortion Action Missouri said she wants the opposite outcome at the ballot box.
“I feel all the more invigorated having seen the consequences of abortion bans to do whatever it takes to stop this new abortion ban,” Olivia said.
Olivia called the new Amendment Three an overreach by Missouri politicians.
“There are some politicians in Jefferson City who don’t like the decision we just made in 2024, so they think they can muddy the waters, change the rules,” Olivia said.
Ongoing lawsuit
This month, a Jackson County Circuit Court judge issued a permanent injunction striking down several state abortion restrictions.
Planned Parenthood said the decision also clears the way for medication abortion to be available in Missouri for the first time since 2018 and allows Planned Parenthood to resume providing it.
“For too long, politicians forced patients to leave the state for an evidence-based and trusted form of abortion care. Now that care is coming home,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains.
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway criticized the ruling and said she plans to appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court.
“This radical decision gives abortion providers a free pass to police themselves,” Hanaway said in a statement. “My office will expeditiously appeal this dangerous decision to the Missouri Supreme Court.”
Copyright 2026 KFVS. All rights reserved.
Watch before buying a home ice cream machine
A practical guide to choosing an ice cream maker you’ll actually use.
Think you know the best ice cream shop in Missouri? Ask ten people, and you’ll likely get ten different answers.
Cheapism, a website focused on budget living, is weighing in on the debate with its recently released list of the best ice cream shops in every state. Here’s what it selected as Missouri’s best ice cream spot:
What’s the best ice cream shop in Missouri, according to Cheapism?
The media outlet selected the winners by scouring through Reddit threads, Yelp reviews, Google ratings and local favorites to find the best ice cream shop in every state.
Factoring all of that in, the honor of Missouri’s best ice cream shop goes to Clementine’s Ice Cream in St. Louis.
Clementine’s is a locally owned artisanal ice cream shop founded in 2015, known for its “naughty” (alcohol-infused) and “nice” (nonalcoholic) offerings, as well as non-dairy options.
The company has expanded from its beginnings as a single shop to multiple locations, boasting 11 shops across the Midwest, with three more on the way.
What’s Clementine’s best ice cream flavor?
Clementine’s also landed on Food & Wine’s list of essential ice cream flavors for all 50 states with its gooey butter cake ice cream.
The magazine praised the “super creamy” texture of the cream cheese ice cream and appreciated the large chunks of Clementine’s homemade gooey butter cake mixed throughout.
What is gooey butter cake?
For those not in the know, gooey butter cake is one of the Show Me State’s best-kept secrets, with its origins tracing back to St. Louis in the 1930s.
The cake allegedly came about when a baker accidentally reversed the butter-to-flour ratio while making a batch of coffee cake, resulting in a gooey, custard-like filling. Given it was the Great Depression, the bakery decided to sell the resulting cake rather than waste it, making it a hit with locals in the process.
It became so popular, in fact, that other bakeries in the city soon began making their own versions, and an iconic Missouri treat was born.
How to find a Clementine’s near you
Clementine’s has more than a dozen locations, mostly centered around St. Louis. It also has locations in Kansas City and Bentonville, Arkansas.
A Clementine’s is scheduled to open in Columbia this summer.
Check out this map to find the nearest Clementine’s location near you:
You can also get Clementine’s shipped directly to your front door via Goldbelly.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KFVS) – As more data centers are announced across Missouri, one state lawmaker wants to get rid of non-disclosure agreements.
Republican State Rep. Tricia Byrnes from St. Charles County organized a public hearing for Sept. 16 at the Missouri Capitol for lawmakers to discuss data center regulations. Any legislation that comes out of the hearing will have to wait until January to be introduced in the General Assembly. Byrnes said she hopes local communities take action before January.
The effort comes after Amazon and Google announced multibillion-dollar data center projects in Montgomery County, which Byrnes represents.
Montgomery County farmer Harry Cope said residents have concerns about how the projects have been handled.
“The transparency that’s gone on with all of this stuff in our county has been about like looking through muddy water,” Cope said.
Byrnes said Missourians are looking for state leaders to respond.
“Missourians should never take a bad deal. And right now, folks are waiting for Jefferson City to stand up and pay attention,” Byrnes said.
Byrnes is not proposing a complete statewide stop to data center projects. She said she wants to get rid of nondisclosure agreements for data center projects and create specific noise standards and water permits. She said she wants the process to happen in public.
Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, has said he supports more data centers in Missouri, saying they are better for the economy.
“It’s about opportunity, good-paying jobs, investment in our community, better efficiency. And it’s about making sure Missouri remains on the forefront of next-generation technology,” Kehoe said.
Byrnes did not directly comment on whether Kehoe will support her legislation. She addressed a comment the governor made last week, when he implied foreign adversaries such as China are spreading misinformation about data centers.
“We have extremely intelligent people all across Missouri, and what I’m hearing now is this spin that they’re hearing stuff from China. I can tell you, no one from China asked me to have you here today,” Byrnes said.
Missouri House Democratic Leader Ashley Aune said there is an opportunity for lawmakers to craft legislation based on what Missourians want.
“I don’t have a proposal top of mind about what regulation would, should, can look like across the state. But what I will say is that we have a real opportunity to work with our voters,” Aune said.
Copyright 2026 KFVS. All rights reserved.
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