Nearly three months ago, Missourians soundly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have made it harder to change the state's constitution — voters will now decide the fate of an amendment designed to prevent the legislature from overturning citizen-initiated laws or amendments.
Proponents say the changes better protect citizen-proposed and approved laws and amendments. Opponents say it would make it nearly impossible for lawmakers to change those initiatives.
Under Amendment 6, if lawmakers were to try to amend a citizen-passed initiative, they'd need a vote of at least 80% in the House and Senate. Even if that threshold is met, the proposed changes would have to go to a vote of the people.
The amendment also prohibits the legislature from passing any bill "weakening citizens' initiative or referendum powers."
Additionally, the amendment requires that ballot summaries, as well as summary statements and fiscal notes, be "clear, unbiased, fair, accurate and easy to understand."
Kate Catanio, a volunteer for Respect Missouri Voters, the group behind Amendment 6, said she became involved after witnessing state lawmakers negate ballot initiatives passed by voters.
"I was frustrated watching issues decided by voters be overturned by politicians, and maybe even more frustrated by seeing misleading and confusing ballot language," Catanio said.
Overturning voter-approved legislation
The most recent example of lawmakers overturning a citizen-passed law came last year.
Nearly 58% of Missourians passed Proposition A during the 2024 November election. That change to state law raised the minimum wage to an eventual $15 an hour and required employers to implement a paid sick leave policy.
The very next legislative session, the Republican-led legislature overturned the sick leave portion.
"I think that the overturning of Proposition A was a big catalyst, especially because you saw such an overwhelming majority victory for that at the polls," said Rep. Eric Woods, D-Kansas City.
Woods said Amendment 6 is a natural response to the Republican-majority legislature overturning ballot initiatives.
"I think that the reason why we see this Amendment 6 on the ballot is because you know Missourians have seen that their voice through the initial petition process needs to be protected," Woods said.
Republican lawmakers, like Sen. Joe Nicola, believe the amendment is the wrong way for the state to go.
"It ties the hands of the legislature, but it also handcuffs voter choice," Nicola said.
Citing the old Proposition A, the Grain Valley Republican said the new law presented problems for small businesses in the state.
"So many people are just looking at what's going to benefit me, but we've got to look at the whole picture. How's it going to benefit business? We want businesses to thrive here, so they could provide jobs for people to work," Nicola said.
Nicola also said that it's the job of lawmakers to look over the legislation they pass, but that same scrutiny doesn't apply to citizen-backed laws or amendments.
Jack Cardetti, the spokesperson for Amendment 6, said Missourians should have a place at the table
"Missouri voters should have the final say, not politicians," Cardetti said.
An inability to fix problems
A frequent argument against Amendment 6 is: What happens if unpredicted issues emerge after the passage of a law or constitutional amendment through the initiative petition process?
"If there's unintended consequences in a piece of legislation that was passed by initiative petition, we the General Assembly will be unable to fix it without an 80% vote in both houses, and that's just not going to happen," Nicola said.
Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, cited the amendment legalizing recreational marijuana as policy that could use some changes, but that would require another constitutional amendment.
"Everybody I've talked to believes that we should regulate the amount of THC content that's in marijuana, where it can be smoked. None of that can be adjusted," Lewis said.
Nicola said the amendment runs counter to Missourians' choices on who will represent them.
"The Republicans have all statewide offices from governor on down, and we have a supermajority in both houses. If you don't like what the Republicans are doing, vote us out. That's how our system works," Nicola said.
Those in favor of Amendment 6 contend the 80% threshold is only impossible to achieve if the issue is partisan.
Catanio said there are plenty of bills lawmakers pass that get a vote of above 80%.
"That's by design, is that they would need a bipartisan majority to undo something that the people have already decided," Catanio said.
Woods said that high threshold means there must be compromise between the two parties on an issue to change it.
"In a situation where there is a problem with an amendment, what that 80% threshold means is that whoever is in charge of the legislature has to work with the other party to come to some agreement on the problem and some agreement on a solution before putting it back before the voters," Woods said.
The aftermath of Amendment 4
Voters are considering Amendment 6 a few months after overwhelmingly rejecting a proposed amendment that made it much harder for citizens to amend the Missouri Constitution.
Amendment 4 would have required any constitutional amendment brought forward through the citizen initiative process pass in each of Missouri's eight congressional districts.
Voters rejected that amendment by 80%.
Woods believes Missourians voting against Amendment 4 in such margins is a good sign for Amendment 6.
"I do think you see a lot of frustration from people, frankly, all across the political spectrum right now about the way that the Republican legislature has been handling and responding to citizen initiatives," Woods said.
Cardetti said Amendment 6 is essentially the opposite of Amendment 4.
"I think that really speaks to where Missouri voters are and the type of government they want. Missourians take great pride in being involved in public policy," Cardetti said. "They obviously elect people to send to Jeff City, but when their voices aren't being heard, they want to have this tool."
Lewis said if Amendment 6 were to pass, that would kill any chance lawmakers would have to try to amend the initiative petition process.
"Will we ever be able to bring that to the people? Are they ever going to be able to adjust their constitution? No. The people's representatives will not be able to bring it to them," Lewis said.
Likely legal challenges ahead
Before it made it on the ballot, Amendment 6 already faced criticism that it was unconstitutional.
In August, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the proposed amendment in part because it contained too many subjects.
The Missouri Supreme Court rejected those arguments and placed the amendment on the ballot, saying, "Even assuming these hypothetical constitutional claims were preserved, they are not ripe for review pre-election and are not a basis for finding the petition itself insufficient."
If Amendment 6 were to pass, Lewis expects it would again be challenged in court.
"Will it be found unconstitutional? It obviously should in any reading of law," Lewis said.
Lewis said the amendment violates the state constitution's single-subject provision. He contends that a portion of the amendment that would retroactively apply the newer standard to any citizen-backed laws or amendments since 2010 also violates the constitution.
Woods says if there is any portion of the law that will be sued over, the retroactive portion is probably it.
"I know that at least in terms of lawmaking, that is something that the courts tend to frown upon," Woods said.
Within Amendment 6 is a severability clause that means if one portion of the amendment were to be struck down in court, the other sections would not be affected.
The entirety of Amendment 6's ballot language can be found here.
Early voting is underway. Election Day is Tuesday.
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