Sunday, December 8, 2024

Empowering the People: Update-- X video with transcript added

Rep. Justin Sparks

 

 By Gretchen Garrity

This evening (Dec. 8) Rep. Justin Sparks spoke about how the Missouri House rules are used to centralize power to the Speaker, which has a deleterious effect on the ability of other members to properly represent their constituents. The rules need changing. Go HERE and HERE to listen in. There was a technical glitch, hence the two videos. 

Describing one of the changes, Rep. Sparks said, "We're going to change to member-driven legislation. We're going to decentralize the power of the Speaker so that he can't control or stop priority legislation from the Members themselves." He explains how this will empower the people by allowing their representatives to prioritize bills that are important to constituents.

Currently, the House Speaker has control over what bills are given priority, and as we have seen in past legislative sessions, this has prevented vital issues like Initiative Petition reform to be passed. Do listen to how these proposed changes can give back fair and equal representation of the People through their elected representatives by allowing Members' priority bills to move out of committee and on to the House floor for votes.


Let's think about what it means for an all-powerful Speaker to control the House. Rep. Jon Patterson, who won his election with a total of 8,599 votes, would be able to control whether millions of Missourians NOT in his district get to see legislation important to them make it to the floor for debate and vote. With current House rules, one powerful speaker can determine the future of millions in Missouri. That is not representative government.

Call and email your representatives and senators. Ask them to support the rules changes that bring power back to the people via their elected representatives.

Sen. Mike Moon

Additionally, Sen. Mike Moon has shared more on how both the Missouri House and Senate rules concentrate power in the hands of very few, thereby preventing our elected Assembly members from being able to advocate for their constituents.

Sen. Moon writes, "Rules, however good or fair, can be manipulated and used to empower one over another." 

He goes on to suggest amending the Senate rules as follows:

"1. Committee members shall elect a chair with a simple majority vote of the committee membership;
2. Bills shall be automatically referred to a committee, chosen by the sponsor, immediately upon the bill’s second read;
3. Committees shall determine which bills will receive a hearing;
4. When a bill is voted out of a committee, the bill shall automatically be placed on the Formal calendar;
5. Sessions shall be “Live Streamed” for public viewing.
 
In addition, rule 72 must be strictly enforced." 

(Rule 72 states, "Rule 72. A motion to adjourn and a motion to fix the day to which the senate shall adjourn is in order, unless a senator is speaking, or the yeas and nays are being taken, or a call is being made, and shall be decided without debate; and no senator shall leave his or her seat until the result is declared.")

Sen. Moon writes, "Let’s return the equal power to Senators in order for all Missourians to be represented equally."

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