Gov. Mike Kehoe announced that he has issued a proclamation to convene the General Assembly for a special session to enact legislation establishing updated congressional districts for the State of Missouri and amending the state’s initiative petition process.
The 103rd General Assembly will convene for the second extraordinary session of the first regular session in Jefferson City at noon Wednesday, Sept. 3.
“Today, I am calling on the General Assembly to take action on congressional redistricting and initiative petition reform to ensure our districts and Constitution truly put Missouri values first,” said Gov. Kehoe. “This is about clarity for voters and ownership of our future, and I hope the legislature will work together to pass our Missouri First Map and critically needed IP reform.”
Kehoe believes the map will split fewer counties and municipalities, preserve two congressional districts as currently drawn and retain current members of Missouri’s congressional delegation in their current districts.
“Missourians are more alike than we are different, and our Missouri values, across both sides of the aisle, are closer to each other than those of the extreme Left representation of New York, California, and Illinois,” said Gov. Kehoe. “Missouri’s conservative, common sense values should be truly represented at all levels of government, and the Missouri First Map delivers just that.”
Gov. Kehoe’s call also includes enacting legislation to amend the state’s initiative petition process with legislation that would do the following:
- Bans foreign nationals from contributing to committees for or against a statewide ballot measure.
- Establishes a criminal election offense for fraudulently signing or gathering signatures for a statewide ballot measure.
- Provides that a statewide ballot measure be passed only if a majority of voters statewide and a majority of voters in each congressional district vote to adopt the proposed measure.
- Requires that before a statewide ballot measure is certified for signatures to be gathered, there shall be an opportunity for public comment.
- Requires that the full text of a statewide ballot measure be printed and available to voters at all election sites and polling places.
“For far too long, Missouri’s Constitution has been the victim of out-of-state special interests who deceive voters to pass out-of-touch policies,” said Gov. Kehoe. “It’s time we give voters a chance to protect our Constitution.”