{"id":2255818,"date":"2024-05-30T14:16:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T18:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-senate-republicans-tanked-efforts-to-keep-abortion-out-of-missouris-constitution\/"},"modified":"2024-05-30T14:21:34","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T18:21:34","slug":"how-senate-republicans-tanked-efforts-to-keep-abortion-out-of-missouris-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-senate-republicans-tanked-efforts-to-keep-abortion-out-of-missouris-constitution\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Republicans thwarted attempts to prevent the inclusion of abortion in Missouri&#8217;s Constitution"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-senate-republicans-tanked-efforts-to-keep-abortion-out-of-missouris-constitution%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2255818&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Missouri Senate faced challenges in passing a constitutional amendment regarding\u2063 abortion due to a filibuster and internal disputes among GOP senators. The maneuver to\u200d stop the amendment, SJR 74, highlighted the\u200d political tensions within the Senate, ultimately leading to \u2062the bill&#8217;s defeat and the early end of the legislative session. The Missouri Senate encountered\u200b obstacles \u200din advancing a constitutional amendment on abortion, encountering a filibuster and internal \u2063GOP disagreements. The effort to block\u200b the amendment, SJR 74, exposed political rifts within the Senate, resulting in the bill&#8217;s failure and the premature conclusion of the legislative session.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>GOP Sen. Rick Brattin was optimistic heading into the final week of Missouri\u2019s 2024 legislative session. Following months of delays and back-and-forth with the House, the Republican-controlled Senate seemed poised to pass legislation (SJR 74) raising the threshold to amend the Missouri Constitution, and thus make it more difficult for Democrats to enshrine abortion into the state\u2019s founding document.<\/p>\n<p>But when the final days of the session arrived, the floor vote to pass initiative petition (IP) reform fell apart.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1849662008\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9436bd9bd712c020a23a64bec80be812 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9436bd9bd712c020a23a64bec80be812\"><\/div>\n<p>Despite having the votes necessary to stop a more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.komu.com\/news\/state\/democrat-initiative-petition-filibuster-ends-after-record-50-hours\/article_a8d6a500-12e6-11ef-b297-4f0a718a4c26.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">50-hour<\/a> filibuster from Senate Democrats and send SJR 74 to voters for approval, Senate GOP leadership abruptly adjourned for the rest of the year before getting the measure across the finish line. Republicans\u2019 opportunity to make it harder for radical leftists to change the Missouri Constitution vanished in the blink of an eye.<\/p>\n<p>The maneuver to kill SJR 74 was no accident, however, according to several GOP senators who spoke with The Federalist. What unfolded in the waning days of the 2024 session, they said, was a coordinated campaign orchestrated by Senate GOP leadership to prevent the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/louisiana-house-approves-constitutional-amendment-to-keep-zuckbucks-out-of-elections\/\" title=\"LA House OKs Amendment To Block 'Zuckbucks' From Elections.\">constitutional amendment proposal<\/a> from passing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fix was completely in,\u201d Brattin, the chair of the Missouri Freedom Caucus (MOFC), told The Federalist.  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Situation<\/h2>\n<p>Originally introduced in January, <a href=\"https:\/\/senate.mo.gov\/24info\/BTS_Web\/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&#038;BillID=209\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SJR 74<\/a> sought to raise the threshold for amending the Missouri Constitution via initiative petition by <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/05\/why-did-the-gop-led-missouri-senate-snipe-an-effort-to-keep-noncitizens-from-amending-their-constitution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">requiring<\/a> the majority of voters in \u201cmore than half\u201d of the state\u2019s congressional districts to ratify any constitutional amendment proposal. The Show Me State\u2019s founding document <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Article_XII,_Missouri_Constitution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">currently<\/a> mandates that any amendment proposal voted on by Missourians must only receive a majority of support from the electorate to be written into the state\u2019s constitution.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2d2cb88945f360ac5f733541520713ec fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2d2cb88945f360ac5f733541520713ec\"><\/div>\n<p>While SJR 74 was approved by the Senate in February, the upper chamber amended the measure to scrap a provision prohibiting noncitizens from voting on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-did-the-gop-led-missouri-senate-snipe-an-effort-to-keep-noncitizens-from-amending-their-constitution\/\" title=\"Why did the GOP-led Missouri Senate oppose preventing noncitizens from amending their constitution\">constitutional ballot measures<\/a>. The amendment was introduced by Republican Sen. Mike Cierpiot, who <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/05\/why-did-the-gop-led-missouri-senate-snipe-an-effort-to-keep-noncitizens-from-amending-their-constitution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">did not<\/a> respond to The Federalist\u2019s previous request for comment on why he did so.<\/p>\n<p>Over the next several months, SJR 74 was considered by the GOP-led House, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.mo.gov\/24info\/pdf-bill\/House\/HCS-SB\/SJR0074.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">amended<\/a> the measure to reinstate the noncitizen voting provision and add language barring foreign actors from funding and influencing ballot measure campaigns. This version was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.mo.gov\/24info\/BTS_Web\/Actions.aspx?SessionType=R&#038;BillID=209\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">approved<\/a> by the House on April 25 and sent back to the Senate for final passage.  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Establishment Strikes Back<\/h2>\n<p>While Senate leadership <a href=\"https:\/\/www.komu.com\/news\/state\/missouri-senate-filibuster-ends-with-vote-on-multibillion-dollar-medicaid-program\/article_ab50866a-0879-11ef-b76e-03f5a268da3d.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">agreed<\/a> to take up SJR 74 in early May after the MOFC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.komu.com\/news\/state\/missouri-senate-filibuster-ends-with-vote-on-multibillion-dollar-medicaid-program\/article_ab50866a-0879-11ef-b76e-03f5a268da3d.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">orchestrated<\/a> a 41-hour-long filibuster pressuring leadership to do so, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-military-leaders-testify-in-front-of-senate-committee\/\" title=\"U.S. military leaders testify in front of Senate committee\">upper chamber didn\u2019<\/a>t consider the measure until the final week (May 13-17) of the 2024 session. This delay of the bill\u2019s consideration allowed Senate Democrats to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcur.org\/podcast\/up-to-date\/2024-05-15\/missouri-senate-democrats-set-new-filibuster-record-this-week-it-is-a-worthy-cause\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">launch<\/a> a filibuster of their own on May 13, which prevented the Senate from acting on the measure for the next two days.<\/p>\n<p>Having predicted Democrats would deploy such a maneuver, GOP Sen. Ben Brown told The Federalist he was working behind the scenes in the final three weeks of the session gathering support for a previous question (PQ) motion, which would allow Republicans to end Democrats\u2019 stall tactics. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2024\/05\/06\/missouri-senate-stalls-out-quickly-on-return-after-41-hour-filibuster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Missouri Independent<\/a>, a PQ \u201cmust be a written motion with signatures from 10 members\u201d to initiate and requires support from 18 senators to pass. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0be9524c90c107fad712dc822881e5af fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-0be9524c90c107fad712dc822881e5af\"><\/div>\n<p>(Republicans hold a 24-10 majority in the Missouri Senate).<\/p>\n<p>Brown said he had 18 signatures for the PQ during the third to last week of the session but noticed in the following days that \u201cevery now and then [he] would lose somebody and have to go in and make that up somewhere else\u201d to maintain the 18 senators required to pass it. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe get to the final week, and first thing Monday, [May 13], we go to IP reform, but now I lost somebody else,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIt was kind of a constant battle to make sure we maintain the number of people [we needed].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brown claimed he was designated by Majority Leader Cindy O\u2019Laughlin to lead the PQ effort that same day, at which point 16 senators had purportedly committed to pass the motion. Brown said he \u201cfelt pretty confident that two [senators who] wouldn\u2019t necessarily sign the PQ\u201d would \u201cvery likely vote for it\u201d if and when they were \u201cput on the spot\u201d to do so. <\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the opportunity never came to fruition. After informing Senate leadership they possessed the 10 signatures necessary to raise a PQ motion, Brown and Brattin claimed that Republican Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman barged into Brown\u2019s office on May 15 and demanded she be allowed to bring the PQ forward since she was SJR 74\u2019s primary sponsor. Brown and Brattin said they had no problem with that, at which point Coleman, according to Brown, grabbed \u201cpapers, documents, [Brown\u2019s] script, and everything off [his] desk and stormed off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not long after that, Brown heard Coleman\u2019s voice on the intercom and assumed she was presenting the PQ motion to the Senate. Upon arriving at the chamber floor, however, Brown discovered that Coleman had instead <a href=\"https:\/\/www.komu.com\/news\/state\/democrat-initiative-petition-filibuster-ends-after-record-50-hours\/article_a8d6a500-12e6-11ef-b297-4f0a718a4c26.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">offered<\/a> a substitute motion to send SJR 74 to conference with the House, a maneuver that would effectively kill any chances the measure would pass before the end of the session.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.mo.gov\/24info\/pdf-jrnl\/DAY64.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Senate records<\/a> indicate Coleman initially moved for the Senate to adopt SJR 74, but withdrew the motion after Minority Floor Leader John Rizzo, a Democrat, moved for a conference. It was at this point Coleman withdrew her original motion and put forward the motion for a conference.<\/p>\n<p>The House rejected Coleman\u2019s motion and sent it back to the Senate the following day, with Speaker Dean Plocher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/05\/18\/the-missouri-general-assembly-wraps-up-the-2024-legislative-session\/73740784007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> indicating that Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, a Republican, \u201cwould not accept the legislation back without the removal of\u201d the provisions prohibiting noncitizen interference in Missouri elections. Rowden <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/05\/why-did-the-gop-led-missouri-senate-snipe-an-effort-to-keep-noncitizens-from-amending-their-constitution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously<\/a> supported the aforementioned Cierpiot amendment scrapping such provisions from the original version of the bill. <\/p>\n<p>Despite receiving SJR 74 back from the House, Senate leadership refused to take up the measure and ended the 2024 session early on May 17 \u2014 the last day on Missouri\u2019s 2024 legislative calendar. <\/p>\n<p>Brattin and Brown laid SJR 74\u2019s defeat at the feet of Rowden, who has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/05\/why-did-the-gop-led-missouri-senate-snipe-an-effort-to-keep-noncitizens-from-amending-their-constitution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resisted<\/a> efforts to pass IP reform since the 2024 session began. Brown claimed that while gathering signatures for the PQ motion, he was \u201cwarned by several people that there were some [senators] working against [him], and [Rowden\u2019s] name was one that was mentioned.\u201d The Republican senator said his experience working with O\u2019Laughlin was much more positive, remarking how the majority leader was \u201cactually helpful in trying to whip votes and apply pressure to get people to come on board.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brattin similarly accused Rowden of working \u201cbehind the scenes\u201d to kill SJR 74. He also claimed Coleman\u2019s motion to move SJR 74 to conference made it \u201capparent\u201d why leadership made her the bill\u2019s sponsor. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe kind of suspected that there was something not right with why [leadership was] so adamant about having [her] be the handler of that,\u201d Brattin said. \u201cAnd it was really made apparent there towards the very end why that was the case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rowden and Coleman did not respond to The Federalist\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What This Means<\/h2>\n<p>The consequences stemming from the Missouri Senate\u2019s failure to pass SJR 74 and send it to voters for approval this August cannot be overstated. <\/p>\n<p>The measure\u2019s death makes it much easier for left-wing activists funded by out-of-state mega-donors to enshrine radical policies such as unlimited abortion into the Missouri Constitution. In fact, Democrats are currently gathering signatures to place a <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Missouri_Right_to_Reproductive_Freedom_Amendment_(2024)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">constitutional amendment proposal<\/a> on the state\u2019s November ballot that would do exactly that. <\/p>\n<p><strong>[READ:[READ:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/11\/07\/abortion-radicals-will-expand-their-schemes-from-ohio-to-your-state-heres-how-to-be-ready\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Abortion Radicals Will Expand Their Schemes From Ohio To Your State. Here\u2019s How To Be Ready<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By requiring \u201cmore than half\u201d of the state\u2019s congressional districts to ratify any constitutional amendment proposal, SJR 74 would have protected Missourians from the tyranny of the majority. Leftist groups hoping to use their dark money to squeeze votes from Democrat-friendly, high population centers such as St. Louis would be forced to expand their efforts to rural areas less likely to support their extreme policies. <\/p>\n<p>With SJR 74 defeated, Democrats don\u2019t have to worry about overcoming that obstacle in Missouri. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouri-abortion-amendment-foes-sue-over-financial-impact-statement\/\" title=\"Opponents of Missouri abortion amendment file lawsuit over financial impact statement.\">initiative petition process<\/a> is ripe for abuse, and we have a target on our back for these out-of-state interests pouring millions of dollars into our state [who are trying to] essentially purchase [our] constitution,\u201d Brown said. It\u2019s \u201cour state\u2019s most sacred document, and we have a constitutional duty to protect that.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ca0157430b9de2797359cf007006c881 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ca0157430b9de2797359cf007006c881\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GOP Sen. Rick Brattin was hopeful as Missouri&#8217;s 2024 legislative session neared its end. Amid delays and negotiations, the Republican-led Senate appeared ready to approve SJR 74, increasing the barrier for amending the state constitution. This move aimed to hinder Democrats from embedding abortion rights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2255819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/unnamed-2-1.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2255818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/unnamed-2-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2255818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2255818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2255818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2255819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2255818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2255818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2255818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}