If one thing is certain, it’s this: every legislative session takes on a personality of its own. The 2021 Regular Session of the Missouri Legislature was no exception. To say this session was strange would be an understatement, and the examples are numerous.
The Speaker denied the Governor access to the House of Representatives for the State of the State address. The House was at odds with the Senate for not moving their bills (nothing new there.) Curious coalitions were formed to pass legislation. There were several overnight sessions. Bi-partisan cooperation moved some legislation across the finish line. The session culminated in a Senate filibuster with the Senate adjourning six hours before the Constitutional deadline. There will likely be a special session called to discuss how to fund Medicare expansion. Oh, and the fuel taxes we pay at the pump were raised as well.
And yet, there were several successes through all of the chaos. The Missouri Legislature passed education reform creating Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) through passage of HB349. This bill provides parents in cities with populations more than 30,000 with the ability to send their children to a school of their choice. There were several other bills passed, adding protections for victims of domestic abuse. The Second Amendment Preservation Act declared federal laws that infringe upon Missourians’ 2nd Amendment rights invalid.
You might recall the Missouri Convention of States Team faced issues in front of the body as well– SCR4, which removed the Sunset Clause from our resolution that passed in 2017, and SB231, our Commissioner Selection Bill. SCR4 passed the Senate on April 29 and the House on May 13. This resolution does not require the signature of the Governor, so our resolution is reaffirmed. SB231 did not make it to a floor vote this session. This bill will be reintroduced at the beginning of the 2022 Session and we will work for its passage. SB231 sets the process the Missouri Legislature will use to select commissioners to represent Missouri at any Article V convention of states meeting.
Achieving passage of SCR4 was a great achievement and a concentrated team effort. It took cultivation of the relationships formed over the past few years, as well as new relationships with freshman legislators. It took friendships between staff members to squeeze meetings into packed schedules and pull members off the floor for discussions. Our connections with Leadership kept us moving through a full legislative calendar. Relationships with our state’s Executive Branch helped remove obstacles. We had to sidestep several events that could have derailed our efforts. Overall, we were reminded of how important it is for constituents to have a professional rapport with their legislators. We were also reminded of our duty to be self-governing citizens.
The continued growth of our team is critical. I used the word "duty" above because in the Framers’ day, duty meant a legally binding, contractual obligation. This is the mindset we must hold as well. Seeing citizen activism in this light motivates us to work hard when things are going well and leads us to persevere when things do not go our way.
A couple legislators claimed they have never personally heard from any of their constituents who are Convention of States supporters. This is unacceptable. It’s the responsibility of the state leadership team to make sure every person knows how to best advocate for the Convention of States Project, to educate themselves and others, and to defend the Constitution. The responsibility starts with me as your State Director.
The Speaker denied the Governor access to the House of Representatives for the State of the State address. The House was at odds with the Senate for not moving their bills (nothing new there.) Curious coalitions were formed to pass legislation. There were several overnight sessions. Bi-partisan cooperation moved some legislation across the finish line. The session culminated in a Senate filibuster with the Senate adjourning six hours before the Constitutional deadline. There will likely be a special session called to discuss how to fund Medicare expansion. Oh, and the fuel taxes we pay at the pump were raised as well.
And yet, there were several successes through all of the chaos. The Missouri Legislature passed education reform creating Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) through passage of HB349. This bill provides parents in cities with populations more than 30,000 with the ability to send their children to a school of their choice. There were several other bills passed, adding protections for victims of domestic abuse. The Second Amendment Preservation Act declared federal laws that infringe upon Missourians’ 2nd Amendment rights invalid.
You might recall the Missouri Convention of States Team faced issues in front of the body as well– SCR4, which removed the Sunset Clause from our resolution that passed in 2017, and SB231, our Commissioner Selection Bill. SCR4 passed the Senate on April 29 and the House on May 13. This resolution does not require the signature of the Governor, so our resolution is reaffirmed. SB231 did not make it to a floor vote this session. This bill will be reintroduced at the beginning of the 2022 Session and we will work for its passage. SB231 sets the process the Missouri Legislature will use to select commissioners to represent Missouri at any Article V convention of states meeting.
Achieving passage of SCR4 was a great achievement and a concentrated team effort. It took cultivation of the relationships formed over the past few years, as well as new relationships with freshman legislators. It took friendships between staff members to squeeze meetings into packed schedules and pull members off the floor for discussions. Our connections with Leadership kept us moving through a full legislative calendar. Relationships with our state’s Executive Branch helped remove obstacles. We had to sidestep several events that could have derailed our efforts. Overall, we were reminded of how important it is for constituents to have a professional rapport with their legislators. We were also reminded of our duty to be self-governing citizens.
The continued growth of our team is critical. I used the word "duty" above because in the Framers’ day, duty meant a legally binding, contractual obligation. This is the mindset we must hold as well. Seeing citizen activism in this light motivates us to work hard when things are going well and leads us to persevere when things do not go our way.
A couple legislators claimed they have never personally heard from any of their constituents who are Convention of States supporters. This is unacceptable. It’s the responsibility of the state leadership team to make sure every person knows how to best advocate for the Convention of States Project, to educate themselves and others, and to defend the Constitution. The responsibility starts with me as your State Director.
I apologize if the Convention of States Missouri Team has not adequately explained, to any extent, the goals of our team and how we all can effectively become self-governing citizens. We have a saying at the Convention of States Project: Act. Learn. Adjust.
We personally reach out to all new petition signers and volunteers. We’ve developed a training process to explain how to have the maximum impact as a COS volunteer as efficiently as possible. We have weekly calls for all our state leaders. We have bi-weekly calls for our future friends and neighbors who want to learn about COS. We will be resuming local and regional meetings to develop relationships and cooperation among our team members. It is an exciting time at the Convention of States Project.
If you have been so gracious to offer to volunteer for COS, please respond to phone calls, emails and text messages from our COS Team. We have a tremendous number of volunteers who we are working through the onboarding process. We are trying to do this as quickly as possible. The great thing is, the faster we can get you on-boarded and trained, the faster we can get others on-boarded and trained.
We personally reach out to all new petition signers and volunteers. We’ve developed a training process to explain how to have the maximum impact as a COS volunteer as efficiently as possible. We have weekly calls for all our state leaders. We have bi-weekly calls for our future friends and neighbors who want to learn about COS. We will be resuming local and regional meetings to develop relationships and cooperation among our team members. It is an exciting time at the Convention of States Project.
If you have been so gracious to offer to volunteer for COS, please respond to phone calls, emails and text messages from our COS Team. We have a tremendous number of volunteers who we are working through the onboarding process. We are trying to do this as quickly as possible. The great thing is, the faster we can get you on-boarded and trained, the faster we can get others on-boarded and trained.
The more we grow our team, the more contact points we have with legislators and their staff. The more volunteers we have, the more visibility we have in our districts and at the Capitol. The more visibility we have, the more effective we can be in restoring the Constitution and preserving our republic. The more effective we are at restoring the Constitution, the better the chance of giving our children a government they might actually afford.
We are in a political battle for the life of our republic. The Framers’ convention of states process is the Constitutional solution that is as big as the problems we currently face. The Convention of States Project is the pathway to make that solution easy, regular and Constitutional as Colonel George Mason once said. See how at www.conventionofstates.com.
In liberty,
Brett
We are in a political battle for the life of our republic. The Framers’ convention of states process is the Constitutional solution that is as big as the problems we currently face. The Convention of States Project is the pathway to make that solution easy, regular and Constitutional as Colonel George Mason once said. See how at www.conventionofstates.com.
In liberty,
Brett
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