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GOP Legislator Plans Election-Related Bills

One of the Republican leaders in the Missouri House plans to file a package of election-related measures when next year’s regular session begins in January.

The measure will include a bill requiring that voter-approved laws cannot be overturned by a simple majority vote by lawmakers.

Take, for example, the state minimum wage hike, which 76 percent of Missouri voters approved five years ago.  House Speaker Pro-tem Shane Schoeller says under his bill, such a law could only be overturned if more than 76 percent of House and Senate members voted to do so:

“Within the rules of the House and Senate, especially the Senate, that would be a very hard obstacle to overcome, and that’s probably good because the voters spoke very clearly on that issue,” Schoeller said.

Schoeller says at the same time, it would not create an undue burden for opponents of ballot questions that were narrowly defeated, namely, last year’s dog breeding initiative.  He’s also planning to file yet another bill to require photo ID at the polls.  Schoeller is also running for Secretary of State next year.  

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.