If Missouri GOP lawmakers are proud to subvert the people, let’s toss these laws, too
Last week, the Missouri House decided to disregard the state’s constitution by refusing to pay for Medicaid expansion in the state.
Voters put the Medicaid requirement in the constitution, but Republicans didn’t care. “I am proud to stand against the will of the people, who were lied to,” said state Rep. Justin Hill of Lake St. Louis.
The idea that a majority in the legislature can violate the state’s constitution at will is disturbing, of course. But it might also be liberating.
Let’s call it the Hill Rule: When Missouri voters put something in the constitution you don’t like, you can ignore them. Let’s take a look at where it might apply.
The first stop is the Hancock Amendment. Approved by voters in 1980, the Hancock Amendment requires public votes on major tax increases, and sets limits on how much local governments can spend.
It can be difficult for cities and counties to meet those requirements. Using the Hill Rule, though, the Hancock Amendment no longer applies, because, you know, the people were lied to in 1980.
Go for it, cities. You have permission to violate the Hancock Amendment.
But don’t stop there. In 2014, Missouri voters amended the constitution to expand gun possession rights, including the right to possess ammunition and gun accessories. Clearly, voters were lied to, so the amendment is inoperative. Local laws to limit guns are now fully legal.
This is fun. In 2012, the state constitution was amended to allow voluntary prayer in public buildings, including schools. The amendment requires schools to post the Bill of Rights.
Putting up the Bill of Rights seems like a good idea, since Missouri school districts routinely violate the First Amendment. But the Hill Rule takes the requirement off the books, because, um, voters were lied to. Those posters can come down.
More? In 2008, voters said “English shall be the language of all official proceedings in this state.” Auf wiedersehen to that amendment, Rep. Hill. The voters were lied to.
Riverboat gambling is currently permitted only on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, according to a voter-approved amendment to the constitution. Good news, Branson! You can open a casino whenever you’d like. Mention the Hill Rule when you do.
Missouri voters prohibited same-sex marriage in the state by amending the constitution in 2004. The U.S. Supreme Court legalized those marriages in 2015, but the language is still in the state constitution. Toss it out. The Hill Rule applies.
Freedom to farm? Gone. Thanks, Rep. Hill. The Missouri Lottery, and the requirement that gambling proceeds go for education, have violated the Hill Rule for years. All the regulations in the 2018 medical marijuana amendment? Sadly, they’re one toke over the line.
We could go on.
It’s unlikely Hill and his colleagues understand the damage they are doing to the rule of law, or to the state’s constitution, by rejecting its clear language. When elected representatives discard a part of the constitution, the rest of the document becomes advisory only.
There are other reasons to expand Medicaid, including protections for vulnerable citizens, the availability of federal funds to pay most of the cost and the needs of rural hospitals and clinics.
But the most important reason is clear: Voters told the legislature to do it. It isn’t optional.
Let’s hope the Missouri Senate, and Gov. Mike Parson, have more respect for Missouri voters than Hill. Medicaid patients can’t wait.
