Missouri - Where Lawmakers Save Us From Ourselves

Great but depressing column in the Star today by Barbara Shelly. The upshot is that lawmakers really don't care what voters say:

In what may be a Missouri record, the legislature is poised this year to overturn — count ‘em — four voter-passed initiatives.

By a vote of 20-14, the Senate on Thursday voted for a bill invalidating many of the provisions and protections of Proposition B, the initiative cracking down on abuses by puppy breeders that Missouri voters approved in November. Supporters bemoaned the complexity of the initiative and said they were pretty sure people didn’t realize what they were voting on.

The House has already approved a bill repealing a 2006 voter-passed initiative allowing the state’s minimum wage to rise if the cost of living increases; action in the Senate is expected soon.

Another voter-approved law in the legislature’s sights is the Missouri Clean Energy Initiative, which in 2009 passed in every county in the state except Osage. It calls for 15 percent of the state’s energy to be produced from renewable sources by 2021.

A move is also under way to undo a 1976 voter-approved law that prevents electric utilities from charging customers for a new plant before the plant begins producing energy.

And that is just part of the column. Read the rest for greater depression.