03/29/21 - Missouri Mondays - Voting rights, Medicaid Expansion funding and more on the line!
Take action this week!
Last week, while Republicans in Georgia’s state legislature shocked the country by making it illegal to provide food and water to voters standing in line at the polls, among other measures to suppress the vote and take power over the process if they don’t like the results. The Missouri GOP is also moving forward with a number of voter suppression bills and legislation making the initiative petition process more difficult, and last week blocked funding for voter approved Medicaid Expansion leaving the MO HealthNet program underfunded when thousands more become eligible for the first time. It’s a packed Missouri Mondays and we are so grateful you are here to find out what you can do to make a difference this week!
MISSOURI LEGISLATURE ACTIONS FOR THIS WEEK!
MEDICAID EXPANSION
TELL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO FUND MEDICAID EXPANSION! House Republicans BETRAYED the people of Missouri this week when they chose to ignore our vote to expand Medicaid. They made national headlines with their refusal to honor the result of a state election. The Kansas City Star got it right with their editorial entitled “Missouri legislature to voters: Drop dead. We won’t do as you told us on Medicaid.” The article went on to say, “Republicans in the Missouri legislature continue to reject reason, logic, the law, empathy and common sense regarding Medicaid, the federal-state program that provides health insurance for the poor.” Republican House Budget Committee members voted down HB 20 this week that would have funded the expansion. THIS CANNOT STAND! CALL and WRITE your Representative today and DEMAND they honor the people’s voice! Find yours HERE: https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/Default.aspx
GUNS ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION / ESTABLISH MINUTEMEN OF THE STATE
TELL THE SENATE GENERAL LAWS COMMITTEE TO VOTE NO ON SENATE BILL SB 528 AND HOUSE BILL HB 52! SB 528 creates the minutemen of the state. Sen. Bill White’s bill establishes the Minutemen of the state. Any Missouri resident legally able to carry a firearm could volunteer to join the Missouri Minutemen and would provide defense in a state of emergency when called by the governor and two-thirds of the legislature. House Bill HB 52 would allow concealed guns on public transportation. A hearing for SB 528 and HB 52 is scheduled at noon Tuesday March 30 in the Senate General Laws Committee. SUBMIT A STATEMENT OF OPPOSITION TO THE COMMITTEE by registering and uploading your comments at https://www.senate.mo.gov/senatewitnesssystem/ OR call these Senators and tell them to vote NO: Sen. Bill Eigel 573-751-1141; Sen. Holly Rehder 573-751-2459; Sen. Lauren Arthur 573-751-5282; Sen. Rick Brattin 573-751-2108; Sen. Eric Burlison 573-751-1503; Sen. Elaine Gannon 573-751-4008; Sen.Greg Razer 573-751-6607
EDUCATION
Tell your Senator to vote NO on School Voucher Bill SB 30! SB 30 would allow parents to donate to a “scholarship fund” that would pay their child’s tuition to a private or relgious school and consequently give the parents a tax credit for the amount of the “donation” (tuition). This is a tax cut that gives approximately $100 million per year in tax money to private institutions that are not accountable to the state. Studies have shown that voucher programs tend to favor affluent families rather than those most in need. Act NOW as SB 30 is on the Formal calendar for Perfection this week! Find your senator HERE: https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/Default.aspx
UPDATES ON PREVIOUS LEGISLATURE ACTIONS
PREVENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY ACTIONS
Tell your Senator to vote NO on HB 75 and tell your Representative to vote NO on HCS HB 602. HB 75 has been referred to the Senate Health and Pensions committee for a hearing at 1:00 Wednesday, March 31. Please submit a statement of opposition to the committee by registering and uploading your comments at https://www.senate.mo.gov/senatewitnesssystem/. Procedures required by these bills could prevent necessary actions by local governments to protect their citizens during public health emergencies that require immediate action.
VOTER SUPPRESSION
Call your Representative NOW! to vote NO on ANY attempts to change the initiative petition process! HJR 26 is on the House Formal Calendar for Perfection this week. Missouri voters have used the Initiative Petition process to place important issues on the ballot such as expanding Medicaid, legalizing medical marijuana, and raising the minimum wage. Now the Missouri GOP wants to change this honored process that has served the people well for over 100 years to make it almost impossible for the people to influence their democracy! Similar bills include House bills HJR 5, HJR 2, HJR 9, HJR 15, HJR 14, HB 333, HJR 20, HJR 25, HJR 26, HJR 27, HB 556, HJR 22 Senate Bill SB 149 is on the Informal calendar for Perfection. Tell your electeds to reject any attempt to make it harder for the people to have a voice through the initiative petition process!
We must STOP voter suppression in Missouri!! Tell your Senator to vote NO on attempts to make it harder to vote in Missouri! HB 738, passed the House and is now in the Senate. Bills HB 842 and HB 1065 (bill summary here: https://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills211/sumpdf/HB1065I.pdf) did not move further last week. Both HB 738 and HB 842 would eliminate electronic voting machines and require paper ballots, which could hamper voting efforts for the disabled as well as delay election results. HB 1065 would establish no-excuse absentee voting but for in-person voters only beginning three weeks before Election Day rather than the current six weeks. Vulnerable citizens such as the elderly or those with chronic health conditions could vote by mail only if they met one of six conditions. It also denies caretakers the right to vote absentee unless they reside in the home of the individual they care for, and it would require a state-issued photo ID to vote. The courts have already found the requirement of a photo-ID to be unconstitutional.
Tell your Senator to vote NO on HB 334 Photo ID bill! HB 334 Photo ID bill is in the Senate after passing in the House but there was no movement last week. “For fifteen years, MO lawmakers have attempted to implement discriminatory photo ID requirements to vote in Missouri. Last year the MO Supreme Court made clear that such measures are unconstitutional and violate our fundamental right to vote. The State’s own data shows that HB 334 stands to burden more than 200,000 Missouri voters who do not have a current state-issued photo ID and would face barriers getting one, disproportionately voters of color, seniors, voters with disabilities, young voters, and low-wage workers.” Tell your Senator to vote NO on HB 334!
CELEBRATE WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH!
Explore the biographies featured in the monthly “Fab Five” roundup!
March: Activism and Civic Engagement https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history/fab-five
Our monthly Fab Five round-up seeks to highlight women that have, and continue to make, history. Presenting women’s stories that have been traditionally overlooked, NWHM museum educators feature five historical pioneers and contemporary newsmakers each month that inspire us to help make the world a better place.
Find more events celebrating the vital role of women in American history:
Explore the biographies featured in the monthly “Fab Five” roundup!
March: Activism and Civic Engagement https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history/fab-five
Our monthly Fab Five round-up seeks to highlight women that have, and continue to make, history. Presenting women’s stories that have been traditionally overlooked, NWHM museum educators feature five historical pioneers and contemporary newsmakers each month that inspire us to help make the world a better place.
Find more events celebrating the vital role of women in American history:
THANK YOU! for answering the Missouri Mondays CALL TO ACTION!
Invite your friends and neighbors to join us and sign up for Indivisible Missouri and this Missouri Mondays email at indivisiblemo.com/signup
