Protecting the Constitution and Investing in the Future

It was a consequential week in the Missouri Senate. With only two weeks remaining in the 2023 legislative session, it was critical we got some important work done, and the Senate came through. During a marathon debate that continued until 4 a.m., the Senate approved changes to 14 appropriations bills drafted by the House of Representatives. With a deadline for passing the budget looming on May 5, we’ll be hard at work next week reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions so we can get the final budget to the governor’s desk. Also this week, the Senate passed an amended version of a House resolution that will ask voters to approve raising the threshold for changing our state constitution.

House Joint Resolution 43, as amended by the Senate, would require 57% of Missouri voters to approve any change to our state constitution, raising the threshold from the current standard of 50%-plus-one. It would still be possible to pass a constitutional amendment with a simple majority, but only if a proposed constitutional change carries in five of Missouri’s eight congressional districts. The recent constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana in Missouri provides one example of how our constitution can be altered by gathering support in big cities, while small towns and rural areas struggle to be heard. Amendment 3, the recreational marijuana initiative, was favored by voters in just 13 of Missouri’s 114 counties, plus the City of St. Louis. Despite this small geographic showing, the measure still earned 53% of the vote.

In my opinion, it is far too easy for well-funded, out-of-state special interest groups to come into Missouri and change our constitution. Passage of HJR 43 will give voters the opportunity to reclaim control of our constitution and ensure that any changes approved at the ballot box truly reflect the will of the people.

The 14 budget bills passed by the Senate this week authorize spending nearly $50 billion in Fiscal Year 2024. The unprecedented state budget is only possible due to an influx of federal dollars over the past several years and the Legislature’s responsible stewardship of that money. With a historic budget surplus, our state has the opportunity to utilize this one-time money to make generational investments in infrastructure and address needs that have gone unmet during leaner years.

In my opinion, one of the greatest obstacles to growth and economic opportunity in our state is our outdated interstate highway system, most notably Interstate 70. Originally constructed in the 1950s and ’60s, with just two lanes in each direction for most of its length, Missouri’s section of I-70 is no longer adequate for the traffic it carries. In January, the governor asked for $859 million to widen sections of the interstate near Wentzville, Columbia and Blue Springs. The Senate approved a more ambitious plan. We’re recommending expanding to six lanes along the entire route from Wentzville to Blue Springs. The cost of the Senate plan is higher, at about $2.8 billion, but we have a plan. Half of the money for the Senate proposal will come out of our healthy cash reserves. The other half will be funded with bonds to be repaid over 15 years.

As chairman of the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee, I am committed to seeing the Legislature invest in infrastructure. The Interstate 70 project is an example of our state making an investment that will serve our state’s residents for generations. Another example is a $30 million appropriation in the FY ’24 budget to fund improvements to Lincoln County’s public water system. I’m proud of the investments the Legislature is making in our communities and I’m pleased to have helped bring much-needed projects to the district.

Senator Travis Fitzwater serves residents of Callaway, Lincoln, Montgomery, Pike and a portion of St. Charles counties in the Missouri State Senate. For more information about Sen. Fitzwater, visit senate.mo.gov/Fitzwater.