Missouri
The wording of a proposed ballot measure banning many Missouri affirmative action programs has again prompted litigation from supporters and critics of the measure.
Earlier this month, the secretary of state’s office approved for circulation a proposed 2010 ballot measure that would restrict affirmative action programs in public contracting, employment and education. An identical proposition for the 2008 ballot never qualified and led to lawsuits questioning the fairness of the ballot summary that’s prepared by the secretary of state.
Opponents are taking aim at Missouri’s affirmative action programs.
They’ll try again in 2010 to get Missourians to vote for a constitutional amendment banning the programs.
It’s finals week at Lincoln University and the only sounds heard at the library are the pages of books turning. But if voters ban affirmative action in missouri some say that sound could turn to uproar.
“I feel they want to stop the progess of miniorties. I feel like its wrong,” said student, Jamere Thurman.
Missouri’s statewide officeholders would be limited to two four-year terms under a proposed ballot measure.
Currently, only lawmakers, the governor and state treasurer have term limits. The secretary of state, state auditor, lieutenant governor and attorney general can continue serving for as long as they are elected.
The group pushing term limits is led by Ed Martin, the former chief of staff to Gov. Matt Blunt. Supporters plan to collect signatures for the measure if lawmakers do not put it on the 2010 ballot.
Backers of a proposal requiring Missouri utilities to use more renewable energy said Monday a state judge has ordered the measure be placed on the November ballot.
The secretary of state’s office in August determined that supporters of the renewable energy measure had fallen short in their petition drive to place the question before voters. Missourians for Cleaner Cheaper Energy sued to challenge the finding. Jim Kottmeyer, a spokesman for the group, said Monday that a Cole County judge had sided with them.
A Cole County judge has upheld Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s decision to toss out thousands of signatures on two eminent domain ballot petitions.
Judge Richard Callahan ruled that petition circulators must be properly registered with the Secretary of State’s office; otherwise, the signatures they collect cannot be counted.
The decision affects around 4,300 signatures from the St. Louis area.
Laura Egerdal is Communications Director for Carnahan.
Missouri senators rejected a proposal yesterday that would have prohibited initiative petition sponsors from paying circulators for each signature they collect.
Senators stripped the pay-per-signature ban from a bill that imposes several other new restrictions on citizen initiatives.
A group seeking to bar many state affirmative action programs has missed a Sunday deadline to submit its initiative petition.
Missouri had been one of five states California businessman Ward Connerly and his supporters had targeted for an effort to strike down affirmative action laws.
The Missouri effort was lead by Tim Asher, a former admissions director at North Central Missouri College in Trenton. Asher said it became obvious on Saturday that there were not enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, and he pledged to try again in 2010.
To get contracts with Kansas City government, a company must make a good-faith effort at sharing the contract with businesses owned by minorities or women.
To Bill Torres, a Hispanic owner of an engineering consulting business, that requirement forces companies to do the right thing: Share the pie with businesspeople often discriminated against in a world dominated by white men.
But to opponents of affirmative action, the requirement is itself a form of discrimination they want to eliminate.
The Missouri Secretary of State has signed off on the language of a ballot proposal a research group that examines how abortion affects women is supporting. The Elliot Institute, based in Illinois, is behind the effort and now must gather the signatures of 90,000 state residents in order to get it on the November 2008 ballot.
Fairway has successfully defended itself against a lawsuit filed by three residents.
The residents — Mike McAlister, Klaus Ulrich and James Kernell — filed the suit last year after the city declined to adopt or put on the ballot two ordinances that would have restricted where Fairway could build a new city hall and allow commercial development.
An anti-abortion organization from Illinois is proposing a ballot measure in Missouri that would greatly increase the steps doctors would have to take before performing abortions and subject them to lawsuits from women who regret having the procedure.
The Blue Springs School District is expanding its agricultural science program by adding a $200,000 greenhouse where students can get hands-on experience.
The city Planning Commission on Monday approved a site plan for a 30-foot by 60-foot greenhouse at the Freshman Center, 2103 Vesper St.
The Carthage Fire Protection District would be expanded to include the northern half of Carytown, if voters there approve a proposal on Tuesday’s election ballot.
Kansas City voters go to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to continue a tax that many city leaders consider crucial to improving neighborhood infrastructure.