Legiscore

HB 352 was introduced as: Modifies provisions relating to financial statements of certain local governments. This bill is a concern, as it delays release of financial statements until after the elections of Charter Cities and Charter Counties with their elections being on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of March and RsMO 50.815(1) had reporting required by the first Monday of March, which is being moved to June 30^th.

Article I Section 9.  Rights of peaceable assembly and petition. — That the people have the right peaceably to assemble for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances by petition or remonstrance.
Source: Const. of 1975, Art. I, Sec. 9.

It is the right of the voters to have a full picture of our government leading into an election, so that they can make the right decisions with our vote. This is a form of redress of grievances and remonstrance (a forcefully reproachful protest), afforded by Article I Section 9 of the Constitution of Missouri, thus HB 352 violates those rights of voters within Charter Cities and Charter Counties of Missouri.

This alone is enough for The Locke & Smith Foundation to reject the proposed legislation, deeming it Unconstitutional and is clear from the first paragraph of the document.

Article I Section 1.  Source of political power — origin, basis and aim of government. — That all political power is vested in and derived from the people; that all government of right originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.
Source: Const. of 1975, Art. I, Sec. 1.

A further argument could be made that hiding the finances until after an election, the people are not being given the information to make an educated decision about controlling their governance, making the same section a violation of Article I Section 1 of the Missouri Constitution.

Having said that, what about the rest of the document, you may ask? If it were not for the Article I Section 1 and Section 9 violations in 50.815(1)’s proposed amendments, the bill would have been undoubtedly accepted by The Locke & Smith Foundation as Constitutional as it opens more transparency for the people of Missouri.