The race to collect petition signatures ahead of a May deadline for proposed statewide ballot questions was joined Thursday by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, a coalition looking to eliminate Missouri’s near-total ban on abortion.

After submitting 11 versions of ballot language, the coalition said it would back one that would allow lawmakers to regulate or ban abortion after fetal viability, with an exception for the life, physical and mental health of the mother.

A competing measure offered by Republican Jamie Corley would allow abortions up to 12 weeks, and after that only in cases of rape, incest and in medical emergencies up until the point of fetal viability.

Petitions must be submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office by May 5 at 5 p.m.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the debate over initiative petition changes took a new turn Thursday morning in the Missouri State Senate.

Republican-backed efforts to make it tougher to alter the state’s constitution failed to get across the finish line last year.

A handful of bills were reintroduced for this session. If approved, voters could potentially have the issue on a ballot in time for the August primary.

State Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, a member of the conservative Missouri Freedom Caucus and a candidate for secretary of state, said on the floor of the chamber Thursday that the pro-abortion measure launched the same day, “makes it even more important that we get this (initiative petition reform) passed this year.”

Freedom Caucus members attempted Thursday to put initiative petition reform to the forefront by a vote to move to a committee of the whole, which would allow the Senate to bypass the committee process and vote out an IP bill directly from the floor. The vote failed.

Freedom Caucus members also pledged to block gubernatorial appointments in the Senate until the body passed an IP bill and began that effort Thursday afternoon and continued well into the evening.

In a late afternoon interview with reporters in St. Louis, Gov. Mike Parson had sympathy for the appointees who were caught in the middle of the debate. He did not identify a version of initiative petition reform he supports, or indicate that he would speak to it in next week’s State of the State Address.

Campaign news

State Rep. Sarah Unsicker, D-Shrewsbury, has formally switched her Missouri Ethics Commission fundraising filing to reflect her race for governor, as a Democrat. Unsicker announced last month that she was leaving the race for Attorney General after making accusations of foreign election interference against her then-opponent Elad Gross and an uproar in her party over her association with men accused of anti-semitism and fueling conspiracy theories.

Gross denied the accusations and the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office said there was no evidence to substantiate the claim

When Unsicker announced she would run for governor last week, she did not explicitly say she would run as a Democrat.

In her most recent campaign finance filing, Unsicker reported having $2,211 in cash on hand. Springfield businessman Mike Hamra reported having $671,041 on hand, including a $250,000 personal loan, and State Rep. Crystal Quade, the House Minority Leader from Springfield, reported having $247,606 on hand.

On the Republican side of the race, January campaign finance reports show Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe with $1.4 million in cash on hand, almost double State Sen. Bill Eigel ($703,180) and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft ($613,987), excluding supportive political action committees.

The week ahead

Next week, Missouri Democrats are expected to roll out more details behind the party’s presidential delegate selection process and its “hybrid” plans for a mail-in vote and in person meetings on March 23. Missouri Republicans will hold presidential caucuses March 2.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson will deliver his final State of the State address Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the House. While Parson has said he’ll use some of the speech to recap past accomplishments, it will also serve as a vehicle to lay out his legislative and budget agenda for 2024. 

In 2023, Democrats in many cases cases rallied to some of Parson’s budget priorities more so than conservative Republicans, so this will be something to watch moving forward. Without an influx of federal COVID-related funding, lawmakers have already warned that this year’s budget process will be tighter.

On Sat. Jan. 27, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. will hold a re-election kickoff in Northwoods with fellow “Squad” member U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mi. Bush faces a primary challenge in the heavily democratic first district from St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell.