What the heck happened in the Missouri Legislature this Session??? A lot!
Two big MCE priorities saw action in the last weeks of the Session in May: sending CLEAN Missouri (Amendment 1) back to the voters and a failed attempt to block a renewable energy transmission line called the Grain Belt Express which would save Missouri ratepayers millions of dollars annually.
On the passage of SJR 38, the effort to undo the reforms passed by voters in 2018 known as “Clean Missouri,” while we saw huge levels of engagement and outreach to the Legislature as a result of your activism, the Republian-led supermajority pushed this through the House anyway. We are dismayed by this result, but are confident that voters knew what they were voting on in 2018 and will see through this cynical attempt to undo those reforms.
A quick note on why we supported upholding Amendment 1: MCE prioritizes ballot access and citizen-led petitions not only because they encourage civic engagement in state government, but also because one of our earliest wins came through the ballot initiative process. In 1976, founding member Kay Drey led the statewide initiative petition campaign, Proposition 1, that banned the practice of monopoly electric utilities charging Missouri customers in advance during the construction of a nuclear reactor—ultimately passing with 63% of the statewide vote.
As to the Grain Belt Express wind energy transmission line, we are thrilled to say that with your help we were able to thwart any attempts to block the Grain Belt line in Missouri. Senate Democrats, along with some key Republican allies in the Senate, successfully filibustered a bill to block the Grain Belt, culminating in a 4+ hour long event on a Friday night that defeated the bill. For now, the Grain Belt project will continue unimpeded. You can learn more about this crucial clean energy project at https://grainbeltexpress.com/.
Thank you for all of your calls, emails, and letters—your work makes the difference in our fight for a cleaner, livable environment!