'Unconstitutional': STL lawyer says MO Republicans are breaking CLEAN Missouri rules

A St. Louis government transparency advocate accused Missouri House Republicans of making a mockery of the state constitution this week.

In a lawsuit filed in Cole County Circuit County, attorney Mark Pedroli, who runs the Sunshine and Government Accountability Project, said House members are ignoring a voter-approved amendment that makes legislative records open to the public.

The action specifically targets one of the procedural rules House members approved for their chamber in January that said they can keep “constituent case files” and records pertaining to party strategy secret.

The rule change, proposed by Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon, came just two months after Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment known as “Clean Missouri” that, among other things, made the legislature subject to open records law like the rest of the government.

Read more: https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/25/lawsuit-mo-republicans-constitution-violating-clean-missouri/4082877002/
(Springfield News-Leader)