Tagged: Jason Smith

The Missouri House has given first-round approval to legislation that would require special elections to fill vacancies in statewide offices.

If passed, House Bill 110 would only allow the Governor to appoint a temporary placeholder who would not be eligible to run in the special election.  House Speaker Pro-tem Jason Smith (R, Salem), the bill’s sponsor, says it’s not a deliberate swipe at Democratic Governor Jay Nixon.

Legislation to require special elections in Missouri to fill vacancies in statewide offices has cleared another hurdle.

The bill today easily passed the House Rules Committee and is expected to be debated on the floor of the House next week.  If passed, House Bill 110 would only allow the governor to appoint a temporary placeholder if a statewide office is vacated, and that person would be ineligible to run in the special election to fill the vacancy.  State Representative Jeff Roorda (D, Barnhart) sits on the Rules Committee and cast one of the few “no” votes.

A Missouri House committee has overwhelmingly passed legislation that would require special elections to fill vacancies in statewide offices.

House Bill 110 would require special elections if the office of Lt. Governor or any other statewide office is suddenly vacated.  It would allow the Governor to only appoint a placeholder who would temporarily fill the office but not be eligible to run in the special election.  It’s sponsored by House Speaker Pro-tem Jason Smith (R, Salem).

Aside from Medicaid expansion, the most talked-about issue so far during the just-begun Missouri legislative session is whether Governor Jay Nixon (D) has the authority to appoint a new Lt. Governor if Peter Kinder succeeds fellow Republican Jo Ann Emerson in Congress.

Following his annual Prayer Breakfast earlier today, Governor Nixon told reporters he believes he has the authority to appoint a new Lt. Governor if the office suddenly becomes vacant.