CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES AREN'T MADE EASILY

In 1820, representatives of what would become a state the following year put the finishing touches on the first Missouri Constitution. In 1865 and again in 1875, new constitutions were drafted and adopted. In 1945, Missourians accepted the fourth and final version of their state constitution.

Since 1945, there have been various occasions when someone would suggest another constitutional convention to produce a new version. So far, those efforts haven't advanced very far.

But, in fact, the 1945 Constitution has been changed many times, either by initiative or referendum votes. Initiatives are petition drives that anyone or any organization can start, provided certain criteria are met. Referendums are changes put on the ballot by the General Assembly.

Here's one quick example of how our state's Constitution has changed since 1945:

One of the articles of the 1945 document dealt with the powers of the General Assembly, including a provision dating back to the 1875 Constitution that prohibited the Legislature from authorizing a lottery. In general, the Constitution banned gambling of any kind. But in 1980, an amendment was approved by Missouri voters that let the Legislature authorize bingo, and the enabling legislation went so far as to declare bingo isn't gambling. In 1984, the state's voters approved another amendment that authorized the Legislature to establish a state lottery. And in 1992, yet another amendment was approved authorizing riverboat gambling.

All those changes were made in the state's Constitution without a need to rewrite the whole document.

Of course, nowadays Missouri gambling is just about as wide open as Las Vegas except for the raffles held by churches and civic organizations to raise money locally for worthwhile causes someone's house burns down or a relative needs expensive cancer treatment. Those are still illegal, even if most officials turn their heads and even buy a ticket or two.

Clearly, our state Constitution is a document that can be changed when change is regarded as a good thing by voters but not so easy to change that any whim can be enacted. This is a good process, even if it tends to clog up legislative sessions each year.

For example, nearly 40 proposals to change the Constitution have been introduced so far in the current legislative session which is barely a week old. And there will be more ideas for constitutional tinkering before the session ends.

Only a couple of those proposals will ever make it to a ballot. Then it will, once again, be up to voters to decide if they want to rewrite the Constitution this year.