“Why I support repealing portions of Prop A” from the office of Rep. John Martin

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. –Dear Constituent,

I wanted to take a moment to share my position on House Bills that would repeal portions of Proposition A. These bills have passed the House and on March 26, they passed a Senate committee 5-2 to advance the measure to the Senate floor, with the two Democrats on the committee voting against. The final step would be support from the Governor.

Basic Information
House Bills 567, 546, 758 & 958 keep the Proposition A minimum wage increases of $13.75 as of Jan. 1, 2025, and $15 on Jan. 1, 2026. These bills repeal the scheduled Consumer Price Index adjustments after Jan. 1, 2027. Currently, Prop. A does not apply to public employers: political subdivisions, school districts and education institutions are exempt. These bills change that provision and it would now apply to public employers.

These bills repeal the provisions as they relate to paid sick leave requirements. Provisions include employees would accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, and employees can carry-over up to 80 hours of unused, earned sick leave into the following year. Additional repeals include under what conditions paid sick leave must be provided by employers, prohibited actions for employers and violations, recordkeeping requirements, complaint and investigative procedures, a right to a cause of action for retaliation, and confidentiality of information.

It is important to note that while Proposition A was passed by voters, the General Assembly has the ability to change law just as citizens do.

Proposition A was passed November, 2024, and the General Assembly and the Governor can work together to change those laws as well. Both the vote of the people and actions of the legislature are Constitutional. In recent history, Proposition B in 2010 was passed by the voters regarding puppy mills. After passage, various organizations and the Republican-led Legislature worked to make changes. It was then supported and signed by Democrat Governor, Jay Nixon.

Proposition A is being challenged in the MO Supreme Court currently. Representatives of the business community filed a petition to overturn Prop. A on December 6, 2024. Associated Industries of MO, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the Missouri Forest Products Assoc., Missouri Grocers Assoc., Missouri Restaurant Assoc., and National Federation of Independent Business are part of this lawsuit.

Why I support these bills
I ultimately believe this Proposition will hurt Missourians. The 22 states that require this are mainly coastal states with economies that are not growing, are highly regulated, have high taxes, and Missouri does not need to emulate their laws. To mandate that business owners pay minimum wage employees paid sick leave is a massive government overreach into the private sector.

I am a business owner who pays employees more than minimum wage because the private sector competition drives that. Many have a growing distrust of private sector competition and some in our society want to drive our economy to more centralized, government control.

This is the exact opposite of what workers and business owners need.

Even recent studies reveal minimum wage increases do more harm than good, not to mention adding sick leave. More regulations hurt businesses which ultimately hurt employees as they will get less hours and increased prices will be passed on to the customers. Testimony in the hearings report a survey where 1/3 of employers said they would hire fewer employees.

The paid sick leave provisions are devastating to employers as a new cause of action has been created against employers if sick leave is denied. The state of Alaska is opposing a similar ballot measure.

I have people contacting me supporting Proposition A for higher pay and new benefits for workers. I also have business owners from grocery stores to canoe rental companies who hire summer help, all speaking of the negative effects of this law. Under Proposition A, workers will get their hours cut and some will lose their jobs even though they are getting paid more per hour plus paid sick leave.

I will close with the following study from the Show-Me Institute, A Closer Look at the Effects of a $15 Minimum Wage for Missouri, by Grace Hearn, July 5, 2024. This includes historical facts related to government overreach into the private sector and negative effects on wages, not to mention adding paid sick leave as well.

“Similar to Missouri’s potential $15 minimum wage, Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance passed in 2014 phased in an increasing minimum wage in the City of Seattle from the state’s $9.47 minimum to $11 in 2014, $13 in 2016, and $15 in 2017. A 2017 study at the University of Washington found that the increase to $15 an hour resulted in low-skilled workers experiencing a reduction in hours worked and/or job loss. This decrease in hours worked for low-skill workers resulted in a net loss of $74 per month per employee. A pay cut of $74 per month can have a significant impact on low-income workers.”

We may agree to disagree on this subject.

Rep. John Martin, a Republican, represents part of Boone County, (District 44) in the Missouri House of Representatives. Rep. Martin was elected in November 2024. For more information, please contact Rep. Martin at 573-751-1169 or by email at
John.Martin@house.mo.gov.

*Please note that there is a time-lapse between when this article was written and when it is published. The legislative process is constantly evolving, and developments may have occurred since this was written. For the most up-to-date information and updates, please reach out directly to Rep. Martin.