Missouri state Sen. Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville) speaking on the Missouri Senate floor on Thursday, April 17, 2025 at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo. (Screenshot via MOSENCOMM on YouTube)

On Thursday, Missouri state Sen. Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville) attacked and insulted voters on the Senate floor for passing Proposition A last November, a ballot initiative last November guaranteeing paid sick leave.

The GOP lawmaker contended that the framers of the Constitution did not intend on direct democracy and that voters don’t “understand what’s required to meet the bottom line” for businesses.

Brattin chastised voters on the Senate floor for approving Prop A, which passed by a 57.57%-42.43% margin, arguing that most voters have “no skin in the game when it comes to these sorts of measures” and that they haven’t taken into account the bottom line of businesses.

“People can moan, and they can groan,” Brattin said. “But it’s the ones that moan and groan are probably [sic] not the ones signing the fronts of the checks, that employ the people that are having to bear these costs.”

Prop A requires employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers with 15 or more employees are able to limit the use of paid sick leave to 56 hours per year, while employers with fewer than 15 employees can limit use to 40 hours per year.

Despite voters overwhelmingly passing Prop A, Sen. Mike Bernskoetter (R-Jefferson City) has introduced House Bill 567, legislation to repeal the paid sick leave provisions in Proposition A. In opposition, Democrats in the state Senate conducted a 10-hour filibuster into the early hours of Thursday morning until the Republican-controlled chamber pulled the bill, temporarily blocking it from passage.

“Our entire caucus will stand up for the will of the people,” Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck (D-St. Louis) told reporters. “That’s what we’re doing here. That’s why I’m super proud of all of our members that stood up yesterday and told the truth about what’s going on.”

The Missouri House of Representatives has already passed the bill mostly on party lines by a 96-51 vote despite polls showing public opposition to rolling back paid sick leave. Although the issue is tabled in the Senate for now, Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin reiterated on Facebook that the Missouri GOP intends to pass HB 567, which she referred to as a “job killer,” before the chamber 2025 session ends in mid-May. The paid sick leave measures of Prop A, as well as a minimum wage increase, are set to go into effect on May 1.

Brattin has also introduced Senate Bill 22, which passed in both chambers and is heading to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s (R) desk. The bill would restrict the ability of courts to revise misleading ballot language and allow the state’s attorney general to retroactively appeal any preliminary injunction issued prior to Aug. 28. A preliminary injunction on Missouri’s abortion ban is what allowed abortion procedures to resume in the state. But if Kehoe signs SB 22, abortion access will again be in jeopardy with conservative Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey in office.

SB 22 could potentially nullify another example of direct democracy, as voters approved by Missouri a reproductive rights constitutional amendment last November. This is the latest Republican attempt to undermine abortion access after Rep. Phil Amato (R-Arnold) introduced a bill to establish a state agency to track pregnant women “at risk” of seeking an abortion. Adoption attorney Gerard Harms, who wrote the bill, referred to it as “eHarmony for babies” in his testimony from February.

Brattin was one of three GOP lawmakers who was sued for defamation last year after he falsely accused Denton Loudermill of being an undocumented immigrant and the shooter responsible for the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting. After Loudermill was proven innocent, Brattin told reporters he had nothing to apologize for.