JEFFERSON CITY — Members of the Missouri House on Wednesday debated a proposal to bar state departments and agencies from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion — or DEI — programming.
It won first-round approval on a 102-47 vote that fell nearly along party lines, with just one Republican joining Democrats in opposition.
The , a repeat from last year’s legislative session, says: “No funds shall be expended by any state department for intradepartmental programs, staffing, or other initiatives associated with ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ or ‘diversity, inclusion, and belonging.’â€
It also bars spending on initiatives that “promote … collective guilt ideologies, intersectional or divisive identity activism, or the limiting of freedom of conscience, thought, or speech.â€
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“Collective guilt ideologies†and “intersectional or divisive identity activism†are not defined in the bill.
“The Missouri House will be sending a clear message,†said Rep. Brad Hudson, R-Cape Fair, a co-sponsor of the bill. “It is inappropriate to use tax dollars to facilitate the implementation of an ideology that discriminates and divides.â€
Hudson, a pastor, is also sponsoring that would bar public universities from denying benefits or funding to “belief-based†student groups.
Democrats railed against the anti-DEI effort on the House floor.
“Nobody wants to stop talking about diversity more than the people who have suffered from discrimination historically,†said Rep. Jamie Johnson, D-Kansas City. “(Diversity programs) remove the barriers to certain individuals who have been historically discriminated against, and they level the playing field.â€
“The strength of the Missouri House of Representatives is our diversity,†said Rep. Del Taylor, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, referencing the 163-member legislative body. “Our own very state departments who are trying to serve our very citizens, our 6 million citizens, they need those inclusive policies also.â€
Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, said the anti-DEI measure would advance ideas of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
“In Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, he talked about not judging a person by the color of their skin, but by their character,†said Seitz. “I think this legislation follows Dr. Martin Luther King’s thought processes.â€
“We should have at this day and age a color-blind society where we all are afforded opportunity, we are all are afforded equality,†he said.
Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia, bristled at Seitz’s reference to King and said he met MLK’s son a few years earlier at a diversity event.
“I can promise you,†said Tyson Smith, “that Dr. King would be against this bill, as would his son. So think about that when you try to invoke Dr. King in your speeches.â€
Baptist minister Rep. Doug Richey, R-Excelsior Springs, this year has championed the legislation, saying it is a matter of individual liberty.
DEI initiatives “are so very divisive and racist,†said Richey on Wednesday. They force ideology on individuals and control speech, which leads to the “squelching of conscience.â€
“This bill doesn’t threaten diversity. Diversity exists. It’s an objective reality,†he said.
Richey last year led a similar effort to restrict DEI spending by state departments. He had the support of House Budget Chair Cody Smith, R-Carthage, who backed putting the DEI spending restrictions into the state budget. The move, however, was stymied by the Senate budget chair and leadership who nixed the anti-DEI provisions.
And, like last year, the push comes amid a nationwide Republican backlash against diversity initiatives.
This legislation is Hous