The Missouri Senate is one of only two legislative chambers in the country that does not provide a video livestream of its proceedings.
A Senate committee debated a resolution Wednesday that would change that, though its prospects remain uncertain.
State Sen. Mike Moon, an Ash Grove Republican, is sponsoring a rule change that would require the chamber to provide audio and video feeds of committee hearings and floor debate on its website. The Senate currently offers only audio livestreams.
Moon noted that the Missouri House — with 163 members and six hearing rooms — has offered video livestreams for a decade and archives those recordings on its website. The Senate, with 34 members and three hearing rooms, should have no trouble doing the same, he said.
“It doesn’t change how we operate in the Senate,” Moon said. “It just makes it easier for the people to see what we’re doing. It’s really about access for everyone.”
Ron Calzone, a longtime conservative activist and director of Missouri First, told the committee it is crucial that “the people have an opportunity to monitor what’s going on in the legislature.”
“Congress is broadcast. The House of Representatives on the other side of the building is broadcast,” he said. “It just makes sense.”
But in a chamber that prides itself on tradition, support for switching from audio to video remains unclear, said Senate Majority Leader Tony Luetkemeyer, a Parkville Republican.
He noted that the Senate still has a rule prohibiting laptops on the floor, and that an effort five years ago to change that and allow senators receive bills and amendments digitally was derailed by a filibuster.
Senators also raised questions Wednesday about the cost of Moon’s proposal.
Moon said he does not believe it would be prohibitively expensive because the Senate already has cameras that record proceedings. The video is available only by request, however.
State Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee’s Summit Republican, said he worries cameras could encourage grandstanding or campaign-style speeches on the Senate floor.
“One of the things that concerns me is, and I’ve been here, this is my ninth year, and so the people have turned over, but there’s always a certain number of egos in the Senate,” Cierpiot said. “And I’m just not sure where camera time would make the body a better place.”
Moon said the Senate already has “theatrics and campaign speeches,” and that video livestreaming would not make that any worse.
After the hearing, Luetkemeyer said he would confer with fellow senators to gauge support for the change.
Ultimately, Moon said, the question is whether the Senate is willing to listen to the people who elected its members.
“Those who have elected us have asked for the ability to live stream so they can see what we’re doing,” he said. “And now the ball’s in our court. Will we listen to our bosses, or will we ignore their wishes?”
