Barely two months after Missouri voters said, loudly and clearly, that state legislators’ official records must be open to the public, the Missouri House on Tuesday effectively overturned that vote and declared that members can keep their records closed. Lawmakers have done this before, on other issues. What part of “will of the people” don’t they understand?

Proponents of the “Clean Missouri” constitutional amendment that voters passed in November — and which the House has now thumbed its nose at — should get this in front of a judge as soon as possible.

The state’s voters last year overwhelmingly passed ballot measures on organized labor, the minimum wage, medical marijuana and government ethics, each in defiance of the Republicans who control the state government. The measure known as “Clean Missouri” addressed political reform in areas of redistricting, lobbyist restrictions and freedom of information.

The measure, approved by more than 60 percent of voters, changed the state Constitution to subject legislators to the state’s Sunshine Law, from which they were previously exempted. The voters said, in essence, that legislators’ official records, like those of other public bodies, must be available for public inspection, with specified exceptions for issues like privacy.