HJR107--CONSERVATIONCOMMISSION
SPONSOR: Dinkins
COMMITTEEACTION:Voted"DoPass"bytheStandingCommitteeon
ConservationandNaturalResourcesbyavoteof11to9.
Currently,theMissouriConservationCommissionismadeupoffour
membersappointedbytheGovernor. Uponvoterapproval,this
resolutionwouldincreasethemembershipontheCommissiontoeight
nonpartisanmembers,onefromeachofthecurrentMissouri
Congressionaldistricts,tobeelectedonthestate'sgeneral
electionday,asspecifiedintheresolution.
ThisbillissimilartoHJR55(2021).
PROPONENTS: Supporterssaythatthestateisverydiverseandeach
areaofthestateneedsrepresentation. Thecurrentfourmember
commissiondoesnotrepresenttheconcernsoftheentirestate.If
theCommissionwasexpandedtoeight,whichrepresentspecific
areasofthestate,thiswouldprovidebetterrepresentation for
theconcernsofeachregion.
TestifyingforthebillwereRepresentative Dinkins;DustinBell;
BrettHowell;MikeValle;andRobertElder,MissouriHuntingand
WorkingDogAlliance. Additionalwrittentestimonywassubmitted
insupportofthebill.
OPPONENTS: Thosewhoopposethebillsaythatthecurrent
structureoftheMissouriConservationCommissionwasestablished
byastatewidevotein1936andhasbecomeanationalmodelfor
conservationefforts. Currentlythefourmembersrepresentthe
stateasawhole.Byelectingregionalmembers,thememberscould
beinfluencedbypoliticsandregionalfavoritism.
TestifyingagainstthebillwereWilliamZacharyMorris;Brandon
Butler;SaraPauley,MissouriDepartmentofConservation;andthe
ConservationFederationofMissouri. Additionalwrittentestimony
wassubmittedinoppositiontothebill.
Writtentestimonyhasbeensubmittedforthisbill.Thefull
writtentestimonycanbefoundunderTestimonyonthebillpageon
theHousewebsite.