For Immediate Release April 29, 2004 A Conservation Message Through the course of a Legislative
Session many different types of proposals and bills are placed before the
Senate and House Chambers. Some are meant to change state statutes, some are
meant to change the state’s constitution, and yet others are meant to send a
message. The focus of today’s column will outline why Senate Joint Resolution
47 (SJR 47) is meant to send a message. In 1976 a dedicated sales tax was
approved by voters to fund the Department of Conservation. The sales tax of
one-eighth of one percent began in 1977 and continues to this day. This
dedicated fund flows directly to the department which has oversight by an
appointed four member commission. The director of the department reports to the
governor of the state as well as to the commission. Unlike other state
departments, no general revenue funds are appropriated by the Legislature for
the purposes of funding the operations of the Department of Conservation.
Annually, the department comes and testifies before the House and Senate
appropriations committees, mostly as a courtesy to explain how the department
has used their dedicated sales tax receipts. As the years have progressed, a
growing frustration has developed primarily between rural legislators and the
department over its policies. The positive aspects of the
department include: help in development of a three billion dollar forest
industry, development of abundant wildlife, a two billion dollar hunting,
fishing and wildlife watching industry, and an estimated 90 thousand jobs
across Missouri through many segments of our economy. In addition, many have
been encouraged to enjoy Missouri’s great outdoors by the policies of the
department. However, with this said, a growing
list of negatives accompany the discussion. Most of these problems are
primarily in rural districts, and seem to be compounding with little corrective
action by the department. This list would include: a seemingly uncontrolled
deer population which eats and damages millions of dollars of farm crops each
year, an increase of rural highway traffic accidents associated with car/deer
collisions, the development of large tracts of conservation lands which greatly
diminish the local tax base of local schools and a continual frustration of
local rural landowners having to constantly deal with unauthorized hunting. Both lists of positives and negative
could be expanded but will be sufficient to make the needed point. Rural
Legislators feel powerless and ignored when answering their constituent
concerns. Why, because ultimate accountability comes from the funding source
and since the department has a dedicated fund, Legislative oversight is minimal
at best. SJR 47 is a message, sent by rural
Legislators to the department to ask for more accountability to rural problems.
SJR 47 would place before the voters every 10 years the dedicated sales tax
proposal for the department. This would ad a level of accountability that
presently does not exist with the department and the people. The benefits of the department would
be missed if the ballot proposal failed to pass one of its elections. However,
this message of accountability needs to be sent to the Department of Conservation
Commission. Maybe then they will take seriously the very different issues
facing rural areas of Missouri and the challenges that need to be addressed. We have perhaps the leading
conservation department in America. The message of SJR 47 will help make it one
of the most responsible departments in the country. Please feel free to contact me about
this issue or any other issue at 573-751-8793 or email at delbertscott@senate.state.mo.us.