First, my apologies for the long intermission between Capitol Reports, I hope to do better in the coming weeks. August 5 is the Missouri primary election, and there will be five issues for voters to decide. I support three of those issues and oppose two. The amendments are listed below, followed by brief descriptions of the reasons for my support or opposition.
Amendment 1: I will vote YES.
Amendment 1 is designed to constitutionally protect all Missouri farmers, ranging from the person with six steers in the back yard to mega operations with thousands of acres. There are liberal groups who oppose Amendment 1 and are trying to confuse the Farming Rights amendment. A concern over foreign ownership of Missouri farmland is a red herring because foreign ownership of Missouri farm land is capped by law at 1 percent and currently stands at .29 percent. One of these liberal groups is the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which employs a former Missouri lieutenant governor. This is the same organization that nearly put the canine breeding industry out of business in Missouri with their Proposition B campaign. A few conservatives oppose Amendment 1 due to their concern about the possibility of inappropriate protections for GMO merchants. However, Senate legal staff has assured me that although Amendment 1 may affect the legal environment of GMO’s, it does not impair the courts in the case of lawsuits.
Amendment 5: I will vote YES.
This amendment affirms the duty of elected officials to protect your right to keep and bear arms. It extends the right to keep and bear arms to include ammunition and related accessories for such arms. Given the imperial actions being taken in Washington, D.C., such legislative action is needed. This amendment does not prevent the legislature from limiting the rights of certain felons and certain individuals adjudicated as having a mental disorder.
Amendment 7: I will vote NO.
No one can deny the bad timing of this multi-billion dollar tax increase on Missourians, even though a small cadre of state senators was successful in negotiating the tax down from $8 billion to $6 billion over 10 years. Our roads are in need of maintenance, but my opposition is because of the refusal of this legislature to advance reforms that would allow increased competition to benefit Missouri taxpayers. The same legislators who are willing to impose $6 billion of new taxes on Missourians stand in firm opposition to labor reforms, tort reforms, regulatory reforms, and judicial reforms that would benefit taxpayers and businesses. If a tax increase is necessary, it should be the last resort, not the first choice. When the goals of special interest groups conflict with what is good for the taxpayer, why must the taxpayer always lose?
Amendment 8: I will vote NO.
We don’t all agree on the significance of gambling or buying a lottery ticket. However, no one in business, law enforcement, the military, or banking would view gambling as a character asset. We already see billboards across the state inviting us to support education by buying lottery tickets; next it will be to support our veterans. Have we reached the point that we entrust the wellbeing of our veterans to dependency upon what has historically been considered a vice?
Amendment 9: I will vote YES.
Security of our persons and papers against unlawful search or seizure is recognized by our Constitution as an unalienable right. Amendment 9 simply clarifies that our digital-electronic “papers” enjoy the same protection. They will still be subject to lawful search, as with a warrant or court order, but not an unwarranted search.
I hope these views are helpful. More details and the statements from both advocates and opponents can be surveyed using the links in the table above.
Thank you for reading this legislative report. You can contact my office at (573) 751-2108 if you have any questions. Thank you and we welcome your prayers for the proper application of state government.
5 comments:
Amendment 1 - Vote No: The Farming Rights amendment is too vague and far reaching. I am always skeptical of an amendment that protects any group from lawsuits. Mr. Emery sights Proposition B as part of his rationale for supporting the Farming Rights amendment because the Humane Society opposes it and they supported Prop B. Proposition B was not intended to put the canine breeding industry out of business. Puppy mills and unscrupulous breeders were the ones being targeted and that is a good thing. Having said that, the compromise agreement that was eventually reached was an improvement over the original bill.
Amendment 5 - Vote No: This amendment is unnecessary. We already have laws in place that do the same thing. The laws simply need to be enforced instead of creating another new law.
Amendment 7 - Vote No: I absolutely agree with Senator Emery. This tax is unfair to Missouri residents who will be required to carry the entire burden. A fuel tax (even if it is higher to compensate for more fuel efficient vehicles) would be more appropriate by causing all vehicles, including long-haul trucks, using Missouri roads to share the expense of maintenance and repair.
Amendment 8 - Vote No: Talk about bad timing. Governor Nixon has just ordered an investigation into where lottery profits are going since they aren't going to education. I'll vote NO on this and let the "education lottery" get straightened out.
Amendment 9 - Vote Yes: Our "little black book" is protected under the Constitution and so should our digital address books be protected.
If 1% of our land to be sold to foreign interests and .29% is what is left, this still gives more of our land to foreigners , which is what big corporate ag wants! And by the way HSUS is not a boogeyman as these politicians claim!!!! They are an animal welfare organization, PETA is animal rights advocates. SOMEONE in this country needs to be the voice for animals who suffer, animals do suffer. Are we a nation that has become desensitized to allow and advocate some of the horrible ways animals must live to produce meat. I received a CAFO hog for free to be butchered, it was the toughest meat I ate, no flavor ! It's a crying shame that people don't understand the HSUS , they are only about standards of care, and yes they do help shelters, ours being one who got grants $$$, and were great mentors in establishing standards of care so the animals were receiving the a humane, and proper level of care. PETA are about animal rights. Big difference in those two organization, no one can stop Americans from having their hamburgers , absolutely ridiculous !!
^^ Joe Maxwell? Reads like Joe Maxwell reasons.
If we take an anti labor stance you will support fixing roads and bridges i think i see an alec puppet
Oh now your censoring opinions
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