Mar 10 – Weekly Capitol Update
SENATE APPROVES REPEALING VOTER-APPROVED DOG LAW
The Missouri Senate on March 8 approved legislation to repeal most of the new regulations on dog breeding facilities that Missouri voters approved in November as Proposition B. Rural areas generally opposed Proposition B, but strong support in the metro areas helped it get 51.6 percent of the statewide vote.
SB 113 would eliminate requirements that dogs be given clean water, shelter from the elements and adequate rest time between breeding cycles. It would also remove the 50-dog cap on the number of breeding females that a breeder can own. Critics of the new regulations say they will drive dog breeders out of business. Proponents of the restrictions say the Missouri’s reputation as a haven for so-called “puppy mills” that inhumanely treat animals is a national embarrassment. The bill must still be approved by the House of Representatives before it can be sent to Gov. Jay Nixon to be signed into law or vetoed.
HOUSE PASSES FIX TO UM BOARD OF CURATORS STRUCTURE
The House of Representatives on March 10 voted 142-12 in favor of a minor change in the membership of the University of Missouri Board of Curators necessitated by Missouri’s pending loss of a congressional seat. The bill, HB 174, now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
The Missouri Constitution establishes a nine-member board of curators. To ensure that curators come from all regions of the state, a separate state law has long required that no two members may come from the same congressional district. As long as Missouri had nine or more congressional districts, that system worked. But when the state drops to eight congressional districts in January 2013, it will render the statute unconstitutional. HB 174 would specify that at least one curator must be appointed from each congressional district, with no more than two per district.
The bill also would make a similar fix to the Missouri State University Board of Governors, although the number of members on that board is not fixed by the constitution. The House rejected an amendment to reserve the ninth voting spot on the UM Board of Curators for a student member.
HOUSE ENDORSES ENGLISH-ONLY DRIVER’S LICENSE EXAMS
The House of Representatives on March 10 voted 102-56 to prohibit the state from offering driver’s license exams in language other than English. The bill, HB 167, now goes to the Senate.
Bill supporters requiring motorists to be proficient in English will improve safety. The Missouri State Highway Patrol disputes that since traffic signs are based on internationally accepted symbols. The insurance industry opposes the measure out of a concern it will increase the number of uninsured drivers in Missouri. Others say the bill is nothing more than immigrant bashing that could jeopardize the state’s chances to lure foreign business investment, such as the proposed China trade hub in St. Louis.
REP. CURLS RESIGNS HOUSE SEAT, MOVES TO SENATE
State Rep. Kiki Curls resigned her seat in the House of Representatives on March 8 and minutes later was sworn in as a member of the Missouri Senate. Curls, D-Kansas City, moved to the General Assembly’s upper chamber after winning a special election last month to replace former state Sen. Yvonne Wilson, who retired in December. Curls was first elected to the House in 2006 and will serve the remainder of Wilson’s term, which runs through 2012.
U.S. GRANT’S LAST GREAT-GRANDSON DIES IN SW MISSOURI
Ulysses S. Grant V, the last surviving great-grandson of President Ulysses S. Grant, died on March 2 at his home in Battlefield, Mo., at age 90, according to The Associated Press. Grant V, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, maintained an extensive collection of artifacts from his famous ancestor’s career as two-term president and Union general during the Civil War, including a flag that is believed to have flown over Appomattox Court House when Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered.
Category: This Week in the MO House, Weekly Capitol Update
