Dugger: Proposition B Compromise In House, Redistricting Stalls

"If we ever forget we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under". – Ronald Reagan

PROPOSITION B

We are still awaiting the Governor's signature on SB 113&95.In addition SB 161 will be the bill that the compromise language will be carried on.

Redistricting

The new Congressional Districts are still being debated in the House, but we have reached no agreement at this time. We have until May 13 to work out the details. Currently the House proposal has Wright County in the 4^th Congressional District, Douglas County in the 7^th Congressional District, and Texas County in the 8^th Congressional District. The Senate proposal has all three counties in the 8^th district.

HB 828 – Prevailing wage

Prevailing wage is the requirement that employers pay employees a specified hourly wage higher typically higher than a normal rate.

In Missouri it applies to certain categories of work, determined by statute, rules, and regulations. One of these categories is construction.

Prevailing wage was never meant to apply to maintenance of buildings and simple repairs; for instance, things like repainting an old building.

Recently, the Missouri Supreme Court determined that employees repainting old buildings were actually doing construction work, so they should be paid prevailing wage.

This bill fixes the court case, to bring "prevailing wage" back to where it was intended – without this fix "prevailing wage" could be extended to a ridiculous point where you can't even legally hire a neighborhood kid to paint your shed without having to pay them upwards of $20 an hour.

HJR 5 – Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish

The past several years have not been friendly to gamesman in our state. Federally, President Obama is talking about gun control, and nationwide, the price of guns and ammunition continue to sky-rocket in response.

Worse, groups like the Humane Society have stated that they want to end all sport hunting in the country:

"If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would." —Wayne Pacelle, president of HSUS, Associated Press

Because of Missouri's initiative petition process the Humane Society can come into our state, drop millions of dollars, and put a measure on the ballot to outlaw certain kinds of hunting or fishing.

We are already battling what they have done in Proposition B, but it was just a test-case. HSUS often times follows up an initial effort with a broader more reaching effort to curtail hunting and fishing.

In other states it may start with an obscure style of hunting or fishing or a rare animal, but vague language and high priced attorneys then fight to expand or uphold what was already passed.

The constitutional amendment we passed makes it harder for liberal outside groups to tell us how we should appreciate our land, property, and heritage. Conservation and appreciation of the outdoors have been a hallmark in Missouri's history with huge numbers of hunting and fishing advocates and we want to keep it that way.

It is a pleasure to serve you, If there is anything me or my staff can do to assist you please give us a call.