In 2010, Proposition B was placed on the November ballot by initiative petition. Prop B called for stricter regulations on Missouri’s dog breeders, seemingly for the good of the animals. However, when an initiative is placed on the ballot, the language sometimes lacks complete clarity and specifics.
Proposition B barely passed with 51.6 percent of the votes in the state and passed in only 13 counties. In the 31st Senatorial District, it failed by 64.8 percent total. In Bates County, the no votes were a majority by 79.7 percent, in Johnson County by 57.6 percent, and in Vernon County by 73.5 percent. It did pass in Cass County by a narrow 51.7 percent. It had lofty goals to prevent animal abuse, but like other ballot initiatives, it was not brought through the thorough bill drafting and review process that occurs in the General Assembly to work out its problems.
With approximately 3,000 licensed breeders accounting for almost 40 percent of dogs provided to the nation’s pet stores, dog breeding is an important business in Missouri, as well as our state’s other livestock enterprises. When a measure becomes law, no matter if it is a product of the General Assembly or a ballot initiative, it deserves the opportunity to be clarified by lawmakers and members of committees who have experience in drafting legislation. Previous legislation and prior ballot initiatives have had to go through a public hearing process. The goal of Senate Bill 113, passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor, was to take the best intentions of Prop B and improve it to make it acceptable to both proponents and opponents of the original measure.
SB 113 made positive changes to the measure, including providing funds for the required additional inspectors by increasing fees paid by legitimate breeders, removing the 50 animal limit imposed by the initiative, and clearing up the original definition of the term “pet” as it appeared before voters on the ballot.
Since SB 113 was signed into law, there have been groups working to make the process of changing voter-led initiatives more difficult for lawmakers. This group organized “Your Vote Counts,” an organization created to place another voter-backed initiative on the ballot for November 2012 to minimize the legislature’s ability to make changes to bills that need legislative attention and legal correction to make the legislation better.
Recently, the Your Vote Counts movement has made the decision to not move forward with the planned initiative for this November, citing the willingness of the General Assembly to engage in more open dialogue, as well as the fact the legislation as written would have negatively effected our state constitution. Your Vote Counts received funding from the national organization that originally funded Prop B, the non-Missouri-based Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
It is our job to execute the duties of our office to the best of our ability. Occasionally, this includes promoting legislation to fix a situation that has come up and to best represent the wishes of the state as a whole.
As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.
Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District.
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