Senate backs Conservation Commission changes

State Sen. Brian Munzlinger thinks the Missouri Conservation Commission needs to represent the entire state better than it does now.

Wednesday night, the Senate gave first-round approval to a proposed constitutional amendment to add two members to the four-member commission, and prevent those members from having back-to-back six-year terms.

Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, noted northeast Missouri and other rural parts of the state have had few representatives on the commission since voters created it in 1936.

"What we are trying to do is allow more representation onto a statewide commission, whose job has changed in 80 years of existence," he explained, noting the commission began with virtually no land or money. It now has "about $180 million" a year in its budget, and owns or controls more than "a million acres" of Missouri land.

Munzlinger originally proposed an eight-member commission, with members coming from specified regions of the state. But negotiations changed his proposal to six members, with no geographic residency requirements.

Several senators questioned the need to make any changes in the commission's make-up.

A final vote to approve the proposal and send it to the House could come as early as this morning.

If both House and Senate approve the proposed amendment, Missouri voters statewide would have to OK it later this year, before the Constitution could be changed.