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Right to Farm Meeting to be Held
As we have just finished enjoying the 4th of July holiday and the freedoms we are privileged to have from this special day in American History, I thought now would be a good time to reflect on this past session at your Missouri Capitol. During this past session there were a total of 1953 bills filed and 190 were truly agreed to and finally passed. The subject matter of the bills deal with tax cuts and tax credits to bills related to health care, energy and elementary and secondary education. The budget appropriated for the 2015 Fiscal year was just over 26 billion; of that one third is federal money.
After session ended and the legislators returned to their respective districts, the governor through his authority utilized his veto power. By doing this, he also exercised his ability to withhold funding for education, mental health facilities and more government agencies totaling right at 1 billion dollars. As I recognize the governor as being a good man, I personally support smaller government, but vital services and education should not be included in this massive withholding. This withholding of funds has also created a loss of jobs to individuals who have first and last names are community minded individuals and neighbors to all of us.
The withholding of funds should only be exercised when there is a deficiency in revenue and never for political reasons. Currently, revenues are running about 1 percent behind projections and we believe they will be there in the end.
Another issue I ask of our Governor is to fill the 1000 positions on boards and commissions that are vacant or their term has expired and should be filled. One of these positions, I have been working diligently to fill and have met numerous times with the Governor’s staff. All of this is meant as an outreach to be able to work together for the betterment of the citizens of the great state of Missouri. We have seen the political atmosphere in our federal government, where both sides work and speak against the other side. This works for no one and allows nothing to be accomplished. The word we allow for results and the word me allows for failure. The citizens from the great state of Missouri chose we.
Right to Farm Meeting
When: Thursday, July 17th at 7 pm
Where: VFW, Kennett
Come learn the specifics of the Missouri Right to Farm Amendment. Missouri Farmer’s Care will be hosting an informational meeting about Amendment 1 that will be on the August 5th ballot.
As always, it is an honor to serve you in the Missouri House. If you would like to discuss any issue, please call 573-751-3629. You can also email me at kent.hampton@house.mo.gov . I look forward to hearing from you.
