Proposed Ballot Issue would Require 2/3 Majority for Hunting, Fishing, and Logging Ballot Issues

A proposed bill in the Missouri Legislature would require a 2/3 majority for any initiative petitions relating to hunting, fishing, or logging. The text of the bill reads as follows:

No initiative proposal relating to the opportunity to harvest bird, fish, game, wildlife, or forestry resources shall take effect unless approved by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast thereon, except that this provision shall not apply to any initiative proposal involving the establishment, amendment, or repeal of sales taxes for conservation purposes.

The bill, HJR 15, is designed to prevent similar initiatives such as Proposition B from passing; Proposition B, which creates extensive new regulations for dog kennels, was narrowly passed by voters last November. Opponents saw Proposition B as an attempt by the Humane Society of the US to get their foot in the door in Missouri and fear that efforts to restrict or ban hunting will be next.

The bill makes an exception for conservation taxes; certain legislators and groups unhappy with the Missouri Department of Conservation's decision to reintroduce elk in the south part of the state have proposed putting the current Conservation Tax up for a vote.

The issue, if passed by the legislature, would go on the ballot before voters on the November 2012 election or a special election called by the governor for that purpose.