Supermajorities proposed for conservation measures

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- It would be more difficult for Missouri voters to pass initiative referenda dealing with fish and wildlife issues than tax increases -- or anything else -- under a constitutional amendment proposed by a Southeast Missouri lawmaker.

The measure would require a four-sevenths majority of votes cast for such initiatives to become law.

Fish and wildlife ballot issues would be the only ones subject to a supermajority at the statewide level, where at present just a simple majority is needed for passage.

State Rep. Mike Dethrow, R-Alton, said his proposal is needed to prevent the passage of bad laws that could have damaging and unintended consequences on conservation matters.

"We need to keep these decisions in the hands of people trained in fish and wildlife management," Dethrow said.

Seven other Southeast Missouri representatives are cosponsoring the measure, which was considered Wednesday by the House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee.

State Rep. Terry Witte, D-Vandalia, questioned why lawmakers should presume to question the wisdom of voters, even if they might occasionally make foolish decisions.

"There seems to be an idea that we want to keep people from making mistakes," Witte said. "We can't always try to protect people from their own wishes."

Though he couldn't cite an example in Missouri, Dethrow said voters in other states have adopted laws that contradict what the experts deem good management practices.

For instance, California voters banned the hunting of mountain lions, despite the fact that it failed in all but two counties. Voters in the state's two most populous counties -- those that didn't have a mountain lion problem -- handed the measure its statewide victory.

Dethrow's proposal would apply only to items placed on the ballot via the initiative petition process. Simple majorities would still be sufficient for fish and wildlife issues put before voters by the General Assembly.

Supermajority requirements are not entirely foreign to Missouri but do not apply to statewide elections. State law mandates supermajorities to pass local school bond proposals and many municipalities also require higher approval rates for various issues, primarily those related to financial matters.

State Rep. Chuck Purgason, R-Caulfield, said the House passed a proposal similar to Dethrow's several years ago. That measure, which would have set a two-thirds majority threshold for conservation issues, failed to clear the Senate.

The impetus for the earlier effort was an attempt by an animal rights group in St. Louis to ban the trapping of river otters. That ban never made it on the ballot.

Purgason said urban voters often don't understand the environmental impact of such matters and rural residents are left to cope with the damage, which can take years to correct.

"When you leave it to the will of people in suburbia, you do not do what is best for game management," Purgason said.

Several conservation groups testified in favor of the bill, which had no opposition in committee.

If the measure clears the General Assembly it would go before voters in November 2004, with a simple majority needed for ratification.

The proposed amendment is HJR 20.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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