DON'T TINKER WITH PAY PANEL; GET RID OF IT

When Missouri voters in November rejected a constitutional amendment giving the legislature more authority to revise recommendations of the Missouri Citizens Commission on the Compensation of Elected Officials, some took it as an indication that the state's voters like the commission.

But others argue the commission needs to be abolished. They suggest that's why voters turned down the constitutional tinkering.

Now a state senator has introduced a resolution to reject the pay commission's 5.5 percent increases for elected officials and judges, because the legislature is likely to appropriate a budget that includes lower raises for state employees.

If Sen. Marvin Singleton, a Republican from Joplin, wants to give the legislature the control it should have over all pay issues funded by tax dollars, then he should work hard to get rid of the pay commission entirely.

That would be in the best interests of all Missourians, both as state employees and as taxpayers.