The Missouri House Budget Committee’s ranking Democrat supports Portageville GOP State Representative Don Rone’s call for additional funding for the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA).
House Minority Whip Kip Kendrick of Columbia tells Missourinet that MDA’s Division of Plant Industries is underfunded.
Missouri lawmakers decided in 2010 to fund that division with fees. Rone says fees are NOT adequate enough to fund the division, which operates Missouri’s pesticide control and produce safety programs. Rone has announced that an interim legislative committee will examine MDA funding levels.
The Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman says he’s interested in seeing the findings of an interim legislative committee that’s being formed to examine funding levels at the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Portageville State Representative Don Rone announced the committee’s creation last week. Missourinet asked House Budget Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick about it.
Rone, who’s the House Ag Policy Committee vice chairman, says MDA is not receiving necessary funding for it to operate efficiently. The department’s current budget is about 39-point-five million dollars. Missouri’s proposed operating budget is about 28-billion dollars.
Rone notes the Arkansas Department of Agriculture receives more than 17-million dollars in general revenue funding. House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick says if Rone’s investigation determines there are missions that MDA is not meeting, lawmakers can look to address it in next year’s budget.
