#HB903, which lowers the cap on foreign corporate ownership of Missouri farmland to 0% and closes the W-9 loophole, passed the Senate and is now headed back to the House Floor.
House leadership can choose to either accept the Senate version of #HB903 (this is what we want), or go to a Senate/House Conference Committee to iron out the differences.
Please call House Leadership TODAY, and tell them to pass the Senate passed version of House Bill 903.
Tell them:
Pass the Senate version of #HB903 that lowers the cap on acres available for foreign corporate ownership to 0% and eliminates the W-9 loophole language, which allows foreign interest to bypass reporting.
This is a commonsense issue that Missourians support to protect our farmland, food security, and national security.
Contact:
Dean Plocher (Speaker of the House)
573-751-1544
Dean.Plocher@house.mo.gov
Mike Henderson (Speaker Pro Tem)
573-751-2317
Mike.Henderson@house.mo.gov
Rep. Jonathan Patterson (Majority Floor Leader)
573-751-0907
Jonathan.Patterson@house.mo.gov
🧵Tell the USDA to Stop Mandatory Electronic Animal Identification for Cattle!
*Deadline to Submit Comments is THIS Monday, March 20th!
Why this matters:
Mandatory animal I.D. is yet another tactic by the multi-national meatpackers to control MORE of our food system and the cattle and beef markets, squeezing family farmers out and giving consumers less choice on grocery store shelves.
Tell the USDA that Mandatory Animal Identification:
🔻is a pro-corporate proposal that would unreasonably burden farmers and ranchers, while giving corporate multinational meatpackers yet another market advantage.
🔸Beef born, raised, & processed in the USA should be the only beef allowed to be labeled "Product of the USA".
🔸Both independent cattle producers & consumers in the U.S. are being negatively impacted by the current "Product of the USA" label,…
#Missouri SB 254 & HB 574 are part of a multi-year campaign by corporate agriculture to take away all avenues for Missourians to protect our property, air & water; and protect our communities from the pollution & other negative consequences caused by corporate factory farms. 🧵
SB 254 & HB 574 are identical. They attack Local Control by barring county commissioners & local health boards from investigating complaints that CAFOs may have violated local health ordinances. This would make enforcing local health ordinances *very* difficult or impossible.
SB 254 & HB 574 also have a provision that would act as an "ag-gag" rule by strictly limiting who may testify in a court proceeding against a CAFO. This is an extreme attack on due process that would shield CAFOs from accountability in our courts.
#Missouri House Bill 499, a Law Enforcement Bill of Rights is up for a hearing next week in the house, Monday the 8th at noon. Talking points and link to witness form follow in thread. house.mo.gov/billtracking/b…
HB 499 would severely limit officer accountability. Under this bill, an officer could only be questioned when they are “on duty”. They would get 48 hours notice before any questioning and they would be notified exactly who would be questioning them, allowing for intimidation.
If under investigation for any reason that could lead to discipline, enhanced protections would kick in.
All investigations into officer misconduct would have to be concluded within 5 months. This is not enough time for a rigorous review.
#Missouri📣 Good Foreign Ownership Bill Gets A Senate Ag Committee Hearing On Monday, March 1st. Submit testimony in favor here: senate.mo.gov/senatewitnesss…
Talking points follow ⬇️
SB 243 would stop foreign corporate ownership of #Missouri farmland, prohibit any future foreign corporate purchases of Missouri farmland, and stop the advance of foreign-owned CAFOs in Missouri.
SB 243 mandates that any proposed foreign purchases of our farmland be reported to the Missouri Department of Agriculture. This will allow the Department of Agriculture to track proposed foreign purchases and enforce the law.
The #Missouri Department of Natural Resources has begun the rule-making process and are attempting to change the definition of groundwater so CAFOs can build more easily in Missouri.
The public comment period for this rule change runs Feb 16th through March 25th.🧵
Please email the #Missouri Department of Natural Resources stating why you oppose removing "perched water tables" from the definition of "groundwater table".
If you submitted a comment in November please re-submit it now as previous comments will not be included for this round.
Email cindy.lepage@dnr.mo.gov
Reference that you are writing in response to a proposed rule change to 10 CSR 20-8.300 Design of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.
Talking points follow ⬇️