The Missouri Senate has approved a measure that would ask voters whether to add two members to the Department of Conservation's governing board.
Senators voted 22-10 Thursday to approve the constitutional amendment, which would increase the Conservation Commission from four members to six. The proposal now heads to the House. That chamber's approval would put the amendment on the November ballot.
Sen. Brian Munzlinger said this proposal would allow better representation of areas that have rarely had a seat on the commission.
Opponents of the proposal said Missouri's Department of Conservation is among the best in the country, and changing its organization could inject politics into the commission.
The measure drew bipartisan support from urban and rural lawmakers, though lawmakers from both parties and different regions also opposed it.
