As Governor Jay Nixon (D) weighs his options on a bill to roll back voter-approved dog breeding regulations, supporters and opponents of Proposition B staged dueling rallies a few blocks from each other in Jefferson City.
Several hundred people gathered outside the State Capitol to urge the governor to sign a bill passed by the Missouri House and Senate that would remove the 50-dog per breeder limit and relax provisions for living space and veterinary exams.
Proposition B opponents say the regulations will put good breeders out of business while bad ones will just ignore the law.
Meanwhile, the governor is still touting a compromise that would remove the 50-dog limit but leave many of Prop B’s regulations in place, while giving breeders more time to implement the new standards. State Senator Brian Munzlinger (R, Williamstown) says the stricter bill must be signed first before the compromise language can be added.
“That’s been done before and that’s the way it works," Munzlinger said.
When asked what would happen if Governor Nixon vetoed Senate Bill 113 but still pushed for his compromise, Munzlinger said that would be a “deal breaker.”
Meanwhile at the Governor’s Mansion, about a hundred Proposition B supporters called on Nixon to veto the rollback. Barbara Schmitz is with the Humane Society of the United States.
“I think that the...provisions in Proposition B are reasonable, they’re common sense," Schmitz said. "(Missouri is) known as the puppy mill capital of the country, and Proposition B helps to, hopefully, take away that awful title.”
Schmitz also opposes the compromise proposed by Governor Nixon. He has given no indication so far if he'll sign or veto the Proposition B rollback.
