General Assembly reversed Tourism Commission on Tour of Missouri; now Tourism Commission set to overturn General Assembly

One

of the most unusual situations to happen with the Tour of Missouri funding this year is this:

Last year, the Tourism Commission, an appointed body with responsibility to oversee the Division of Tourism and its budget, voted to withhold funding from the 2010 Tour of Missouri.

That is why we and other supporters of the Tour of Missouri approached the General Assembly for a specific appropriation for the Tour.

That appropriation--which reverses the Tourism Commission's recommendation--is reflected in the text below:

This reversal passed both Chambers of the General Assembly; Governor Nixon has indicated he will sign it into law.

But now, according to the Governor's office and the Division of Tourism, the appointed Tourism Commission is planning to undo the General Assembly's decision and remove the funding for the Tour of Missouri that the General Assembly specifically appropriated.

What is good for democracy

The question here is not whether the Tourism Commission has authority to change the appropriation--that is a question for the lawyers.

The question is this: In a democracy, is it proper for an appointed commission to overturn the democratically expressed decision of the elected body?

Particularly when that appointed body is specifically contradicting the correction which the elected body made to their budget.

For an appointed Commission to override the will of the people as expressed by the democratic process may be feasible and it may be allowed.

But it doesn't seem to be very good for our democracy.

MO Tourism Commission and Governor Nixon indicate they will deny funding for Tour of Missouri.  Act now to save the tour.

Division of Tourism: 573-751-3051, FAX 573-751-5160, tourism@ded.mo.gov
Governor's Office: 573-751-3222 or online contact form.