JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Interim House Review Committee on the 2011 Missouri Water Patrol Division Merger will convene a November hearing for members to receive an update on the Missouri Highway Patrol’s improvements to its Water Patrol division since 2014.
State Representatives Diane Franklin, R-Camdenton and committee chair, and Don Phillips, R-Kimberling City and vice-chair, intend to take public testimony and hear how the Patrol has considered the committee’s recommendations outlined in a December 2014 report. The report calls for an “extensive update” in 2015 on the progress on implementing the recommendations for its water patrol arm.
“The committee feels it is important that steps to improve the Water Patrol division are taken to increase the safety of all those who visit and use Missouri’s waterways,” Franklin said. “Accountability, responsibility and safety must be top priorities while achieving efficiency. The committee is interested in hearing an update from the Patrol and from those with interests in recreational waters across the state on how things have changed this year.”
The public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, at 1 p.m. at the Osage Beach City Hall, 1000 City Parkway, Osage Beach, MO, 65065.
The committee was formed in 2014 to examine management of the Water Patrol Division; the training troopers undergo; and to look into the costs and benefits of the Highway Patrol and Water Patrol’s 2011 merger.
For more information, contact Franklin’s legislative office at (573) 751-1119, or diane.franklin@house.mo.gov.
