LEGISLATURE OVERRIDES VETO OF HB 1414
JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Missouri lawmakers successfully voted to override Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of HB 1414 during the annual veto session September 14, 2016. The legislation was sponsored by District 43 Representative Jay Houghton, and carried in the Senate by Senator Brian Munzlinger. HB 1414 simply aims to protect the privacy of farm and ranch families in Missouri, and will protect the information of producers who share information with state departments when they voluntarily join a program.
“I was proud to sponsor legislation that is proactive. This bill will add a layer of protection for farmers and ranchers who share information with state agencies to advance our state’s number one industry,” said Houghton, who also chairs the House Agriculture Policy Committee. “Missouri farmers deserve, and now have, this protection.”
Data collected by these voluntary programs will still be available and shared in the aggregate, but now the private information of individual farmers will be protected. These protections are similar to those afforded in other voluntary state programs. This is the third year that the House and Senate have considered this language, and was supported by nearly all major agriculture organizations.
“This protection will help farmers feel safer about sharing their data with state agencies,” Houghton continued. “The data they share helps advance research and knowledge for everyone involved in Missouri agriculture.
The information of farm and ranch families will be made available if the information is needed to protect public health or animal disease outbreak. The legislation required 109 votes to pass over the Governor’s objections in the House, and it received 111. In the Senate, HB 1414 received the required 23 votes for override.
