By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A local state legislator will chair the newly created Special Committee on Rural Issues.
Rep. Dean Van Schoiack, a Republican from Savannah, says one of the issues his committee will study is eminent domain.
“That’s huge for rural issues,” Van Schoiack tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “I suspect we’ll be hearing some water bills, whether it be exporting of water out of the state, prohibiting exporting water out of the state.”
Eminent domain became a hot button issue during debate on the Grain Belt Express, the electric transmission line carrying wind-generated electricity from Kansas to the East Coast through northern Missouri.
Van Schoiack says one issue the committee will consider is expanding the use of regional jails to share costs as well as the burden of running a jail.
“DeKalb and Daviess Counties have the only regional jail in the state of Missouri right now. They’re needing to build a new jail. They need more funding for it,” Van Schoiack says the two counties have reached their taxation cap and need it raised. “And then it also would allow other counties to join a regional jail district by voting it in and voting the same taxes the current counties have.”
Van Schoiack acknowledges many different issues can be considered rural issues.
“I’m glad for that,” Van Schoiack says. “That means that we’ve got a chance at hearing a lot of different bills that pertain to rural Missouri and there is more than just one issue in rural Missouri. There are a lot of things that can affect us.”
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