Mark Funkhouser wins Mayoral Election
March 27, 2007 Mark served in the role of City Auditor of Kansas City, Missouri since 1988. He know the internal working of the City well. He is very concerned about leap-frog development that is so rampant in Kansas City. The cost of urban sprawl in Kansas City has been enormous from a financial and social perspective. He would like to see the City change to a more human scale. He favors infill development (brown field development) and he strongly dislikes the inefficiencies inherent to urban sprawl (green field development). He is a champion of public transit as a part a more efficient city fabric. He would like to see more smaller businesses and more local economy that can be reached on foot, bike or public transit. The use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) has been seen to favor big box stores and out of town developers. This is likely to change if he would become the Mayor of Kansas City. Read more details in his responses to our questionnaire.

Cathy Jolly wins City Council seat in District 6 at Large
March 27, 2007 Cathy has been previously endorsed by the Thomas Hart Benton Group in 2005 when she ran for State Representative in the 45th district. At that time she had a Missouri Votes Conservation grade of A (score 89%) and a Sierra Club score of 90%. She is very knowledgable of the environmental issues and we expect her to be a great stewart for the environment. Please see her questionnaire for more details.

Get Ready for a new Kansas City Mayor and City Council
January 11, 2007 The Kansas City Mayoral and City Council elections are coming up this spring. This will be an important election for the environment. Global Warming, Light Rail, and other issues will effect Kansas City for the next few years and possibly generations to come. We have sent a questionnaire to the candidates for evaluation and possible endorsement before the primary on February 27, 2007. Please feel free to ask the candidates the same quesions we have. Environmental issues should be an important part of the discussion.

...the responses are in. Who does the Sierra Club endorse for the Primary Election on February 27, 2007? Find out here...

Dirty Secrets Bill Defeated Twice
Tuesday morning Chairman Bivins tried to combine his Dirty Secrets/Audit Privilege bill with the House Committee Substitute for SCS SB 925. HCS 925 turned into a Christmas tree bill (everything hanging on).

Mercury Victory
Representative Barbara Fraser introduced HB 2127 a bill to regulate the disposal of mercury switches in vehicles that are being scrapped. Rep. Fraser was contacted by Ford Auto Industry Affairs Director, Tony Reinhart, to discuss pulling her bill in exchange for a voluntary recycling program.

Conservation Lobby Day
April 4th, 2004 from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm
at Missouri’s State Capitol in House Hearing Room 2
Let your elected officials know about issues of importance to you.

Senator John Cauthorn threatened an internationally recognized expert on biotechnology
From the Missouri Chapter Green Report March 10, 2006
Due to the potential serious, long-term impacts of genetically engineered crops (GMO’s), Sierra Club, with the assistance from the National Sierra Club Genetic Engineering Committee, arranged for Michael Hansen Ph.D., Research Associate with the Consumer Policy Institute, a division of Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports magazine), to travel to Missouri to testify in opposition to SB 1009. We were very honored to have some one of Dr. Hansen’s stature travel to our state to testify. Dr. Hansen has testified in several states as well as internationally on matters dealing with GMO safety and testing. Read more...

2006 Session Begins with a Flurry of Activity

CAFO VICTORY!
Last week during the first joint House & Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, Senator Clemens announced the Ag Committees will NOT attempt to pass legislation on issues pertaining to Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO's). This announcement is good news for family farmers, rural citizens and the environment. It is truly a victory for the democratic process and a direct result of grassroots organizing by Sierra Club and our coalition partners! Citizens put their elected officials on notice; Missouri communities come before the wishes of corporate donors. Read more...

RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARDS
As part of Missouri Sierra Club’s campaign to secure a clean energy future for all of Missouri, a press conference was held on January 17th announcing the introduction of Renewable Energy Standards (RES) legislation. Senator Chuck Graham, of Columbia and Representative Jenee Lowe, of Kansas City introduced companion bills, SB 843 and HB 1384 that will establish minimum requirements for all retail sellers of electricity to supply a certain amount of their power from renewable energy sources. The percentage requirement would grow from 1% in 2008 to 10% in 2020. Read more...

Eminent domain is a hot topic this session, polling at 90% as an issue of concern. The controversial Kelo v. New London decision by the Supreme Court ruled in favor of economic development over property rights. The decision allowing developers to take away citizens homes to construct a strip mall, all in the name of economic development, has enraged property owners. Legislators are under pressure to halt eminent domain abuse. Several bills have been introduced. This is a complicated issue and the devil may well be in the details. We all understand the necessity of “takings” for the public good. However, there is much room for abuse of eminent domain powers. Sierra Club is monitoring these bills and will work with legislators to understand potential impacts and work toward positive protections. Read more...

DIRTY SECRETS BILL has been assigned to a new special Energy and Environment Committee. HB 1147 - Requires environmental audits to obtain certain protections from civil and criminal actions. Read more...

Decision 2004 - How did the candidates do?