Date: Thursday, November 05, 2009

Representative Munzlinger's Capitol Report

I was approached by a constituent about increasing the weight limit for hauling crops. I contacted MoDOT and the Department of Ag and was able to get this accomplished. MoDOT granted a waiver of hours of service and to grant a 10 percent overweight through the end of November, I will try to get this extended if harvest is running later. This should help farmers quickly transport their crops from the fields by allowing them to haul more crops in each truckload and transport crops for longer periods during the day. "Right now a farmer doesn't want to worry whether or not he should hold ten bushels of corn or beans in the combine to wait for the next truck. The harvest windows are getting shorter and shorter and the quality of the crop is rapidly deteriorating," said Rep. Munzlinger. He added, "I requested this waiver to help speed up a short harvest time and am very pleased that
MoDOT granted it so quickly."

Voters in Ohio did pass Prop 2. Prop 2 creates a livestock care board to oversee the proper care of livestock. We are officially targeted in Missouri by the Humane Society of the United States; they will try to run livestock production out of our state.

On Wednesday, November 11, our nation will pause once again to pay tribute to the many men and women who have so bravely defended the freedoms we hold dear. Veterans Day represents the one official day each year when we recognize our veterans for their service to our nation. However, on this Veterans Day, I ask you to make a commitment to do more. I encourage you to honor these real life heroes each and every day of the year. Our state is home to more than 500,000 veterans. They are all around us. They are our family members, friends, neighbors and coworkers. Every day we encounter someone who has served our nation and every day we have the opportunity to say thank you for that service. We must always remember that freedom is never free. And, we must never forget our veterans are the ones who have paid the price to defend the freedoms we too often take for granted. On this Veterans Day, I ask that we all take time to pay our respects and show our gratitude to the many veterans who call Missouri home. I also ask that we all make a commitment to honoring these devoted Americans not just on Veterans Day, but each and every day of the year. They deserve no less.

As always, you can feel free to contact me for any reason. I can be reached
at (573) 751-7985 or at brian.munzlinger@house.mo.gov.