Missouri auditor putting state conservation agency under microscope (2024)

JEFFERSON CITY — A year after Missouri’s highest court told state lawmakers to back off when it comes to funding decisions at the Missouri Department of Conservation, the agency overseeing nearly 1 million acres of outdoor recreation land is facing an audit.

State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, who tangled with funding for the independent agency when he was chairman of the House Budget Committee in 2018 and 2019, announced Monday that his office is reviewing how effectively the department is using taxpayer dollars to accomplish its mission.

“With every other state department, the General Assembly has a level of oversight provided through the appropriations process that can ensure tax dollars are allocated and used appropriately. However, with that authority now limited due to the court decision, specifically in regard to the Department of Conservation, it makes it vitally important that we stand in the gap for taxpayers and provide what will be the only layer of accountability for the department and its spending decisions,”Fitzpatrick said.

Last June, the state Supreme Court sided with the Conservation Commission in a dispute over the wildlife agency’s independence.

The court determinedthe commission, which oversees the department, had the power to purchase 510 acres of land in St. Clair County, about 100 miles south of Kansas City, despite lawmakers in 2020 removing wording from the state budget for land acquisitions.

After the budget had been signed, the state Office of Administration refused to release funds for the land acquisition.

But the court uphelda 2021 Cole County Circuit Court decisionaffirming the commission’s independence from the Legislature and directing the Office of Administration to certify the $1 million purchase of prairie habitat as an addition to the Linscomb Wildlife Area, as well as $900,000 for payment in lieu of taxes on conservation lands.

Fitzpatrick said the potential lack of legislative oversight makes it important for his office to keep tabs on the agency’s $215 million budget.

The department is funded by aone-eighth of 1% sales tax, which generates approximately $160 million in funding each year that goes directly to the agency.

The department also receives funding from permit sales, federal aid and income from sales and rentals. While the department has a dedicated funding stream, the General Assembly appropriates the funds to the department each year.

Leadership of the agency has changed since the court case.

Jason Sumners took over as director June 1 following the retirement of Sara Parker Pauley. He had been serving as deputy director of resource management for MDC.

The department was last audited in 2018 when it received a rating of “fair.” That report included details of a separation agreement that resulted in more than $120,000 in additional benefits to a former director after he resigned. The report also recommended changes to the department’s comp time policies, which hadno limits on some comp time earned or accrued by employees.

In his 2021 ruling, Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker said the agency was created through a 1936 constitutional amendment due to dissatisfaction with the “politically appointed and underfunded” Fish and Game Department.

“The voters did not intend to leave in the hands of the General Assembly the ability to dictate whether, how much, and for what the Conservation Commission could spend from the Conservation Fund,” Walker said.

The Supreme Court, in its 4-3 decision, concurred that political meddling by lawmakers was off limits.

“These provisions do not, however, leave any room for the General Assembly to interfere with the Conservation Commission’s performance of its constitutional purposes,” the majority wrote.