Senator Mike Bernskoetter

6th Senatorial District

For Immediate Release: 

Oct. 4, 2024

Capitol Building, Room 416

Jefferson City, MO 65101

Contact Kenny Ross: 

 573-751-2076

The Importance of Farmers on the Public Service Commission

With the season of Fall officially here, we are getting ever closer to the legislative session in January. This coming session, I plan on working on several pieces of legislation, one of which is my legislation requiring the Public Service Commission to have representatives of the agricultural industry on it. The Public Service Commission is the governing body for utility regulation in Missouri. It is currently composed of six members appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate. 

This is the group that sets the rates for how much money utility companies can charge on your utility bill. It is also the group that approves utility companies to use eminent domain to seize land for power and transmission lines.  Often, these lines are run through agricultural lands in the rural portions of Missouri. 

I believe it is important at least some members of the Public Service Commission be active in the agricultural industry. They will understand what it takes to farm and work the land. They will also understand the impact taking rural land can have on farming practices across the state. This is a perspective that is important to be heard within the body that governs how utility companies operate in Missouri. My hope is that by having some farmers and ranchers on this commission, it will act with wisdom and an understanding of the importance of land for farming in Missouri.

Please feel free to contact my office at 573-751-2076. For information about my committee assignments or sponsored legislation, please visit my official Missouri Senate website at senate.mo.gov/Bernskoetter.