JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri lawmakers have failed to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill that would have shifted regulation of deer ranches to the state Agriculture Department.
The Senate voted to override the veto, but the House fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed in a late Wednesday vote.
The legislation would have classified captive deer as "livestock" - like cattle and pigs - rather than "wildlife."
The intent was to shift regulatory responsibilities from the state Conservation Department to the agriculture agency. That could have avoided proposed conservation regulations banning the importation of deer and requiring double fencing for new deer ranching permits.
The legislation also would have authorized incentives for Missouri's dwindling dairy industry.
Deer bill is SB506.