According to a press release issued Friday by Governor Jay Nixon’s office, the governor nominated retired veteran law enforcement officer and current State Representative Dennis Fowler to serve on the Board of Probation and Parole. The seven-member Board of Probation and Parole is responsible for determining whether a person confined in the Department of Corrections shall be paroled or conditionally released, and for supervising all persons on probation and parole. The position pays over $83,000 per year.
Rep. Fowler made news when he joined 14 other Republican legislators in supporting Nixon’s veto of a tax cut bill. HB 253 would have provided a tax cut to every Missouri taxpayer out of growth in tax revenues. Associated Industries of Missouri was a lead organization in the fight to pass the law initially and to override Nixon’s veto. Nixon’s veto of the tax cut was sustained, meaning no tax cut for Missouri taxpayers.
Fowler served as a law enforcement officer for 38 years, before being elected in 2012 to represent District 151 in the Missouri House of Representatives. His law enforcement experience includes serving as the superintendent of detention at the Stoddard County Juvenile Detention Center from 2005 to 2012 and as a deputy sheriff with the SEMO Drug Task Force and Probation and Parole from 1993 to 2005. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy with the Naval Security Group Activity in Bremerhaven, Germany. Fowler obtained his degree in criminal justice from Southeast Missouri State University.
Fowler’s nomination will be subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate.
See full press release from Governor Nixon’s office here: