Agents get their authority from the MDC MO code of regs which is part of MO's state constitution. MDC's money is MDC's money...that is the way our state constitution is set up. By and large, the MDC gets their operating budget from the whatever less than one percent sales tax, along with private donations.
I've always heard that the state didn't get any of that, and I never understood how the agents have their authority. That answers it, thank you.
I don't see it as negative motivation, just a fact in the world we live in. Money is the motivator of just almost everything. It's a shame, but it is what it is.