Thursday, May 12, 2016
Paycheck Day?
The building is waiting on the Senate override of paycheck protection. And most folks think that it comes today – although the usual playbook would be to wait until the final day.
One lobbyist wonders if the Senate would do it today because waiting until the final day has some risks. For example, Dems could slow down and filibuster business items like reading the journal and potentially run out the clock on the final day; or those wavering on the fence could have a sudden “emergency” and need to go home before the vote happens.
The Votes
The consensus is that Republicans don’t have the votes to override. In the counting, Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal is considered unpredictable. Some think she’ll vote for the override and others think she’ll flip and vote against. But even with Chappelle-Nadal, Republicans might fall short.
Will Republican leadership force a vote – via PQ – even if they don’t have the votes? The answer appears to be yes, for a few reasons. First, they might have the votes and the hallway consensus is wrong; second, they might feel it’s necessary to show the supporters of the issue that they did everything possible.
The Fall Out
If a PQ is the only way to get to the vote, does that eviscerate the final day as a productive day? Does it poison the usual speechifying and goodbying for the term limited senators leaving the chamber?
The answer is probably yes.
AuBuchon Named New Supreme Court Clerk
The press release: The Supreme Court of Missouri announced today that its clerk, Bill L. Thompson, plans to retire effective January 1, 2017, after serving the Court with honor and distinction for nearly four decades.
The Court has appointed Betsy AuBuchon, its director of government relations and deputy counsel, to serve as clerk upon Thompson’s retirement…
The Court hired AuBuchon in January 2012 as commission counsel for the state’s Judicial Finance Commission and legislative liaison and promoted her nine months later to a newly created position of director of government relations and deputy counsel….
AuBuchon was a lobbyist with Gamble, Schlemeier before joining the Court.
New Blunt Fundraising Committee
Politico’s Influence reports that “Roy Blunt, Richard Burr and John McCain also created a new joint fundraising committee. Their principal campaign committees and PACs affiliated with them have formed the Blunt Burr McCain Joint Victory Committee. All three incumbents have so far outraised their opponents by millions of dollars in Missouri, North Carolina and Arizona.”
Bits
Goggle is banning payday loans from its site. See it here.
Former Rep. Cole McNary will speak to the St. Louis Young Republicans tonight about St. Louis Strong, a non-profit, non-partisan organization with a goal of unifying the city and county.
The Realtors’ initiative petition to prohibit an expansion of the sales tax showed very weak polling in the last MOScout Weekly Poll. One supporter says it’s not a concern because once voters hear their message – and they’ll have plenty of money to spend on voter contact – they are quickly persuaded to the idea.
Sen. Jamilah Nasheed on Facebook: 80% of those incarcerated are serving time for drug offenses. My Expungement Bill will allow thousands of Missourians the opportunity for a better life. SBs 588/603/942 is now going to the governor's desk by a vote of 143-12 in the House and 25-7 in the Senate. #Done #bipartisanship #victory
Senator Roy Blunt will be among Republican legislators meeting with Donald Trump today. See it here.
Candidate DQs and Withdrawals
Rachel Johns, a Democrat, was disqualified from running House 76. That leaves Rep. Joshua Peters unopposed for re-election. Johns didn’t meet the residency requirement.
Lori Crawford, a Democrat, withdrew from running in House 81. This is Minority Leader Jake Hummel’s seat. He’s termed limited. It’s now a three-way Democratic primary, the favorite being former alderman Fred Wessels.
New Committees
Jeffco Dems, a political action committee, was formed. Its treasurer is Allison Sweeney, and deputy treasurer is Lisa French.
Help Wanted
Supreme Court of Missouri seeks General Counsel. “This position performs the highest level attorney work for the Supreme Court and provides legal advice, counsel and assistance to the Judges of the Court, the Clerk of the Supreme Court of Missouri and related offices and committees.… Starting salary range $99,312 to $113,424…” See it here.
Lobbyists Registrations
Brian Grace, Rodney Boyd, and Kelvin Simmons deleted Amerihealth Caritas.
Russell Gunn deleted Missouri Cable Telecommunications Association.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, and BJC’s Leann Chilton.
And so you know
The 4th and 5th graders my kids’ school (my daughter is in 5th grade) will be roaming the building today. There’s only about 85 of them (not including parents and teachers) so I’m sure they won’t get in your way…..