Friday, May 18, 2012
Nixon Attacks Auto Tax
Yesterday morning Governor Jay Nixon issued a rare statement about legislation. HB 1329 which moved quickly through both chambers the previous day would re-impose (after a state supreme court decision) a local sales tax on out-of-state auto purchases. Nixon said it would “improperly impose a tax increase.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Spence jumped on the issue with this statement: “I’ve heard from lawmakers that Jay Nixon is threatening a veto of H.B. 1329 for purely political reasons, in spite of its strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate. Because he’s made a long political career out of lobbing misleading campaign attacks, he’s afraid my campaign will attack him for supporting a tax increase. This is why Missouri is last in the nation in job creation. We have a career politician as governor who has never had a private sector job and is scared to death to make decisions. Jay Nixon is willing to sacrifice jobs and hurt local governments simply to avoid making a difficult decision or doing anything to disrupt his ambitious electoral aspirations….”
It’s a topsy turvey world out there with the Republican supporting the higher taxes and the Democrat trying to lower them. Go figure.
In terms of distilling this issue into a 30-second TV commercial, I assume Nixon has the better political position. But inside the building, most folks think it’s not the best public policy.
And
Nixon’s statement also says that his administration had been “working with the legislature, local government officials and Missouri auto dealers to identify a solution to the issues raised by the Court and state law.” Sen. Mike Kehoe apparently disputed that version of history in a Missourinet article. Read it Here.
TAFP
As we head into the final day, see the list of “truly agreed and finally passed” bills Here.
Taylor Ruling
Here is the ruling of Judge Steven Goldman in its entirety which found that Rep. Sylvester Taylor was legal to run in House 75.
“The parties stipulated the facts in this matter which include their own submissionspf facts as well as their agreement to each other’s submitted stipulations of fact. From these facts the Court finds that contestee Sylvester Taylor II resided in the County and District from which portions were used to create the new district, the 75th. Contestee has not resided within the boundaries that make up the 75th. Const. Art. III, Section 4 does not so require. Contestant’s claim is denied. Costs are taxed against the Contestant.”
Classy Kraus
While Sen. Jane Cunningham was hospitalized, Sen. Will Kraus offered her amendments on her behalf without her knowledge and was successful in pushing some of her legislation over the finish line.
Sauer: I Can Beat Nixon
From the press release entitled “How To Beat Jay Nixon”:
“For the past 6 years, Fred Sauer, Republican candidate for Missouri Governor, has organized and executed a comprehensive plan of action against multiple special interest groups that are attempting to use unlimited campaign contributions to buy off politicians to raid the Missouri Treasury.
“These efforts produced a great victory for taxpayers in February 2012, when the Cole County court ruled in favor of Fred and his co-plaintiffs and struck down MOSIRA, a scheme to siphon off taxpayer dollars over 25 years to fund a raft of special interests free of citizen oversight…
“Also in 2011, Fred joined with many other citizens to publicly oppose and defeat the so-called Aerotropolis bill another scheme to transfer taxpayer dollars to special interests and campaign contributors.
“In 2006, Fred founded Missouri Roundtable For Life to educate Missourians about the deceptive Amendment 2 and oppose its proponents' attempts to seize taxpayer dollars for abortion, human cloning, and embryo experimentation….
“In 2010, Fred published a book, A Simple Guide: How Liberalism, A Euphemism For Socialism, Destroys Peoples And Nations…
“Since 2008, Fred has written more than 50 major economic and policy essays on a variety of topics including government finance, education, and corporation corruption….
“To beat Nixon and the Democratic attack machine, it is going to take a candidate with a very thorough understanding of sound economic policies who can expose destructive Democratic Party ideology about the economy. And it is going to take a hardened veteran who has battled well-funded special interests that seek to destroy the integrity of the votes of all Missourians...”
Bits
The mighty Jason Rosenbaum will join the St. Louis Beacon full-time on June 1.
Virginia Young profiles departing Sens. Tim Green, Jason Crowell and Jane Cunningham. Read it Here.
Joe Manby, president and CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment, has written a new book entitled ‘Love Works – 7 Timeless Principles for Effective Leaders’. See it Here.
Kansas City Councilwoman Jan Marcason endorsed Crystal Williams in Senate 7.
And
Lingerie football coming to the Family Arena in St. Charles… Read it Here.
$5K+ Contributions
United Food & Commercial Workers Local #655 Elect Political Action Fund - $6,274 from United Food & Commerical Workers Local #655.
HealthPAC - $6,800 from MidAmerica Division Office.
One Air Alliance - $10,000 from American Heart Association.
Clean Water STL - $26,529 from Hermann Oak Leather Co.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays tomorrow to Sen. Chuck Purgason (52) and Rep. Gary Cross (57); and Sunday to former Rep. Jim Guest (72).
MOScout News
With session ending, there will not be Friday Updates anymore… After the “legislative grades” next week, my focus will shift more toward the election cycle.