MOScout Daily Update: Scharf Signs - Kehoe Car $$$ Hits $250K - Inflation and the State Budget - Drone Delivery and more...

Scharf Watch

The latest Scharf Sign was pointed out to me… He announced before Thanksgiving via tweet that he was leaving the US Attorney’s Office.  Clearing his plate for something new?...

But

One question: how will Will Scharf’s history with Eric Greitens play?  Greitens’ 18.9% third place finish indicates that his brand has suffered under the unceasing attacks of his critics. (In 2016, Greitens won the four-way primary to become the Republican nominee for governor with 34.6%).

·       My guess: Outside of the building the Greitens obsession barely registers.  His time in that administration will be of little consequence.

Dealer Dollars Continue

As I wrote yesterday, car dealerships are driving a run-up in Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe’s PAC.  With the latest (in the $5K+ Contributions below) we’re nearing the $250,000 mark for this month.

Keller on State’s Huge Cash Stash

Missouri Independent’s Rudi Keller has an article out about the state’s budget surplus. See the story here.

For the first time in its history, the only real limit on what Missouri can buy on a cash-and-carry basis is the imagination of the people spending the money.  The state treasury is bulging with more than $6 billion in surplus cash, the result of 28 months of double-digit revenue growth and federal payments tied to COVID-19 relief and recovery. If growth rates continue at current levels, general revenue in the current fiscal year could approach $15 billion…

There are some caveats…

·       Keller cites former budget director Jim Moody that as tax cuts get implemented, they will have an impact on state revenues, “Moody estimates the cumulative effect of those cuts will be to reduce revenue by about $680 million in 2023.”

·       The federal reserve’s rate hikes, along with China’s sputtering economy, could push us into a recession which would reduce state tax revenues.

·       And there’s the issue of “inflation in, inflation out.” That is, revenues as a result of higher wages and higher prices.  But when you’re crafting next year’s budget, state departments will need require dollars just to provide the same level of services.

One issue to watch in particular is state wages. The 5.5% increase that state workers received last year was more than wiped out by inflation.  Will the legislature add another 5% increase this year to help workers stay even?

Drone Deliveries Coming?

Axios had a story up yesterday about Amazon planning to roll out drone deliveries in 2024. And it’s not alone.  The article says that they’re “lagging behind Walmart, which says it's expanding its DroneUp delivery network to 34 sites in six states.”  See it here.

·       Last year the Missouri legislature passed Sen. Lincoln Hough’s SB 176 which included a provision regulating delivery robots (Personal Delivery Devices). However, apparently Amazon pulled the plug on its plans to expand robotic delivery last month.

·       One would assume that drone delivery would require some regulatory framework from the state, if for no other reason than to prevent a patchwork of conflicting local ordinances on the issue.

Familiar Names in City Board Filings

Filing opened for the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen elections next Spring.  It’s wild shuffle as, in addition to redistricting, this is the first election with the doubling of the sizes of the wards.  The City reduced its board from 28 to 14 aldermen.

Familiar names in the mix already…

·       Casey Otto (Ward 4) – he’s the son of former state rep. Bill Otto. Bill represented St. Louis County, not the city.  Casey is a painter, who I don’t believe has ever run for office before.

·       Daniela Velázquez (Ward 6) – she was Director of Communications for the ACLU of Missouri before moving on to work at St. Louis PR giant, FleishmanHillard.

Lobbyists Registrations

Tony Dugger added Associated General Contractors of Missouri.

Markece Antwan Johnson added 99 Overall Ink.

$5K+ Contributions

Missouri Alliance PAC (pro-Patterson) - $10,000 from Christopher Busken (San Antonio TX).

Committee to elect Pam Mason (Kansas City Council Person At-Large) - $15,000 from Pam Mason.

A Better Missouri Political Action Committee - $10,000 from Anheuser-Busch Cos.

American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $25,000 from Cable Dahmer of South Kansas City.

American Dream PAC - $10,000 from Midway Ford Truck Center Inc.

American Dream PAC - $10,000 from Moberly Motor Co.

American Dream PAC - $10,000 from Molle Volkswagen-Audi.

American Dream PAC - $10,000 from Morlan Chrysler LLC.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, and Joe Don McGaugh.

MOScout Schedule

I’ll be off this Thursday and Friday.