Friday, May 26, 2017
Eigel Will Oppose Bill
Sen. Bill Eigel took to the Senate floor yesterday to lay down a marker that he would be opposing the Rone bill. He views it as a cost-shift that would hit his constituents. In his inquiries, other senators who were identified as sympathetic to his opinion were: Sen. Andrew Koenig, Rob Schaaf, and Jill Schupp.
The Senate will take up the bill today at 9AM after a Fiscal Oversight Committee hearing this morning.
Conspiracy Theory: Why Eigel Might Stand Against the Bill
Maybe he’s hoping to get attacked by governor’s non-profit (New Missouri) to drive up his statewide name ID?
Messenger Unmasks Steel Company
The tweet from Post-Dispatch’s Tony Messenger: I have confirmed the company negotiating w/ @EricGreitens for potential #SEMO steel mill is Sumangala Steel based in Chennai, India. #moleg
Greitens’ Fast Retreat
Remember this? To enact legislation authorizing the Public Service Commission to allow electrical corporations a reasonable opportunity to earn a fair return, by methods such as rate adjustment mechanisms, not otherwise statutorily authorized, which the commission shall lack authority to modify or eliminate during the specified term.
That was the second part of the governor’s call for the special session, and it vanished almost before the session was gaveled in. What happened? Several sources say that the governor, himself, got cold feet with this portion of this call and essentially told the legislature to take a pass.
It’s said that his initial enthusiasm for broader regulatory reform was tempered after he received pushback from some big industrials customers; he got cold feet and quickly took flight.
The general narrative that’s emerged is of a governor high on theatrics, looking for a win. Once he realized that taking on the broader issue could get messy, he looked for the exit.
Richardson for Auditor?
Word is that Speaker Todd Richardson is seriously considering running for auditor in 2018. So far he’s the only Republican I hear for the race.
The conventional wisdom in Jefferson City is that it’s hard for a speaker to make the leap to a statewide office. Their starting name ID is never as big as people inside the building imagine, and yet they get tagged with all the bad votes or bad behavior of the legislature.
Supporters of Richardson point to a few factors they hope will aid him. First, the current incumbent, Nicole Galloway, was appointed to the position; she hasn’t won a statewide election yet either. (She was appointed by Governor Jay Nixon following the suicide of then-auditor Tom Schweich.)
Second, off-residential cycles in Missouri are characterized by lower Democratic turn-out which should help a Republican.
Finally, this will be amplified by the lack of “other noise.” Besides initiative petitions, it will only be the auditor’s race and the U.S. Senate race. The Senate race will likely be a nationally targeted race with tens of millions of dollars being spent. Richardson will be a Republican potentially riding that wave of huge third-party money being spent to oust Claire McCaskill.
The one wildcard remains the Trump presidency. How his erratic administrative style will influence the electoral equation is unknown.
Richardson’s last quarter showed $326,910 cash on-hand; and Galloway’s was $381,662.
State of Mizzou
The state of the University of Missouri summed up in Rudi Keller's story: “...Since taking office, Greitens has withheld $31.4 million in current year UM System funding and the state budget awaiting his action cuts university appropriations by 6.7 percent... In their responses, Choi and Cartwright both thanked the governor ‘for his strong support of public higher education.’”
Thank you sir, may I have another?
SOS Issues Voter ID Rules
Press release: the Missouri Secretary of State's office published emergency rules pertaining to the new photo voter ID law… The rules are publicly available here: http://www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/EmergenciesforInternet/emergency. Missouri's new photo voter ID law will take effect June 1, 2017.
Springfield Art Museum Seeks Security Audit
From the RFP: The Springfield Art Museum (SAM)… houses approx. 9,000 objects from around the world representing thousands of years of material culture and mounts exhibitions from its collection and from public and private collections from around the world. Many of the objects in the SAM's collection or in the SAM's custody are of great cultural, historical, and/or monetary value. In 2016, the SAM was the victim of a commercial burglary in which seven prints by Andy Warhol were stolen from its galleries. The SAM has worked to improve its security practices through upgrades to security systems, development and revision of policies, implementation of new procedures, and hiring additional staff and creating new training programs. The SAM seeks an assessment of these security practices and recommendations for improvements by a consultant with expertise in museum security to be used in the continued development of policy and procedures related to museum security and emergency preparedness and response….
Linda Bond Get Trump Appointment
The White House announced the appointment of Linda Bond, wife to former Senator Kit Bond, to the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. See it here.
Meet Macquarie
The recent registration by Gamble Schlemeier lobbyists of Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets Inc. are related to the possibility of St. Louis City privatizing its airport. See Macquarie’s website here. They are the largest investor in public-private partnerships in the world, and would likely bid on the project.
Onder: Special Session on Pro-Life Issue!
Sen. Bob Onder joins the chorus of legislators beseeching the governor to call a special session for their special issue…
The press release: The Missouri General Assembly has for many years demonstrated a commitment to protecting the health and safety of women and the dignity of the unborn, passing various laws to further these ends. A number of recent developments, though, have dealt serious
blows to these laws and merit immediate attention in a special session of the Legislature… [O]n April 19th United States District Court Judge Howard Sachs ruled a longstanding Missouri public safety statute unconstitutional. The law included the common sense requirements that abortion clinics abide by state regulations on ambulatory surgical centers…. The ruling was followed by Planned Parenthood announcing its intention to open four new abortion clinics in Missouri. Judge Sachs seems to believe that Missouri women are best served when their reproductive health services take place in a regulatory desert that would never be tolerated in other areas of health care. I, as a physician and a legislator, disagree.
These cases demand an immediate response to clarify state law, to protect the health and safety of women, and to preserve the constitutional rights of Missourians. This is not an issue that can wait until January of 2018, but demands a special session of the General Assembly...
DESE RFP For Leadership Training
From the RFP: The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) recognized the critical nature and influence of building level leadership and its influence on multiple aspects of student success and from that emerged the concept of Missouri Leadership Development System (MLDS). The MLDS is a comprehensive continuum of competency aligned of professional learning designed to cultivate leadership capacity in a manner that moves beyond isolated professional development experiences. The goal is to engage building level principals in professional learning that acknowledges the influence of competent leadership, enhances the knowledge, skill and deposition necessary for successful leadership along a continuum that offers principals of every level of experience (aspiring to retiring) the opportunity to optimize their efforts and does so on a scale sufficient to address the profession’s significant turnover.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) provided funding to DESE for the development of the first two phases of MLDS project, emerging and developing levels. The emerging level content has been completed as of July 1, 2016. The developing level content is currently under development and will be completed by July 1, 2017…
Help Wanted
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education seeks Chief Budget Officer. “Annual Salary: $72,000… In-depth knowledge of the budget and state finance system as well as state and federal policies on budgeting and financing; In-depth knowledge of the legislative process and political system; Ability to communicate effectively and concisely both orally and in writing; Proficient in SAM II, BRASS, Microsoft Office products including: Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint…” See the ad here.
Lobbyists Registrations
Tom Dempsey added RAI Services Company.
Cheryl Dozier added Flotron and McIntosh LLC.
James Farrell added Historic Revitalization for Missouri.
Christopher Graham added Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC And Affiliates.
Mark Schwartz added Conduent Inc. And Its Affiliates.
Lynne Schlosser deleted W.E. Shoehigh LLC on behalf of Apollo Education Group, and W.E. Shoehigh LLC on behalf of Homeaway.
$5K+ Contributions
Friends of Lane Roberts - $10,000 from Lane Roberts.
Majority Forward - $10,000 from Friends for Gina Walsh.
Connect KC - $25,000 from Herzog Transit Services Inc.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to (Saturday): Sen. Bob Dixon, KMOX’s Debbie Monterrey, Scott Leiendecker, and lobbyist Becky Lohmann.
Sunday: Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr.
Monday: Rep. Cloria Brown, Glenn Klippenstein (the big 8-0), Chris Dunn, Damon Porter, and Chuck Banks.
MOScout News
I’m off Monday (maybe you are too?) for Memorial Day. See you Tuesday….