Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Hawley’s Residency Problem
St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that Attorney General Josh Hawley doesn’t live in Jefferson City as required by the constitution. See it here. And instead of moving to Jeff City, he’s going to fight it…
Pull Quote: As attorney general, Hawley is required to defend the state Constitution and ensure state laws are followed. At the Capitol Monday, Hawley declined to discuss his residency decision with the Post-Dispatch. His spokesman, Ryan Cross, said Hawley believes the residency clause only requires that his boss works in the capital city, not actually live within its borders…
Dems Ding Him On It
From Post article: Hawley’s decision to live outside of Jefferson City came as a surprise to Stephen Webber, chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party. “He sold himself to the voters as a constitutional lawyer. And now he’s ignoring the parts of the Constitution that he finds inconvenient,” Webber said Monday.
RTW Debate in Senate
The Senate started their debate on right to work. After a few hours it was placed on the informal calendar.
The mood was one of inevitability. Right to work will pass this session. But will it happen early and will Republicans need to PQ it? Will they follow with paycheck protection and prevailing wage? At what point will Dems start to clog the wheels of the Senate?
Indeed yesterday felt like pawn to e4, the opening move in a game of chess.
If Republicans press too hard too early and the Democrats feel they have nothing at stake by working across the aisle, do they slow the process down so much that other parts of the Republican agenda are stymied?
There is a pipeline of a half-dozen or more tort reform bills that could be harder to move if the Senate is not fully operational. And that’s not to mention the more complicated pieces of the Greitens agenda like Educational Savings Accounts.
One observer doubts a PQ happens until the bulk of Greitens’ appointments are through the chamber. The thinking being that you want to have some essentials cleared before potentially upsetting the process. Considering Greitens is still trying to fill department heads, the fireworks could still be down the road a bit.
And
Will the Senate stick with Sen. Dan Brown’s right to work bill instead of using the House vehicle (Rep. Holly Rehder) that’s already made it through that chamber?
Rupp on Mission to Educate
PSC Commissioner Scott Rupp is a gem. He’s on a mission to make the complex energy industry accessible to everyday folks – like me.
His latest innovation is a website to serve as a platform for his many educational efforts. It’s called Simplifying Energy. See it here.
Press release: When launching the initiative today, Commissioner Rupp stated “The energy industry is complex and often confusing to a non-energy professional. Attempts to find understandable, clear information that is not full of “industry speak” often leaves consumers frustrated and at times distrusting of their energy company and its regulators. It is my goal to provide relevant, interesting information about the energy industry that will enlighten, educate and at times entertain. Together we can simplify the energy industry.”
The website was the brainchild of Rupp in combination with his wife Carissa’s web building skills, and is a private site that utilizes no public monies…
Gretiens Touts Jobs
Governor Eric Greitens on Facebook said he was “Proud to announce that Turnkey Technologies is going to create 40 new quality jobs for Missouri families. And we welcome Virgin Mobile to Kansas City, where it will construct its new headquarters and hire 100 people—doubling its original jobs number. These great businesses know that with strong, conservative leadership, Missouri is headed in a new direction with more jobs and higher pay…”
While it’s standard fare for a governor to take credit for anything that happens during his tenure, one observer calls “pulling a Trump.” That is, developments that were a long time coming. Not exactly a “new direction.” And it appears both received some “incentives” from the state.
State of Judiciary Today
Missouri Chief Justice Patricia Breckenridge is scheduled to deliver the annual state of the judiciary address to a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly at 10:30AM.
NARAL for Jones
St. Louis City Treasurer Tishaura Jones pulled in the NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri PAC endorsement in her bid to become mayor. "Tishaura Jones trusts Missouri’s women to make our own decisions about our health care and our families. She knows that women's healthcare, including access to safe and legal abortion, are matters that are best left between a woman, her family, and her doctor, not politicians," said Alison Dreith, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri.
Bryan Exiting DNR
Word is that the Greitens administration is cutting Bill Bryan loose. He’s the Missouri State Parks Director who was sometimes controversial with legislators (see an article here).
Bits
Looks like Rep. Dean Dohrman filed a new LLC… Three Corners Media LLC
Bob Priddy continues to crank out copy on his blog. See it here.
Jason Kander’s latest email blast had a data-quirk as they were addressed to strange identities. My MOScout account received the salutation “VPG96C4JJQ4” while my Yahoo account was “VPG96C4EVW3.”
eMailbag: Tobacco Tax
Could the legislature help offset some of the sting from budget cuts by closing the loophole in the Master Settlement Agreement? Perhaps in times of abundance, no one noticed that Missouri is the ONLY state handing out hundreds of millions in what is essentially a subsidy to out-of-state tobacco companies under the argument of free market policies. But now that tough choices lie ahead and core funding for education is on the chopping block, will the few legislators who are blocking attempts to close the loophole be labeled as the protectors of corporate welfare rather than the defenders of freedom?
Today’s Events
Powered by Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
ALEC CARE Trng. – in House Hearing Room 1 – Noon.
ALEC Membership Reception – TBD.
MDA Legislative Reception – Revel – JC.
Women's Foundation Legislative Reception – 3rd Floor Rotunda – 3PM.
Lobbyists Registrations
Steven Tilley added Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation.
Thomas Robbins added Independence Power & Light.
Guy Black added Fiserv Solutions Inc.
Jeffrey Aboussie added Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Jim Hansen (the big 7-0), Travis Brown, Crystal Williams and Bill Skaggs.