Friday, February 13, 2015
MO Freedom Polls Silvey Proposal
Missouri Alliance for Freedom polled on Sen. Ryan Silvey’s SB 287. See it here. Readers might recall that I did a poll on this recently as well. There’s a bit a difference. I used the language from the bill summary. This refers to MO HealthNet. MO Freedom used the vernacular “Medicaid” and found support dropped accordingly, though a majority do still support Silvey’s bill.
Q: Senate Bill 287 authored by Ryan Silvey allows veterans and their spouses and dependent children, as well as spouses and dependent children of deceased veterans, to be eligible for Medicaid benefits. Would you support or oppose this legislation knowing that it is part of Medicaid expansion under Obamacare?
Support........................50%
Oppose.........................38%
Don’t know..................13%
They followed up by asking whether vets should be used as pawns… to which 26% of Missourians said Yes!
Schmitt Muni Bill Moves
Sen. Eric Schmitt’s bill to cut the amount that municipalities can collect in traffic fines was passed out of the Senate yesterday by an unanimous 34-0 vote.
Senate Approves Sater’s TANF Bill
After a series of amendments (in which the votes, interestingly, never split entirely along party lines), the Senate perfected Sen. David Sater’s bill to add restriction to the assistance program. Sen. Jill Schupp led the Democratic efforts to modify the bill along the way. She has stepped up in a way I don’t think I’ve seen any other freshman do so early in their Senate career.
More importantly than voicing opposition to some provisions, Schupp didn’t get trapped in simply arguing against it. She was able to find an exit strategy. If she hadn’t settled for a compromise, the goodwill of the chamber might have diminished and the majority might have been more than willing to roll over her concerns.
Tesla Bits
Washington Post reports on Tesla’s big plans to be a disrupter. Read it here. Pull Quote: Although many of today's homes draw energy directly from the electricity grid, the spread of cheap solar panels means it's never been easier to generate some of your own energy. Storing renewables efficiently has been a big bottleneck for consumers and for utilities alike, but if Tesla's stationary battery takes off, it could change the way electricity is priced and traded on a market scale.
And an eye-eagled reader notices that Tesla is a top-ten holding in the Public Schools Employee Retirement System. See page 62 of their annual report.
Finally, one Tesla supporter writes that strange that “out of all the auto dealers in Missouri, MADA chose Osage Industries, Sen. Mike Kehoe’s old business, currently run by his brother, to bring the lawsuit” against the Department of Revenue.
MCN Withdraws Remonstrance
Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal’s harshly-worded remonstrance of Governor Jay Nixon is no longer on the Senate calendar. It appears that the senator withdrew it. It had languished for weeks without being referred to committee.
House Committee Changes
Rep. Lynn Morris was added to Appropriations – Health, Mental Health and Social Services.
Rep. Diane Franklin was added to Appropriations – Higher Education.
Rep. Shelley Kenney was added to Professional Registration and Licensing.
Rep. Nathan Beard was added to Veterans.
Speaker John Diehl was removed from the Joint Committee on Government Accountability and Floor Leader Todd Richardson was added.
Rep. Pat Conway was added to the Joint Committee on Legislative Research.
Help Wanted
Missouri Department of Higher Education seeks General Counsel. “Provide legal counsel to the Department of Higher Education and the Coordinating Board for Higher Education on a wide range of issues, including, but not limited to: the CBHE’s statutory authorities and other related provisions of Chapter 173, RSMo, contracts, legislation, administrative rulemaking, open meetings and records laws, employment matters, financial and student records privacy laws, and compliance with student financial assistance programs… Salary range: $72,000 to $78,000.” See the ad here.
eMailbag on RTW
Reader 1: “John Diehl and Todd Richardson definitely get a game ball for passing RTW, getting it through the House in seven weeks without a bloodied and divided caucus is a huge accomplishment.”
Reader 2: “Someone from the press should be pulling the data that shows the reason companies don't move here is that we don't have an ‘educated’ workforce. Ask John Diehl, if companies are not moving here...why does Ford keep building and expanding??”
Lobbyist Registrations
Quintin Hull added Carpenters' District Council Of Greater St. Louis And Vicinity.
Sarah Topp, Jeffery Brooks, Jorgen Schlemeier, Cynthia Gamble and Bill Gamble deleted AEP Transmission Asset Strategy and Policy.
$5K+ Contributions
Friends of Beth Braznell - $14,905 from St. Louis Association of Realtors PAC.
Property Casualty Insurers Association of America Political Account - $51,129 from Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.
Missourians for Koster - $10,000 from McBride & Son Management.
Supporters of Health Research and Treatments - $58,500 from William Danforth.
Missouri Medical Marijuana - $20,000 from Brad Bradshaw.
Bradshaw Exploratory Committee - $100,000 from Brad Bradshaw.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Governor Jay Nixon (59).
Valentine’s Day: Kathryn Jamboretz (43)
Sunday: Former Rep. Tim Flook (48).