Friday, May 29, 2015
Morris Caught Filling Unauthorized Prescriptions
KY3 has the story. See it here.
Pull Quote: State Rep. Lynn Morris was disciplined by the Missouri State Board of Pharmacy during the 2015 session of the Missouri General Assembly. The Board placed Morris’ pharmacist’s license on probation for three years for improperly dispensing prescription medications to himself and others…. The individual complaint against Morris covers a time period from March 26, 2011, to Jan. 2, 2013. During that time, Morris filled 16 prescriptions for himself that were prescribed without Halley’s authorization. Those prescriptions included an ant-nausea medication, antibiotics, and prescription pain medications….The complaint also finds Morris was responsible for verifying and dispensing at least 18 unauthorized prescriptions dispensed under Halley’s name. It also finds Morris violated state law by dispensing legend drugs for use by a patient without a valid prescription.
And
Here’s the full 19 minute interview. At the 9-minute mark, Morris asks if this story is only newsworthy because he’s a politician. At the 13-minute mark, he offers some helpful advice (do NOT turn on the fan when you’re dealing with cocaine). And at the 17-minute mark he mentions Express Scripts as a competitor, and wonders if competitors influence the “dynamics” of the state board’s punishments. Here are the members of the State Board of Pharmacy.
Lipton Win Pulitzer for AG Expose
New York Times’ Eric Lipton won a Pulitzer for his investigative series on donations made to state attorneys general. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster was mentioned in the article. See winners list here. See his article here.
And
It seems to have made a difference. A copy of an upcoming Koster fundraiser included two check-offs for donors to reveal any conflicts of interest.
Neither I personally nor any entity which I control has litigation presently pending against the MO Attorney General’s office nor has had such litigation resolved by that office within the last 90 days.
I am not a lawyer, a law firm that employs a lawyer, or a registered lobbyist personally engaged in current litigation against the MO Attorney General's office, nor have I represented any entity engaged in such litigation in the past 90 days.
Currao for Otto?
The email address on Bill Otto’s congressional campaign email is that of Vince Currao. Currao is a veteran Dem fundraiser who took a hiatus a few years ago, and is now rebuilding his business.
Follow-Up on House 70
And – on the jockeying to replace Otto… one Dem source says that Byron DeLear is moving to consolidate support for a bid to replace Bill Otto. “DeLear has the endorsement/support of Sens. Jason Holsman and Jill Schupp, Reps. Mary Nichols and Sue Meredith, and Parkway School Board Tom Appelbaum…”
Meanwhile Howard Abrams filed paperwork to start his campaign committee. See it there.
Parkinson Antes Up in Senate 23
Rep. Mark Parkinson, in the large contributions yesterday, recorded a $50K check to himself. His fundraising in his upcoming 2016 Senate race has been lackluster. On his April quarter Parkinson reported $303 on-hand. His likely primary opponent, Rep. Anne Zerr, had $103K on-hand. And there are rumors of a possible third candidate in that Republican primary.
New Committees
Keep MRH Strong was formed as a PAC. MRH refers to Maplewood Richmond Heights school district. It’s treasurer is Nelson Mitten, husband of Rep. Gina Mitten, a MRH board member.
Citizens For Crystal Quade was formed. Quade is a Democrat running in House 132 where Rep. Charlie Norr is termed. See the paperwork here.
David Cort formed a campaign committee to run as a Republican in House 133 where Rep. Eric Burlison is termed and a free-for-all primary is expected. See the paperwork here.
Drip Drip Drip on InternGates
The law cited by the legislature to prevent journalists from accessing the number and names of interns in the capitol probably doesn’t apply. Read Alex Stuckey’s story here.
Pull Quote: When news spread that the University of Central Missouri was conducting a Title IX investigation after a male and female intern abruptly ended their internship in the office of state Sen. Paul LeVota, D-Independence, reporters continued to push for information. The Senate also is investigating but it's unclear if LeVota is the subject of either investigation. House and Senate officials continually refused to provide intern's names, colleges and legislative office assignments, citing FERPA as the reason the information was kept under wraps.
Moves
According to LinkedIn, Sreenu Dandamudi is now on the Board of Directors at St. Louis Economic Development Partnership.
And Chris Moreno has a new job. He’s now Founding Partner at Bull Contracting LLC.
Flotron Seeks Duggan Memories
On behalf of Martin Duggan's family I am trying to gather condolences and statements in memory of Martin from those who would like to share them. Please send them to this son, Joe Duggan at duggan.of.arabia@gmail.com<mailto:duggan.of.arabia@gmail.com> and forward this email to others you think would be interested.
My lasting memory of Martin is from my first meeting with him when I was 13 years old and a DeSmet high school buddy of his son, Joe. Martin told me about his relationship with my recently deceased father from a time in the life of my father about which I knew almost nothing. My father had been a brother in the Catholic religious Order of Mary and Martin's high school English teacher at what was then referred to as St. Mary's Southside. He told me that my father was the first one to encourage him to be a professional writer…
Martin has left a profound influence on who I am, my vocation and how I think. I believe he has done much the same for generations of St. Louisans. I am certain that Mae Duggan, the family and St. Louis would love to hear profound, funny, intellectual, spiritual or any other statements about the life of Martin Lawler Duggan.
Franc Flotron
eMailbag on Legislative Grades
Unhappy Legislator #1: No soup for you.
Unhappy Legislator #2: Fucking wow.
Unhappy Lobbyist: StL bias showing thru? Parson & Kraus higher, Nasheed lower.
No GOP Women # 1: There are no Republican women on your list. This only underscores the fact that in Missouri, with the exception of Ann Wagner, there are no female right leaning legislators of significance.
No GOP Women #2: You didn’t have any women on your House list. Holly Rehder did a great job moving right to work and PDMP. Showed she would stand up to both moderates and conservatives if it means fighting for something.
Agrees with Almost Everything: I agree with all your grades except Schmitt who I think deserves an A. Passing SB5 was much more difficult than it looked by the final vote counts. Also, he was a player in the transfer bill and negotiated with the Gov's office on some big items in that bill. Lastly, he still doesn't have a real opponent for the Treasurer.
On Diehl’s D-: Could not agree more with the grade you gave Diehl. As tough as it is to give such a low grade to an otherwise talented, intelligent person, it shines a spotlight on what a truly tragic end this was. Destroyed his legacy, ruined his chances for incredible career options, tarnished the entire institution… it really cannot be understated or underestimated how disastrous his actions were.
Missing Grades: Where are the As for Jay Barnes and Paul Curtman who spoke up courageously to a caucus that had just listened to committee chairs say how Diehl should be allowed to stay as speaker?
Help Wanted
Senate seeks Legislative Analyst. “Division of Research is seeking an analyst in a nonpartisan, fast-paced, multi-faceted legislative environment. The successful applicant will draft legislation, staff committees of the Senate, prepare legal opinions, analyze legislative proposals, and develop policy alternatives. Position requires excellent writing and oral communication skills. Experience in legal or legislative field important… Salary begins at $47,000, commensurate with experience….” See ad here.
PROMO seeks Kansas City Senior Field Organizer. “The Kansas City Senior Field Organizer is dedicated to building broad-based support for PROMO and LGBT equality across the Kansas City region. The Kansas City Senior Field Organizer will actively reach out to a diverse range of individuals and groups, with an emphasis on developing and maintaining relationships with key business stakeholders and leaders to build support for LGBT equality and fairness within the business community.” See the ad here.
Lobbyists Registrations
Sherry Doctorian deleted Centene Corporation.
$5K+ Contributions
Missouri Health Care Association PAC - $38,500 from Missouri health Care Association.
Friends of Todd Richardson - $10,000 from Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc.
Parson for Missouri - $15,000 from Missouri AG PAC.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Rep. Cloria Brown (73), former Rep. Glenn Klippenstein (78), Chuck Banks (61), Damon Porter, and Chris Dunn.
Saturday: Rep. Galen Higdon (61), and Stacy Reliford (36).