Thursday, April 30, 2015

Parson Announcement Day

Sen. Mike Parson will announce his gubernatorial bid this evening at the Bolivar High School gym.

The case for Parson is pretty simple: geography.  John Brunner is from St. Louis; Eric Greitens is from St. Louis; Catherine Hanaway is from St. Louis.

And Mike Parson will be Mr. Rural.

The others will buy a pair of cowboy boots of course, maybe even a Made in the USA pick-up truck, but Parson talks and walks like a farmer and a sheriff even when he’s wearing a suit.

That authenticity will collect a lot of outstate votes in a primary where all the candidates will be largely in the same spot on the ideological spectrum.

Parson didn’t fundraise last quarter, but has $443,887 cash on-hand, so he’s not starting from scratch.

A Bob Dixon candidacy could dent a bit of this geographic calculations, but we’ll see if Dixon takes the plunge and if he has the cash to compete.

Right to Weed?

File under law of unintended consequences… Jefferson City News Tribune reports that someone charged with growing marijuana is arguing that the “Right to Farm” constitutional amendment protects them.  See it here.

Pull Quote: Carver’s motion reminded the court the amendment says: “The right of farmers and ranchers to engage in farming and ranching practices shall be forever guaranteed in this state… The amendment prohibits the legislature from declaring what can and cannot be grown in Missouri.”

What Happens In Jeff City Stays In Jeff City?

This came my way in response to the questions about how internship programs are run. Apparently this request – which includes a confidentiality agreement for interns – was sent out on April 21, an odd time considering the internships are nearly finished…

Dear Members, Staff, and Interns:

Please see below or the attached document.

Registration Forms

Please note that all individuals, whether classified as an intern, volunteer, or helper, who are working or volunteering in the House of Representatives, Senate, or any statewide office are required to complete an “Intern Registration Form” and return the completed form to either the office of Representative Jeanne Kirkton or Representative Jason Chipman.

Individuals working or volunteering at the State Capitol must be recorded and on file, regardless of whether they are from a college or university, completing internship for college credit, part-time/full-time status, the level of participation in intern activities, or other similar circumstances. This is a matter of security and legality, in addition to emergency purposes and volunteer service verification. We ask that all members and legislator assistants who have interns or volunteers adhere to and enforce this policy.

The required registration form can be found on HouseNet. Those without access to HouseNet may contact Myra Rosskopf Wolfe in the office of Representative Jeanne Kirkton (Rm 135 BC, 751-1285) or Dylan Bryant in the office of Representative Jason Chipman (Rm 115 H, 751-1688) to request a copy of the registration form. Please note that the privacy of interns and volunteers is always preserved and the registration information obtained by the intern coordinators will only be shared with the appropriate departments. At the end of each year, hard copies of the completed forms will be provided to House Administrative Services and kept on permanent record.

Confidentiality
As always, we stress the importance of interns and volunteers maintaining strict confidentiality during their time at the State Capitol. All information should be considered private and should never be shared, discussed, or disseminated with any unauthorized individual, group, media outlet, organization, social media platform or other entity. There are no exceptions. A violation of this policy may result in immediate dismissal and potential legal consequences.

Grover: No on HB 714

Grover Norquist and his group, Americans for Tax Reform, sent a letter to senators yesterday attacking HB 714 which would add a fee to pay for 911 service.  Their objection: The bill imposes double taxation on prepaid customers in counties who have voted to pay for 911 through a sales tax.

Dear Senator,  

I write to you today in strong opposition to House Bill 714, legislation that would impose an excessive statewide fee on pre-paid wireless service. While it is true that the bill would allow counties to raise new revenue to fund 911 service (with a vote of the people), the statewide fee would be imposed on all Missourians without their consent at the ballot box.  

Under HB 714, pre-paid wireless customers would pay far more to support 911 service than traditional wireless customers with contract plans. An issue of double taxation would be created as well. In nearly fifty counties, consumers would end up paying both the local 911 tax and the prepaid fee. If additional counties pass a sales tax to fund their 911 program, more and more consumers would fall under this double taxation….    

Creating a burdensome and opaque wireless tax regime would be a blow to the progress that has been made to make Missouri a business and consumer friendly state. I urge you to oppose HB 714. Americans for Tax Reform will be watching this issue closely as it progresses and educating taxpayers on how lawmakers vote….

Geospatial Proposal

Sen. Ron Richard offered an amendment to Rep. Mike Leara’s HB514 which added incentives aimed to keep National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency relocation from going across the river into Illinois. To quote Joe Biden, this is a BFD.

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed took to the floor to declare the project’s importance to St. Louis City – over a billion project with thousands of jobs.

Richard ticked off the usual EcoDevo checklist while introducing the proposal – cap, clawback, one-to-one REMI return.  See Alex Stuckey’s article here.

PSC Grants Noranda Relief, Ameren Rate Increase

Everyone wins but you?  Might feel that way… Noranda got a rate decrease and Ameren got a rate increase, and you got…  See the story here.

Bits

Politico looks at red states considering ObamaCare.  And for those (or for me) following Politico’s evolving view of Missouri, we’re considered a “purple state” in this article.  See it here.

The mighty Jason Rosenbaum looks at the St. Louis County pooling sales tax and new sales tax proposals.  See it here.

According to LinkedIn, Lea Crusey is now Acting Executive Director at Democrats for Education Reform.

Lobbyist Registrations

Kim Tuttle and John Bardgett deleted Ironrock Capital Partners.

$5K+ Contributions

Koster for Missouri - $7,500 from Elissa Holman.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Andy Blunt, Lana Stein, Dave Evans, and Julie Murphy Finn.