Tuesday, June 2, 2015
War On Sex Trafficking
Politico has an article up about the war on sex trafficking and the strategy of minimum mandatory sentence to combat it. See it here.
Pull Quote: Mandatory minimums are strictly fixed sentences that leave no room for a judge's discretion. They were a popular drug-war tack in the '80s and '90s that grew into a regular feature of counterterrorism and cybercrime laws; at their apex, every state had some form of mandatory minimum sentence on its books. In theory, these schemes bring fairness to sentencing, but in practice they're largely regarded to have been a flop—swelling prisons with nonviolent offenders, failing to prevent additional crime and even increasing recidivism rates among low-level offenders…. In Georgia, human trafficking now comes with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, or 20 if the victim is under 18. In Louisiana, labor trafficking carries a five-year mandatory minimum and any activity related to commercial sexual activity involving a minor (including advertising) carries a 15-year minimum sentence. In Missouri, mandatory minimums for sex or labor trafficking of an adult range from five years if by means of "deception or blackmail," 10 years if by force/coercion. In Montana, sex trafficking anyone under 18 comes with a mandatory 100-year prison sentence, albeit eligible for parole or probation after 25 years….
Maverick PAC Honors Hawley
Maverick PAC (See the website here) named Josh Hawley to its Future 40 List. Hawley is thought to be weighing an attorney general bid. If that comes to be, it’s expected he would attempt to out-flank Sen. Kurt Schaefer on conservative issues in the primary.
Racial Disparity in Law Enforcement Stops
Each year, the attorney general’s office releases a report of traffic stops broken down by race. See this year’s report here.
The press release: One of the statistics calculated in the report is the "disparity index." The disparity index measures the number of times members of a particular racial group are stopped against that group's share of the total driving-age population. A disparity index of 1 suggests that members of that group are stopped in perfect proportion with their population. If the disparity index is higher than 1, it indicates the group is over-represented in traffic stops compared to what one would expect given their population size.
Notable in this year's report is the continued incremental increase in the disparity index for African-American drivers. The 2014 disparity rate of 1.66 compares to a rate of 1.27 fifteen years ago, and is the highest seen since data collection began in 2000.
The pattern is striking: the data tell us that in 2014, Missouri's African-American drivers were 75 percent (1.66/.95) more likely than white drivers to be stopped on Missouri's roads. Just 14 years earlier, in 2000, the difference was only 31% (1.27/.97).
Grain Belt Decision Coming?
IBEW recently purchased TV spots in support of Grain Belt Express, a transmission line project proposed for North Missouri. See the ad here.
This appears a late push ahead of a Public Service Commission decision.
Last month The Missouri Times ran a story about the project, reporting that it would include more than $500 million in construction for the Missouri portion of the line. See it here.
Supporters include an unusual coalition: IBEW, the Sierra Club, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Cindy O’Laughlin, the treasurer of Missouri's Club for Growth (though she’s not acting on behalf of the Club here). Brian Grace, Kelvin Simmons and Rodney Boyd are the lobbyists for the project in the capitol.
Opposing are neighborhood groups and Rep. Jim Hansen, who sponsored a bill to block the project. That bill was voted down in committee.
Norwood Township Committee Fined
The Missouri Ethics Commission fined Patricia Jones and Yolanda Henderson for violations of campaign finance laws related to the Norwood Township Committee. See it here. The Norwood Township the political subdivision around Ferguson Missouri. In addition to the usual failure to report contributions and expenditures in a timely manner, there are more serious violations – including the big no-no – commingling with personal funds. The fines total $22,800.
Parson’s Grassrootin’ Machine
Tipster: “Sen. Mike Parson had an event in Sedalia that over 100 people attended and reportedly raised over $40K. No Republican has ever had that size of event in Sedalia. He has scheduled 25 regional events across the state in the coming months. This statewide support is a strong asset for Parson…”
Lobbyists Registrations
John A Young added Whisper Hollow Gp LLC.
K Andrew Weber added The Millstone Company, Whisper Hollow Gp LLC, and Quiktrip Corporation.
K Andrew Weber and Keith Hazelwood added Investment 7 Corp, Pierced Properties II LC, Equip Rental Sales
Keith Hazelwood deleted Chandler Hill Holding LLC, DPI Media, and Wine Country Garden LLC.
Kelli Pursely added Governmental Services Group Inc.
Deanna Hemphill added Track Group.
Rodney Boyd and Brian Grace deleted The Fremont, and LMK Technologies.
Sarah Sachs, Joel Longanecker, Kate Hargis, Alan Bingham, Adam Bryant, Meghan McCann, and Madison Silvey deleted The Associated Students of the University of Missouri
Shirley Breeze and Mary Mosley deleted Missouri Women’s Network.
Mary Mosley deleted Missouri National Organization for Women.
Tracey Glenn deleted Cape Girardeau Area Chamber Of Commerce, and EX Pay Missouri LLC.
Jeff Glenn deleted Delta Companies Inc.
Nicholas Christensen deleted Missouri Fire Service Alliance, Missouri Pharmacy Association, and Missouri Residential Care Association DBA Missouri Assisted Living Association.
Paul Harper deleted Missouri Department of Revenue.
$5K+ Contributions
Bradshaw for Missouri - $5,005 from Gori, Julian & Associates PC.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Dean Dohrman and Dick Burke.