Friday, January 11, 2013
Green, Lembke Register as Lobbyists
Former state senators Tim Green and Jim Lembke registered as lobbyists.
Lembke registered his affiliation with United for Missouri, a group headed by former state representative Carl Bearden which supports conservative, free market issues. Green registered for three clients – AT&T, City of Florissant and Missouri State Building Trades.
As much as folks poo-poo the “revolving door,” it’s a natural fit in an age of term limits that legislators use their knowledge of the process and/or policy expertise to benefit specific interests.
And – as mentioned earlier this week, the rumor in the building is that their former colleague Bill Stouffer will be joining their ranks soon. We’ll see…
Committees Formed
The House and Senate committees have been formed.
Hitting Ground Running
The Senate has already referred a bunch of bills to committee, so the work starts next week. See the list here. And – not to read too much into this but… – Sen. Kurt Schaefer’s bill to change the process to fill an LG vacancy was first read, but not yet referred. Many people think it hurts Peter Kinder’s pursuit of the congressional seat to have this unresolved.
Special Infrastructure Committee Coming to the House?
It’s said that the House will have a special committee to consider the bonding issue. Look for Democratic Rep. Chris Kelly to chair that committee.
Kenney’s Organizational Challenges
Kansas City Business Journal reports that new PSC Commish Bill Kenney is part of a lawsuit filed by former pro football players against the NFL for head injuries sustained. See it here.
Pull Quote: “Notwithstanding his success at varied and complex careers, Bill Kenney now suffers from chronic memory loss, mood swings, an inability to organize and prioritize, and persistent headaches,” the lawsuit states, noting that he was “subjected to repeated blows to the head during NFL practices and games.”
Crowell in CD-8
Former state senator Jason Crowell entered the race to replace Jo Ann Emerson last night at a forum in Salem, Missouri, where he boomed his introduction to the audience, “Stop the spending! Stop the spending! Stop the spending!” It was an attention grabber, but one wonders if there’s a path for him given that he’s weeks late to the party.
Bits
University of Missouri Kansas City gets a shout out in the NYTimes article about the expansion of the LGBT alliance to include QIA. Read it here. Q is for questioning. I is for intersex. And A can be for allies or asexual.
Mayor Francis Slay added St. Louis Labor Club to his list of endorsements.
If you have some time this Friday, check out the Comcast “Newsmakers” series, featuring short interviews with Sens. Ed Emery, Scott Rupp, David Pearce and others. See it here.
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Pelopidas website:
W T Dawson deleted Missouri Tow Truck Association.
Kimberly Akin added Gallagher Consultants and all of their clients.
Devin Boerm added Healthcare Distribution Management Association.
Brian J. Grace and Kelvin Simmons added Kansas City Missouri School District Administration.
Tim Green added City of Florissant, AT&T, and Missouri State Building Trades.
Jim Lembke added United for Missouri.
J Marty Robinson added Missouri National Guard.
Gina Overshiner deleted Pednet Coalition Inc.
$5K+ Contributions
Doug Libla for Senate - $15,000 from Noranda Aluminum Inc.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Judy Morgan (6), Darin Cline, and Scott Intagliata.
Saturday: Former Rep. Scott Largent, Democratic consultant Jim Ross (55), lobbyist David McCracken (32).
Sunday: St. Louis alderman Jeffrey Boyd.