Thursday, December 6, 2012
Parade of Bits from the In-Box….
Northwest State U’s Board of Regents Faces Quorum Cliff
The Northwest Missourian has the story. Read it here. Sen. Brad Lager and Governor Jay Nixon can’t agree on appointments to Northwest University’s Board of Regents, so the spots are going unfilled. With some members coming off the board due to end of their term, the board will soon not have a quorum to conduct business.
Pull Quote: “I’m tired of playing games with the governor’s office,” Lager said in an interview with the Northwest Missourian last January. “They’re going to understand there is a process they are going to have to follow. They can continue to send me these requests, and I will continue to block them.”
Rumorville: Buschjost Gone
Word is that Carla Bushjost is gone from the Department of Labor where she was the director of labor standards. Buschjost was previously with the Sheetmetal workers.
eMailbag: On Joe Maxwell for LG
“I can only imagine the sh*t storm from Farm Bureau if Jay Nixon appointed a VP of HSUS to anything.”
eMailbag: On All LG Names Sounding the Same
“It is truly annoying that all of the thoughts of potential choices for LG – Dem or Republican are for white men to take the slot.”
eMailbag: LG Chaos
“The Governor does not have the power to appoint someone to fill a vacancy at LG. There is research being done to address this issue, but the office of LG is treated differently.”
“I remember researching this some years ago. Here's what I recall: The statute does not list the LG as among those the Gov can appoint, and the Constitution, listing the order of succession (LG, Senate Pres pro tem, House Speaker, Secretary of State), says a couple times if there is no lieutenant governor -- which might mean that a vacancy in the LG office means the office stays vacant.”
Trivia Thursday
“Has there ever been any person in Missouri history who went from winning three statewide elections to going to the US House? What’s the list for people who have won two statewides? One statewide?”
It’s Official, Claire Led the Ticket
Sen. Claire McCaskill got the most votes in MO. She beat Jay Nixon’s tally by 69 votes. (See below.) Quite a finish considering she was supposed to be the Republicans’ #1 Senate target at one time!
U. S. Senator (3387 of 3387 Precincts Reported)
Claire McCaskill Democrat 1,494,125 54.8%
Todd Akin Republican 1,066,159 39.1%
Jonathan Dine Libertarian 165,468 6.1%
Total Votes 2,725,793
Governor (3380 of 3380 Precincts Reported)
Jay Nixon Democrat 1,494,056 54.8%
Dave Spence Republican 1,160,265 42.5%
Jim Higgins Libertarian 73,509 2.7%
Total Votes 2,727,883
Prefiled Bills
See House pre-filed bills here.
See Senate pre-filed bills here.
When Does the Healthcare Battle End?
First the health exchange debate, and now the Medicaid expansion, it feels like the center ring of state politics continues to be dominated by the federal healthcare law. How long will this continue? Will the law continue to be a hot button of unpopularity with Missouri voters as the years from the initial battle pass? Are Republican stuck re-fighting the 2010 election cycles by making stopping ObamaCare their central cause? Will this become an increasingly irrelevant position as we slink toward 2014?
Bonding Bit
As the proposal for a massive new bonding program gains traction, here’s the language from the last one. Article III, Section 37(f).
KC Star Erects Paywall
See the publisher’s explanation here.
And the peerless John Combest snags a free pass for his readers.
Legislative Calendar
January 9 – Session starts.
January 14 – Inaugural Ball
January 21 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday — NO SESSION
February 28 – Last day to introduce Senate bills
March 14 – Spring Break Starts
March 25 – Spring Break Ends/Reconvene
April 1 – Easter Holiday – NO SESSION
May 10 – Appropriation Bills must be Truly Agreed and Finally Passed
May 17 – Session Ends at 6pm.
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Pelopidas website:
James C. Bowers, Jr. added Robert H. Johnson.
Aaron G. March added Jim Wiss.
Imogene L Clark deleted Missouri State Teachers Association.
Thomas Val Hagar deleted Missouri manufactured Housing Association.
$5K+ Contributions
United Food & Commercial Workers Local #655 Elect Political Action Fund - $6,315 from United Food & Commercial Workers Local 655.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Joe Bednar (59).
Friday: Sen. Kiki Curls (44), Rodney Hubbard (the big 4-0), and Churie Spreng (39).
Saturday: Patrick Bonnot.
Sunday: Former state senator Jeff Smith (39).
MOScout News
Look for a MOScout “subscriber feedback” survey in your in-boxes soon, as I try to gauge any changes I should make to the service in the year ahead. Thanks.