Friday, May 3, 2012
Wanda Does Daily Show
Last night Reps. Wanda Brown and Mike Colona were featured on The Daily Show, concerning HB 1621 which protects gun-owners from workplace discrimination. See it Here (at about the 9:00 minute mark).
The Coalition of the Unwilling Filibusters Drug Monitoring Bill
In a rare move, the Senate worked deep into the evening last night. The legislature generally ends their work week on Thursday afternoons, so keeping people required the senators and staff to juggle their schedules.
Ultimately the effort failed, despite the extra time.
Sen. Kevin Engler has been trying to pass this bill to crack down on “drug shopping” all session. But the mechanism – allowing pharmacists to access a database – is noxious to the “freedom agenda” of conservative senators – especially Sen. Rob Schaaf. An AP article (Read it Here) notes that 48 other states have this type of monitoring system.
Schaaf relented after an amendment to require a statewide vote before implementation was added. However, Floor Leader Tom Dempsey then told KWMU’s Marshall Griffin that the Senate would not vote on passage of the bill due to objections from the pharmaceutical industry. So… the bill apparently dead last night around 9:30pm.
Sometimes when these conflicts are resolved there is a ripple of euphoria that despite the frustrations the system works. Not this time.
Last night’s exercise is making observers wary of the coming two weeks. That’s because it appears that a majority of Schaaf’s allies stood up not because they felt like the monitoring system was detrimental to Missourians’ well-being, but rather because they wanted to preserve the “coalition of the unwilling” ahead of the upcoming budget battle.
Bits
Dennis Johnson withdrew from House 49 yesterday. That means that Pamela Murray will be the Democratic nominee. She’ll face incumbent Rep. Jeanie Riddle in November. It’s a 60-40 Republican district.
The House truly agreed and finally passed SB 837 (alcohol wholesaler franchise definition), and passed HB 1526 (teacher tenure) 83-76.
Budget Chair Ryan Silvey swings at Pro Tem Rob Mayer in a pair of tweets: @RyanSilvey: Sen. Rob Mayer doesn’t like my tactics. Ok, I don't like him playing chicken with the lives of Veterans & Kids. #EnglerShouldHaveCalledTails
@RyanSilvey: I want to be clear. Delay in Budget Conference is not a House/Senate fight. It's one man's failure to lead. #ROBbingTheVetsAndKids
eMailbag
Republicans and Education
“(1) It’s hard to come up with innovative ideas for education when you’ve become known as the party of ‘no.’ It’s very difficult for most ‘conservative’ Republicans to come up with anything new, because they are not and have never been in the mode of innovating and, even worse, they might be considered no longer conservative. Thus, they rely on ALEC for all of their innovations.
“(2) Most of these Republicans wanting to do something on education have no education experience or credentials. Not having any institutional knowledge of how education works really hampers their efforts. They tend to stumble over the basics sometimes and nobody from the establishment is going to lift a finger to help them.
“(3) There is a major disconnect between rural and urban legislators on education. What urban legislators fail to understand about rural schools is two-fold: First, it's a matter of survival – literally. Rural school districts are the bedrock of the community, they bind us together, and we need them to keep our sense of community. Without them, everyone fears the community will collapse and die.
“Second, we’re happy with our schools. It’s easy to understand why urban legislators are not happy with inner-city schools, but we think things are fine and don't need a bunch of city slickers telling us how to educate kids. It’s ironic that the same people who want to abolish the U.S. Department of Higher Education want to push reform in rural areas where legislators don’t want or need their help.”
Lobbyists’ Principals Changes
From the Pelopidas website:
Andy Arnold added Unite Here Local 74.
Robert J Churchill deleted University of Missouri.
Kirsten Dunham deleted Paraquad Inc.
Corbin Evans, Katharine Finley, David Hollander, Alexander Miller, Sydney Miller, Nicole Phillips, Patricia Poe, Gavin Pringle, Abigail Thomas and Allyson Walker deleted Associated Students of the University of Missouri.
Charles F Miller deleted Sanofi-Aventis US LLC, Southview Plaza LLC, West Edge Redevelopment Corporation, and WERC LLC.
$5K+ Contributions
MO Democratic State Committee - $7,450 from Jay Nixon for Missouri.
One Air Alliance - $6,000 from American Cancer Society.
MO Democratic State Committee - $25,000 from Civic Service Inc.
Schoeller for Missouri - $5,000 from SRC Holdings Corportaion.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Jason Kander (31).
Tomorrow: Rep. David Day (49), Sierra Club’s John Hickey, Barklage’s Michael Hafner.
And
It’s wedding bells tonight for lobbyist Trent Watson and his bride Amber Kadera.