MOScout Daily Update: SBOE Seeks DESE Commish - No Blue Wave in MO - Feds on Small Cell and more...
SCOTUS Hearing
Quick take: the losing side is going to be hopping mad, and more motivated to seek revenge in November.
Politicos See No MO Blue Wave
I spent some time taking the temperature of various politicos, asking if they see a blue wave coming to Missouri this November. I had expected a variety of opinions, but instead received a pretty near consensus. While folks differed in their individual number predictions (+2 Dems in the House to +6 or 7), generally they agreed the energized Democratic voters will only impact specific pockets in Missouri.
It’s quite possible that incumbents Claire McCaskill and Nicole Galloway will ride a higher turnout from the motivated left to re-election.
Still the damage on legislative races will be contained within the suburbs. One politico rattled off the list (Clay, Greene, St. Louis…), and another insisted that there will be some surprise incumbent losses in those areas for Republicans. However, no one sees rural Missouri returning to the Democrats in this environment. And that means the Republican Party’s overwhelming legislative majorities will be intact in Missouri despite what may be a brutal year for the GOP nationally.
And
Republicans are optimistic that their actual numeric loss won’t be terrible. That’s because they have three flips in their sights: House 97 which Mike Revis won in a special election; House 118 where Democrat Ben Harris is termed; and St. Joe’s House 10 which has been held by Pat Conway, who’s termed. They won’t get all three, but even one or two helps by adding scratch marks on the W side of the ledger.
SBOE Starts DESE Commissioner Search
Jack Suntrup reports “The state Board of Education has launched a search for its next education commissioner, who will oversee the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Applications are due Oct. 19 and information on the process is available on DESE's website. The current salary for the post is $191,544, and candidates must have a doctorate to be considered. The board hopes the new commissioner can start in January…”
Feds on Small Cells
Governing Magazine writes about the FCC’s new 5G small cell rules. See it here.
“The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved sweeping regulations on Wednesday for 5G wireless infrastructure, significantly curtailing the authority of states and localities. The industry-backed declaratory ruling includes several preemption provisions aimed at accelerating deployment of 5G networks that are expected to offer higher internet speeds. It prompted immediate pushback from a wide-range of public-sector association groups and is expected to face legal challenges… One of the more controversial provisions of the order establishes ‘shot clock’ time limits for jurisdictions to process applications for mounting small cells on public infrastructure. Installations on existing infrastructure must be processed within 60 days, while requests to build new poles need to be processed within 90 days… The FCC order also effectively limits what local governments can charge -- $500 for an initial application fee covering up to five small cells and $270 for an annual right-of-way access fee per small cell -- both considerably lower than what cities have typically charged... The ruling is expected to face multiple legal challenges over the FCC’s regulatory authority…”
Led by Sen. Calen Rowden and Rep. Shawn Rhoads, Missouri passed its small cell regulatory framework last session. According to the summary of HB 1991 (see it here), the annual fee allowed in Missouri per pole attachment is $150.
Galloway Finds More Missing $$$
The press release: “Thousands of dollars are missing, city funds were used to pay a personal credit card and firearms are unaccounted for, according to an audit of Glasgow released by State Auditor Nicole Galloway. The suspicious activity took place under the supervision of a former city administrator, Kevin Atwood, who was responsible for many of the city's accounting functions. Glasgow is a city located in Chariton and Howard counties… The audit also found the former city administrator directed city staff to pay his personal credit card bills. Of the $5,500 paid by the city, nearly $4,000 of the charges were improper or personal in nature. This included online purchases from Amazon and video game subscriptions. The city recouped some of the funds, but $2,700 has yet to be repaid… Additional concerns were identified within the city's clothing allowance program. Under the program, the city would purchase both work-related and personal items for employees, and allow the employees to reimburse the city through their clothing allowance and payroll deductions… Auditor Galloway said the report has been provided to local, state and federal law enforcement…”
See the audit here.
Glasglow is represented by Rep. Dave Muntzel and Sen. Denny Hoskins.
Gotta a Piece of Land to Sell?
With the fresh talk of a new Major League Soccer team stadium in St. Louis, one MOScout reader wonders what price MODoT would ask to release the land. The question comes in the midst of an active campaign to raise taxes to fund the transportation department’s budget.
Weekender Preview
Wish it was Saturday already… MOScout Weekly poll results coming will bring us back to the statewide contests of McCaskill – Hawley, and Galloway – McDowell, as well as a few statewise ballot issues…. The Hallway Index looks at the House Speaker Pro Tem race… and of course Who Won the Week…
Events
Tony Luetkemeyer (GOP, Senate 34) fundraiser with Roy Blunt at Kansas City Southern Headquarters, Kansas City – 11:30AM.
Ryana Parks-Shaw (Dem, House 30) Jazz fundraiser at IAFF 42 Local Union Hall – 5:30PM
Lobbyists Registrations
Andy Blunt, Jay Reichard and Angela Schulte added Missouri Health Connection.
$5K+ Contributions
MOVE Ballot Fund - $5,825 from CLEAN Missouri.
SaferMo.Com Herzog - $25,000 from Herzog Contracting Corp.
Citizens for Steve Stenger - $14,750 from Regional Progress PAC.
Uniting Missouri PAC - $15,000 from Missouri State Council of Fire Fighters PAC.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Reps. Scott Fitzpatrick and Tommie Pierson Jr., Alix Cossette,
Sam Gladney, Dana Loesch, and former Reps. Nathan Cooper, and Michael Brown.
Saturday: Benjamin Terrell, Brad Jones, Erin Brower, and Rich Magee.
Sunday: Rep. Dave Muntzel and Chris Benjamin.