MOScout Daily Update: Senate Filbusters, Perfects Joinder - New MOScout Feature! - House Perfects Pro-Life - CLEAN Polling and more....

Senate Filibuster

Senate Democrats filibustered all night long as it worked through Sen. Ed Emery’s tort reform bill.

Moments ago they resolved their differences, and the filibuster ended with the bill being perfected.   Sen. Scott Sifton was the lead Democratic negotiator.  He thanked Emery, as well as Sen. Tony Leutkemeyer and Floor Leader Caleb Rowden for their efforts to find resolution.

Pro Life Legislation Advances

The House perfected major abortion restrictions.  See the Post-Dispatch article here.

Today the Senate was to have hearings on their abortion bills in Sen. Bob Onder’s Health and Pensions Committee.  But the filibuster may bust the committee hearing for the day as people go home to sleep.  We’ll see…

Something New From MOScout

It’s been about 12 years now that I’ve been writing MOScout.  I started in 2007 writing Monday through Thursday mornings.  I initially took Fridays off because the legislature wasn’t in session.  But after a few years I gave up my three-day weekends and added Friday.

At some point I started compiling the “Weekly Summary” and not long after that the idea for “Who Won the Week” struck me and was added.  (People immediately wanted a “Who Lost the Week,” but that’s not my style.)

A few years ago, I started paying Remington Research to do polls throughout the year, and then last year I added the “Hallway Index” a weekly attempt to capture the sentiment of the lobbyists on a different issue each week.

I’ve hoped each small improvement would make the product more useful.  If my subscribers keep enjoying the product and getting a good value, I will be able to do this for the rest of my life.

So today, I’m trying something new… the MOScout Digital Tracking Poll.  Each month Survey America will ask a set of questions (ranging from their opinions of specific politicians to their concerns about the future).  

See this new feature here.

Or, if you’re the sort of person who just wants the numbers, find them here.

And of course feedback is always welcome.  Enjoy!

Resistance to City-Count Merger

There are bubbles of resistance popping up to the proposal to merge St. Louis City and St. Louis County. 

·         Post Dispatch reports that “two city aldermen on Tuesday announced the launching of a petition drive to recall Mayor Lyda Krewson from office to protest her support of the Better Together plan to merge St. Louis and St. Louis County.”

·         Stop Merger, LLC was formed.  It’s a PAC.   Its treasurer is Gary Wiegert.  Its deputy treasurer is Jennifer Bird.  According to the paperwork filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, it was formed to oppose the Better Together proposal.

But

There’s no evidence that any of those opposing the merger will be able to raise the huge amount of money necessary to defeat the proposal on a statewide vote.

Someone’s Polling on CLEAN

One tipster shared their notes from a 20-minute poll on the issue of CLEAN Missouri.  It was an even-handed poll, making it impossible to tell if it was conducted by a group working to overturn CLEAN or perhaps by defenders of the measure testing their own defenses.

One of the more intriguing questioned asked was whether they would oppose the redistricting process because it counts illegal immigrants. 

That’s reminiscent of Rep. Dean Plocher’s HJR 100 which passed the House last year.

It could be added to the anti-CLEAN measure as a hot-button issue to help passage in out-state Missouri. 

We’ll see…

Senate 31 Primary Ahead?

Rep. Jack Bondon is expected to run for Senate 31 where Sen. Ed Emery is termed.  He’s the favorite right now. But one MOScouter thinks that Bondon could be “vulnerable to a primary on the right.”  And they say that former Rep. Rick Brattin is “looking hard” at the race… “This has the potential to be one of the best primaries next cycle, based on ideology…” 

Stay tuned…

Tweet of the Day

Missouri Senate Republicans tweeted… We are proud to welcome Pattie Parris back to the Senate as the first female doorkeeper in the history of the Missouri General Assembly!

$5K+ Contributions

St Louis Association of Realtors-PAC - $11,402 from Missouri Realtors Pac, Inc.

International Union of Painters & Allied Trades PAT Federal PAC - $25,000 from IUPAT Political Action Together Political Committee.

Missouri Democratic State Committee - $7,620 from Greene County Democratic Central Committee.

Lobbyists Registrations

Colleen Daley added Internet Association.

Annette Driver added Driver and Associates.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Hannah Beers, and Doug Crews.