MOScout Daily Update: Franks Resigns - Parson to Re-Start LIHTC Anyway? - Why Compromise is Hard - Watching Senate PACS - Galloway Hits Parson on 1A Gaffe and more...
Last Day of Session…
The Senate had a long and productive day yesterday. It wouldn’t have been possible if the opposing sides of the abortion debate hadn’t been able to find a resolution without using the Senate’s nuclear option, the PQ.
Both chambers convene at 10AM. They’ll have eight hours until adjournment…
Gov to Go It Alone on LIHTC?
KCStar-ers Jason Hancock and Crystal Thomas report (see it here) that Governor Mike Parson is poised to restart Missouri state tax credits for low-income housing. This is a pivot from his previous position…
When Gov. Mike Parson took over following Greitens’ resignation last summer, he was adamant that the $150 million program would remain dormant until the legislature passed significant reforms. “The reality of it is, it can’t go like it was,” Parson told The Star shortly before the beginning of the 2019 legislative session. “It’s just not going to work and I’m not going to allow that.” But with time running out before the legislature must adjourn for the year at 6 p.m. Friday, and with the Senate and House at a stalemate on the issue, Parson has changed his tune. The governor’s office said this week that Parson will take steps to revive the tax credit without the legislature… Next week Parson will attend a fundraiser in St. Louis hosted by several prominent businesses and individuals in the low-income housing industry. Each of the co-hosts has pledged to donate $25,000 to Uniting Missouri, a pro-Parson political action committee…”
Galloway Raises $$$ Off Parson 1A Gaffe
Auditor Nicole Galloway’s campaign sent out a fundraising email blast hitting the governor for his office’s invocation of the 1st Amendment as a justification for not releasing lobbyists names who have contacted his office. We’ve seen in Missouri elections that “Outsiders” beat “Insiders.” This should worry Team Parson.
NEWS: Gov. Parson evades Sunshine Law to protect lobbyists
Take our survey: Do you think it’s right that the governor can protect lobbyists who contact his office to influence decisions or ask for insider help?
Once again, Missouri Gov. Parson is trying to keep the public in the dark about his administration.
This time, he’s claiming that our transparency laws don’t apply to the records of lobbyists who contact his office for help or influence — he’s redacting that information from the public records.
Nicole is fighting to hold every Missouri official accountable, and she’s not going to give Parson and his lobbyists a free pass.
Click here to take our survey and let us know where you stand on holding the governor accountable…
Franks Resigns
Rep. Bruce Franks announced that he was resigning because of mental health and family issues. See the Post-Dispatch article here.
What It Means
Franks was expected to run for Senate 5 in 2020 when Sen. Jamilah Nasheed is termed. This will set off a scramble among the St. Louis City reps… In the mix: LaKeySha Bosley, Peter Merideth, and Steven Roberts.
Will Abortion Law Help Dems in Suburbs?
In the rotunda yesterday, one lobbyist told me that the passage of the heartbeat bill will exacerbate the Republicans’ problem with white educated women in the suburbs. This demographic has been turned off by the president uncouth behavior. But the stakes have been raised. It’s no longer style: bringing “locker room talk” to the Oval Office. Now it’s policy: a right they’ve had that their daughter won’t have.
The earliest test case will be the special election in House 99 in November…
No Report Issued on Investigation
Attorney General or Mayor of Whitewash City? Incredibly the attorney general’s investigation into whether the Greitens Administration violated the Sunshine law and misused social media will report… nothing. Nothing.
Instead AG Eric Schmitt and Governor Mike Parson agreed to Memorandums of Understandings (see the email MOU here; see the social media MOU here) in which they basically pledge to follow the Sunshine law.
How do you champion sunshine, yet not say what you discovered when after reviewing “thousands and thousands of documents?”
MCN for STL County Council?
Cleaning out the in-box… one lobbyist passed this along to me with regard to Hazel Erby’s vacated St. Louis County Council seat… “Another name I heard as potential candidate is Maria Chappelle Nadal…”
Senate Republican War Ahead?
One lobbyist, considering the Senate factions and looking ahead to 2020, says “Don’t count out some Parson friendly Republicans primarying the [Conservative Caucus] members like Eigel and Koenig in 2020. Might be a lot of business support for the right candidates…”
And
How to keep score ahead of primary battles for the Republican soul of the Senate…
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee is the standard vehicle to protect incumbents and build the Republican Senate majority. It raised $15,050 last quarter and has $89,930 on-hand.
Sen. Bill Eigel’s independent PAC, Believe In Life And Liberty - BILL PAC, may be a vehicle for Conservative Caucus supporters to aid those senators and help them build their voting bloc. It raised $24,649 last quarter and has $174,649 on-hand.
Why Compromise Is Hard
From a Democrat… I think the Senate D's giving up and letting the abortion bill go demonstrates just how weak they are. If you know you are going to go down, at least go down swinging. Yes the bill is unconstitutional and may never be implemented, but why take a not-really-a-compromise and let it go without a PQ? What legislation is worth not fighting the Rs on this? If Sifton can't fight on this, why should folks think he can fight for Governor? For all the pro-choice bluster by Schupp, she still let a terrible bill pass without a PQ (one of the worst in the County).
A social conservative on Facebook… I just got home … 4 a.m. … and it is with a level of regret so overwhelming that I can barely type the words I must. My friends, God did not grant us favor. There are all kinds of human reasons that you will be hearing about, but the fact is God did not grant us favor on the pro-life bill. After Republican leadership in the Senate gave away all the cloners wanted and then choosing to protect the antiquated "institution" of the Senate in which the leadership let Democrats strip the bill down to nothing like its original. I do not see how the Missouri Republican Party can any longer claim to be pro-life after what they did to this bill….
Bits
· Governing Magazine reports on “data from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, researchers at North Carolina State University tallied all incentives offered by 32 states from 1990 to 2015, effectively covering 90 percent of incentives nationally. What they found doesn’t portray incentives in a positive light. Most of the programs they looked at -- investment tax credits, property tax abatements, and tax credits for research and development -- were linked with worse overall fiscal health for the jurisdiction that enacted them…”
· Former Rep. Kevin Corlew is listed in Evans Dixon’s lawyers who specialize in cannabis and hemp related business law. They have a legal resource guide outlining the many issues the new industry presents.
· Governor Parson appointed Richard Stewart as Circuit Judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit. He will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Maura B. McShane.
· Governor Parson appointed Jennifer Tidball as the Acting Director of the Department of Social Services (DSS). She previously served as the Deputy Director of DSS.
· Daniela Velazquez, formerly director of communications with the ACLU, has joined Elasticity as a senior public relations strategist.
Lobbyists Registrations
John William Payne added TerraMa Holdings LLC, Next Gen Natures Releaf LLC, Missouri Essentials, Elavera Partnership LLC, Evolve Wellness LLC, The Dispensary LLC, Amendment 2 Consultants LLC. These are all presumably medical marijuana concerns.
Jeremy LaFaver added Missouri Workforce Housing Association for this final week.
Andy Arnold deleted Steven R Carroll & Associates.
Harry Hill deleted John Hayes.
$5K+ Contributions
MO Opportunity PAC - $10,000 from Blackford F Brauer.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Doug Funderburk.
Sunday: Scott Callicott, and Chuck Purgason.
MOScout News
Last day of session means I’m taking the weekend off. No Weekly Summary today, no Weekender tomorrow. See y’all on Monday!