MOScout Daily Update: DHSS Seeks MMJ Lawyers - CLEANers Get Hearing Today - Grain Belt Court Win - Commissioner Recall Bill and more...
DHSS Seeks Lawyers to Defend MMJ Process
From the RFP issued yesterday (see it here): The purpose of this RFP is to timely represent the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services regarding cases assigned to the firm by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services regarding defense of its denials of medical marijuana facility applications and related matters… The greatest need for the required legal services is anticipated to be based in Cole County… The contractor’s legal services shall focus on Administrative Hearing Commission Appeals and occasional Circuit Court cases… The contractor certifies that the contractor has no other contractual or other relationships which create any actual or appearance of conflict of interest. During the term of the contract, neither the contractor nor any of its employees shall acquire any other contractual relationships that would create such a conflict…
What It Means
This comes on the heels of questions being raised about the scoring process. The Post-Dispatch reported that “at least 17 groups had filed appeals by Friday, complaining that scoring inconsistencies caused them to lose points that would have placed them among the winning applicants, according to copies of complaints filed with the commission. The appellants allege they received different scores for identical answers on separate applications, accuse the scoring company of failing to follow the state’s grading rubric, and assert that bonuses for some criteria — such as locating in high-unemployment ZIP codes or detailing a plan to boost the local economy — were subjective.”
It looks like everyone is settling in for 15 rounds of litigation. It could get ugly.
IPs Spotlight
Initiative petitions are the topic of the day. The Senate Local Government Committee will hear two proposals from Sen. David Sater.
· SB 522 throws out signatures if a court changes the ballot title, effectively killing the IP for that cycle.
· SJR 31- which would require voter approval – significantly increases the number of signatures necessary to put a constitutional change on the ballot.
· Meanwhile the House General Laws Committee hears two vehicles to overturn the CLEAN Missouri redistricting plan. Rep. Dean Plocher’s HJR 101 and Rep. Curtis Trent’s HJR 76 are substantially the same.
What It Means
Changing CLEAN and reconfiguring the IP process are top Republican priorities. They’re not wasting time getting the bills into the pipeline. Expect show-downs on the Senate floor over these.
Also Today
The House Committee on Government Oversight will tackle gambling…
Rep. Dan Houx’s HB 2030 is the Video Lottery Control Act, while Rep. Dan Shaul’s HB 2088 does likewise, but also adds in the sport betting component.
Grain Belt Victory
Opponents of the Grain Belt Express lost another court battle yesterday. The Eastern District Court of Appeals denied their request to transfer their petition to the MO Supreme Court. They now have 15 days to ask the Supreme Court directly to hear their appeal…
Commissioner Recall
Yesterday Sen. Lauren Arthur filed SB 324. She filed similar legislation last year. It allows for commissioners of first-class counties to be subject to recall. While is sounds like good public policy to have a mechanism like this in place, one can’t help but imagine that it was inspired by the current Clay County circus.
Looks for bipartisan support from the clay delegation.
SCOTUS Watch
A potential big case in school choice is in front of the U.S. Supreme Court…
From Scotusblog: Two and a half years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Missouri’s policy of excluding churches from a program to provide grants to resurface playgrounds violated the Constitution. In a footnote in their opinion in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, the justices emphasized that their decision was limited to the facts before them and did “not address religious uses of funding or other forms of discrimination.” Next week, the justices will return to the question they left open in Trinity Lutheran, when they review a decision by the Montana Supreme Court invalidating a tax-credit program because the scholarships created by the program could be used at religious schools. The impact of the justices’ eventual ruling could be significant: According to one “friend of the court” brief supporting Espinoza’s petition for review, 18 other states have similar tax-credit scholarship programs.
The Montana legislature created the scholarship program at the heart of the dispute in 2015. The program provides a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $150 for individuals and businesses who donate to private scholarship organizations. The money donated to the scholarship organizations is used to provide scholarships for children to attend private schools – the vast majority of which, in Montana, are religious….
Wann to OA
The Missouri Office of Administration (OA) announced that Jeffrey Wann, a technology leader with more than 25 years of experience, will be the new State of Missouri Chief Information Officer. He will be leading the OA Information Technology Services Division (ITSD), the state’s consolidated IT organization.
eMailbag: on Appts
All this talk of chess... I’m sorry, but did anyone actually think Parson is a chess player?
Help Wanted
Cigna seeks State Government Affairs Senior Manager. “In this role, the ideal candidate will have a mix of some experience in both health insurance and PBM related issues for Cigna and Express Scripts. Knowledge of the health insurance industry, PBM or another highly regulated industry is critical. He/she will have demonstrated ability to operate at a highly strategic and collaborative level. This is an internal role that will work closely with the State Government Affairs Team on special projects, internal reporting mechanisms, presentation development and problem solving…” See the ad here.
New Committees
Tim Taylor formed a candidate committee (Citizens for Tim Taylor) to run for House 48 as a Republican. The current incumbent, Republican Rep. Dave Muntzel, is termed.
Bill Otto formed a candidate committee (Committee to Elect Bill Otto) to run for House 65 as a Democrat. The current incumbent is Republican Rep. Tom Hannegan.
Neil Smith formed a candidate committee (Citizens to Elect Neil Smith) to run for House 67 as a Democrat. The current incumbent, Democratic Rep. Alan Green, is termed.
Bryant Wolfin formed a candidate committee (Wolfin for Missouri) to run for House 116 as a Republican. The current incumbent, Republican Rep. Dale Wright, is prepping run for state senate.
Travis Smith formed a candidate committee (Travis Smith for Representative.com) to run for House 155 as a Republican. The current incumbent, Republican Rep. Karla Eslinger, is running for state senate.
Show Me Trump 2020 was formed. It’s a PAC. Its treasurer is Scott Dickenson.
Lobbyists Registrations
Mike Gibbons and Tricia Workman added The Literacy Lab.
Uriah Stark added National Decency Coalition.
Kari Dawn Thompson and Derek Lee McCollum added Kansas City Missouri Board of Police Commissioners.
Benjamin Dean Terrell added Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
Ginger Steinmetz deleted Cornerstones of Care.
$5K+ Contributions
Jobs with Justice Ballot Fund - $10,000 from SEIU Missouri-Kansas State Council.
Jobs with Justice Ballot Fund - $25,000 from CHIPP Political Account.
BUILD St. Louis PAC, Inc. - $5,500 from T.R. Hughes Homes.
Operating Engineers Local 101 Political Fund - $100,000 from Engineers Political Education Committee.
Missouri AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education - $69,116 from Missouri State AFL-CIO.
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $40,000 from Missouri Forward.
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $25,000 from Franklin County Leadership PAC.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Reps. Lynn Morris and Andrew McDaniel, Michelle Colbert, Anne Marie Moy, Jay Hahn, and Mike Lodewegen.