MOScout Daily Update: Kleinsorge to Lime - Arnzen, Birch to Gov's Office - Parson Pardons - Carpenters Score Win and more....

Just a quickie update before I take off for almost a week… (Be back Monday).

Kleinsorge to Lime

Dan Kleinsorge, chief of staff to Senate Pro Tem Dave Schatz, will become the new head of the Missouri Limestone Producers Association.   Kleinsorge replaces Morgan Matthew Mundell at the Limestone Association.  Mundell recently became the head of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Missouri.

It throws a bit of a curve into the legislative session starting in just a few weeks, and makes Heidi Kolkmeyer even more indispensable than ever.

Other Staff Moves

·         Phil Arnzen will be the Governor’s Deputy Legislative Director.  He’s currently the director of legislation at the Missouri Department of Economic Development.  He starts his new job on January 4.

·         And Jamie Birch recently left her perch at the Public Service Commission to become the Governor’s Deputy Policy Director.

This means that openings for Legislative Liaisons at DED and the PSC.

What It Also Means

As one person mentioned to me on hearing the Kleinsorge news, there’s hardly enough GOP staffers to fill all the spots.  Between their legislative supermajority, the second floor staffing and appointments as well as third party associations and interest groups, it’s a good time to be a Republican with some in-the-building experience.

Roll Call: Carpenters Score Win

From RollCall: The massive year-end appropriations and coronavirus relief package contains a holiday gift for about 20,000 Missouri and Illinois employees in the building and construction trades who are members of the St. Louis Carpenters’ Pension Plan.

Tucked deep inside the 5,593-page omnibus bill is bipartisan legislation authored by both sets of Illinois and Missouri senators and seven House lawmakers from the two states that would reverse an IRS decision threatening the tax-exempt status of the carpenters’ pension plan.

The carpenters’ plan allows members to take a form of early retirement starting at age 55, while technically staying as employees to train and oversee younger workers, according to Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., the lead sponsors.

However, since the IRS decision that allowing pensioners to remain employed ran afoul of the rules, promised benefits, including under prior IRS rulings, are now threatened. The omnibus provision would reverse the newer IRS position and allow continued distributions to those early retirees age 55 or older.

The St. Louis carpenters’ plan is in better financial shape than others in the building trades, yet a broader fix for other struggling union pension plans fell apart in the final bargaining on the omnibus bill over how much taxpayers should be on the hook for backstopping retiree benefits.

Cleaning Out the In-Box….

·         Eagle eyed MOScouter saw that on the Executive Calendar of the Untied State Senate yesterday was “Barbara Coleen Long, of Missouri, to be a Member of the National Council on the Arts for a term expiring September 3, 2022, vice Deepa Gupta, term expired.”  Long is the wife of Congressman Billy Long.

·         Lobbyist Jon Dalton is not running for re-election for mayor of Town and Country.  It’d have been his fourth term if he’d made the bid.

·         Sen-elect Steven Roberts appears to have hung out a shingle… See the Roberts Law Firm website here.

·         One name being mentioned for the Missouri Democratic Party executive director position…John Stamm.  (Read a KCStar article about his management of Quinton Lucas’ campaign here.)

Gov Issues Pardons

Press release: Today, Governor Mike Parson granted pardons to 24 individuals who have demonstrated a changed lifestyle and desire to move on from past behaviors… These are the first pardons granted by Governor Parson pursuant the authority granted him by the Missouri Constitution, Article IV, Section 7. Official pardon documents have been filed with the appropriate government agencies and are being sent to the individuals.

In addition to these pardons, Governor Parson has decided to commute three prior drug offenders to house arrest. These offenders were made parole ineligible by a statute that was subsequently repealed by the Missouri General Assembly. Missouri Supreme Court case law holds that the repeal of the statute did not legally apply retroactively to these offenders…

Governor Parson has instructed his legal team to continue reviewing clemency files and intends to keep working to reduce the backlog inherited by his administration. At last report, there were 3,695 pending clemency applications.

In the interest of privacy, the Governor's Office will not immediately release the names of the individuals granted clemency or commutations, so that appropriate communications can be made to families, however the information will subsequently be made available.

HelpWanted

Kids Win Missouri seeks a Media and Communications professional.  “Kids Win Missouri, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing policies and systems changes that support children and families, is seeking an independent contractor to assist the organization with media and communication activities for the 2021 calendar year. The contractor will be paid $20-25 per hour. Estimated time commitment is 15-20 hours per week. All work will be done remotely… Interested applicants should email a resume and work sample (i.e. article, short essay, blog post, creative media content) to chanson@kidswinmissouri.org by January 4, 2020.”

Lobbyists Registrations

Ryan Rowden added American Petroleum Institute.

Andy Arnold added Stray Dog Capitol LLC, and Stray Dog Policy LLC; and deleted Humane Society Legislative Fund of the Midwest and its Affiliates.

John DeStefano and Meghan McCann deleted Advocates for a Healthy Community.

$5K+ Contributions

MO Republican Party - $10,000 from House Republican Campaign Committee.

Civic Progress Action Committee - $7,500 from SSM Health St. Louis.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Shannon Cooper and Doc Brown.

Wednesday: Mike Revis.

Thursday: Sen. Paul Wieland, and Lindell Shumake.

Christmas: David Christian.

Saturday: Rep. Tracy McCreery, Todd Richardson, Allison Onder, Stanley Cox, and Jacob Scott.

Sunday: Jay Barnes.

MOScout Schedule

And I’m on vacation.  See you Monday!  But please send me some tips so I have something to write then….