MOScout Daily Update: "Law and Order" Schmitt - Moon Talk - Greitens Talk - Bloomberg Talk - Small Biz' First Meeting and more...
Schmitt Re-Election Kick-Off
Attorney General Eric Schmitt will announce his campaign for Missouri Attorney General today with a new video. See it here.
· If the video is any indication, Schmitt will be running as a “law and order attorney general.”
· The video is a compilation of news clips from his past two years, highlighting his office’s Safe Streets Initiative.
· It focuses on three accomplishments: testing backlog of sexual assault kits, helping prosecute criminal cases in St. Louis, and fighting human trafficking.
· The closing: “Law and order Attorney General Eric Schmitt. He’s fighting to protect Missouri families.”
Meanwhile Rumors Fly
Last night in Jefferson City, the hot and heavy rumor was that St. Louis City Prosecuting Attorney Kim Gardner will be resigning soon.
My calls to St. Louis folks indicated that the rumors were also making the rounds there. However, no one expressed confidence that they were anything more than rumors.
In Jeff City, one lobbyist shook his head: if she resigns for any reason, we’ll be seeing Greitens do another “fully exonerated” tour to friendly media again…
Moon Talk
I spoke to a few folks about Senate 29 where Rep. Mike Moon and former Republican Party Chair David Cole are facing off in a primary.
One Republican tells me not to underestimate Moon, despite his reputation within the building as being a little wacky.
· Running against incumbent Congressman Billy Long in 2012, Moon played him even in Lawrence County losing 37.9% to Long’s 44.9%.
· Moon has cultivated an “army” of home-schoolers who will give his campaign a zeal that Cole can’t match.
But others think Cole is the favorite…
· The lobbying corps will circle the wagons to prevent a Sen. Moon. He’s just a No vote in the House, but in the Senate he might randomly rant for three hours on their otherwise non-controversial bill. That’s a scenario they want to avoid.
And…
· One lobbyist thinks the Conservative Caucus’ support for Moon could backfire if he wins. He could easily “go rogue” against their own members on specific issues.
eMailbag on ShowMe MedEx Critique
The recent blog post from Show-Me Institute disputing state general revenue savings under Medicaid expansion is mistaken.
The New York Case they refer to pertains to a different set of people – those who are “dually eligible” for both Medicaid and Medicare can’t be shifted into the new expansion category. However, the studies they challenge on this premise do not include these “dual-eligible” populations in their savings projections.
The savings projected for Missouri’s state general revenue budget are clear and allowable under federal Medicaid law, and based on two main components:
1. Drawing new federal dollars to Missouri to cover services that the state currently pays 100% of the cost for, some mental health services as one example; and
2. People becoming eligible for Medicaid under the expansion category who may have a disability but who have not received a federal disability determination. Federal law absolutely allows those folks to be covered under expansion with the federal government paying 90% of the cost.
It is anticipated that people seeking coverage in the future will forgo a “disability determination” in favor of a “newly eligibility determination” making them eligible for the increased federal match. The “newly eligible” determination allows participants to have a higher income and no asset test and logically will opt for the easier path. Oregon has seen a dramatic drop in the number of individuals seeking disability determinations, from 7,000 in CY 2013 to 1,400 in CY 2014, a drop of 80% after expanding Medicaid.
The straw man argument that Medicaid expansion is a budget buster has been proven by real world examples in other states. Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, and West Virginia (among others) have actually reduced, not increased, state general revenue spending as a result of expansion.
Here's a report from MBP that goes into more detail.
And
The Missouri State Conference of the NAACP on Tuesday announced its support of the statewide campaign to give voters the choice to approve Medicaid expansion….
MHA To CC: Relax, Don’t Do It?
Tipster says that there’s a détente happening between Missouri hospitals and the Senate’s Conservative Caucus. The basic fault-line is that the conservatives are opposed to the Medicaid expansion effort, and they’re upset at hospitals’ support for it.
Conservatives have filed legislation aimed to show their displeasure at hospitals. One leverage point is the FRA tax which must be renewed annually. It supports Missouri’s Medicaid budget. But eliminating it amounts to irrational brinksmanship. Without it, the budget collapses.
Will the two sides find some common ground? We’ll see….
Small Biz Schedules First Meeting
Sen. Denny Hoskins will hold his first committee meeting of the year on Thursday. Hoskins chairs the Senate Committee on Small Business and Industry. And unlike other committees which have been at work for weeks, Hoskins hasn’t banged the gavel yet this year.
Education Committee
Chair Cindy O’Laughlin’s Education Committee yesterday had a new vibe. Instead zipping through quick and snappy testimony, witnesses found themselves on the hot seat, engaged in lengthy exchanges and point-counterpoint debates with committee members. The hearing on Sen. Andrew Koenig’s tax credit for scholarships dragged on and on until the clock mercifully brought it to an end.
· One interesting point made by O’Laughlin and Sen. Ed Emery: superintendents often complain about the burdensome regulations they face, yet have never produced any specifics when pressed about them. DESE Commissioner Margie Vandeven echoed this point at the last State Board of Education meeting. She said that the notion that the MSIP somehow prevents innovation is a myth. When people really look at it and not just repeat the cliché, they see there’s a tremendous amount of flexibility in Missouri.
More Greitens Talk
· Will Greitens run again? Gregg Keller says “his best bet might be trying his luck in another state.” See it here.
· Post-Dispatch reports on legislative action to get to bottom of the Faughn cash payment. See it here. House Majority Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, told the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that people “should learn the origins” of the money in question. At issue is $120,000 the publisher of the Missouri Times, Scott Faughn, paid in January 2018 to Albert Watkins, a St. Louis attorney who represented the ex-husband of the woman with whom Greitens had an affair before becoming governor. Faughn told the House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight in May 2018 that the money was his…
Bloomberg Gathering Tomorrow
Tipster: This morning the Bloomberg campaign will be hosting a breakfast at 3200 Washington Ave for approximately 80 ministers with several elected officials attending to discuss violence in the US Cities. In attendance will be elected officials and clergy from other US cities…
And
Republicans may be seeing the emerging threat of Mike Bloomberg? Or he’s just an easy target? Senate 25 candidate Eddy Justice hits him in his latest email blast…
Friends,
Unlike what some east-coast elites may think, farmers in the heartland do not have it easy. In fact, they would be shocked to hear how much time, care, effort, and resources that farmers invest that allows those liberal elites to have their avocado toast in the morning.
Apparently, billionaires like Democrat Mike Bloomberg, who has never farmed a day in his life, thinks that he could teach anybody to be a farmer.
In a recently uncovered video, Bloomberg is caught belittling the work that our nation's farmers do. Click here to see Bloomberg tell farmers that "anyone" could do their job…
It should come as a surprise to Democrats and billionaires like Bloomberg, but we here in the heartland do not have it easy. We wake up at the crack of dawn, invest a lifetime of expertise into our trade, and get ready to do it all over again.
Not all of us have the luxury of pursuing a presidential bid as a hobby, but if we did, we certainly wouldn't be telling anyone how to do their job…
It's time we buck the Democratic Party. We the people elected Donald Trump to office, a man who continues to stick up for the livelihood of farmers and working people nationwide…
Bits
· The Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (MAPA) awarded Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer and Rep. David Evans their “Legislator of the Year Award for their respective branches of the legislature… [And] Sen. Bob Onder and Rep. David Griffith were recipients of the Legislative Champion Award for their respective legislative bodies.
· Jim Benoist, formerly with the Missouri Times, has joined Sen. Gina Walsh’s staff as chief of staff.
· Julia Baker has joined the House Majority Caucus as their head counsel. Baker had been with House Drafting previously before spending time on the second floor as deputy general counsel.
· The first installment of Lincoln University’s “A Dream Fulfilled: The Presidential Lecture Series” for the new year will also recognize Black History Month. Rep. Steven Roberts, of Missouri’s 77th District, will be the guest lecturer on Wednesday, February 19, at 6 p.m. in Scruggs University Ballroom. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for the free event.
New Committees
David Martin formed a candidate committee (Citizens for David Martin) to run for Senate 9 as a Republican. This is the Curls seat which is now vacant.
Lobbyist Registrations
Miles Ross added Missourians For A Balanced Energy Future.
John Cozad added Powell Gardens.
Jonathan Dalton added The Opus Group.
John Parris deleted Altria Client Services LLC and Its Affiliates - Philip Morris USA Inc., John Middleton Co., and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co.
John Bardgett, Jacqueline Bardgett, Erika Leonard, and Chris Roepe deleted Tellus Health Corp.
$5K+ Contributions
Missourians for a New Approach - $27,000 from New Approach PAC.
Missourians for a New Approach - $26,515 from New Approach PAC.
McDonough for Judge - $20,000 from William Christopher McDonough.
Campaign for Clean Water STL - $35,000 from SAK.
MO Republican Party - $6,000 from Growth and Opportunity PAC.
New Approach PAC - $50,000 from New Approach PAC.
Missourians for a New Approach - $50,000 from New Approach PAC.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Alex Eaton, Lynne Schlosser, Rodney Schad, and Ron Gladney.
Congratulations
To Rep. Peter Merideth and his wife Amy on the birth of their daughter Finley Rose Merideth... 8lbs, 14oz!