MOScout Weekender: Parson Declares Emergency - Poll Finds Little Changed - Hallway Hearts Leadership - WWTW and more...
Parson Declares Emergency
Press release: Governor Mike Parson signed Executive Order 20-02 declaring a state of emergency in Missouri in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)…
The Executive Order was not made because the current healthcare system is overwhelmed or unprepared, and it is not intended to close public schools. Schools administrators should seek the guidance of local health officials when thinking about closing their schools.
Rather, the purpose of Executive Order 20-02 is to allow more flexibility in utilizing resources and deploying them around the state where they are most appropriate. By signing this Executive Order, Governor Parson invoked the Missouri State Emergency Operations Plan.
Executive Order 20-02 will enable Governor Parson to waive certain state laws and regulations where necessary and direct state agencies to report any unfair market practices. Declaring the state of emergency will also provide access up to a combined total of approximately $7 million in state funds beyond the federal funds Missouri expects to receive…
Missouri House Democrats and Auditor Nicole Galloway had called on Parson to make the designation.
Meanwhile
I am told that the Medicaid Expansion team has nearly completed their signature gathering. One would imagine that the task has become much more difficult in the midst of “social distancing.”
Remington/MOScout Poll: Coronavirus Hasn’t Changed Much - Yet
Survey conducted March 11 through March 12, 2020. 1,241 likely 2020 General Election voters participated in the survey. Survey weighted to match expected turnout demographics for the 2020 General Election. Margin of Error is +/-2.8%. See the full results here.
Q1: Do you approve or disapprove of Donald Trump’s job performance as President?
Approve: 51%
Disapprove: 45%
Not sure: 4%
Q2: Possible candidates in the November 3rd General Election for Governor of Missouri are the Republican Mike Parson and the Democrat Nicole Galloway. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?
Mike Parson: 52%
Nicole Galloway: 39%
Undecided: 7%
Q3: In the next 12 months do you expect your personal finances to be: much better, somewhat better, somewhat worse, much worse or about the same?
Much better: 11%
Somewhat better: 18%
Somewhat worse: 21%
Much worse: 9%
About the same: 40%
Q4: How worried are you about the spread of the coronavirus? Very worried, somewhat worried or not at all worried?
Very worried: 28%
Somewhat worried: 49%
Not worried: 22%
Not sure: 1%
MOScout’s Hallway Index: Who Drove the First Half?
Who deserves the most credit for the Senate’s very productive first half (CLEANER, Tort Reform, PDMP)? 25 replies…
RESULTS
1. Conservative Caucus…. 8%
2. Democratic Caucus…. 0%
3. Lobbying corps… 0%
4. Senate leadership… 84%
5. Something else… 8%
Sample of Comments
· Last week of session in 19 FINALLY taught Rowden how to run the floor. It’s carried over.
· Caleb Rowden has been masterful.
· Rowden has been very impressive navigating the very narrow path that existed to get these things done and I do not think he is finished yet.
· Senate Leadership, in particular, Sen. Schatz has had a clear conveyor belt of priorities. Some credit goes to the Conservative Caucus as well. Rather than being pure obstructionists, they actually have developed compromised positions...exit strategies if you will. This is how a group like this has real impact on public policy and how a leader like Schatz accomplishes real goals.
· Caleb Rowden. He’s doing a good job of walking the tight rope of balancing the needs and personalities of the different factions in the Senate.
· Rowden and Schatz have been the best leadership duo in recent memory. They have distributed wins for nearly every faction of the Senate and they’ve followed through on commitments to power through filibusters on priority issues.
· Schatz and Rowden certainly deserve credit, but I'll add that other senators have worked really hard on those issues as well.
· Lots of parts on a team but a team has to be led.
· Rob Schaaf is the "something else." He isn't around to gum things up, just for the sport of it. And Lembke-Eigel hasn't quite reached the point of perfectly replicating the former Senator from Buchanan. I'm not sure they ever will.
· We credit the power of erosion for making the Grand Canyon
Who Won the Week?
Caleb Rowden and Andrew Koenig – The long-awaited filing of David Lenihan gives Republicans a potential self-funder in Senate 1. And that may draw Democratic resources away from efforts to unseat these incumbents.
Holly Rehder – Senate passed their version of her prescription drug monitoring program. It’s a compromise she finds acceptable. And it means she’s much closer to accomplishing her top priority.
MO Dems – Even though this week’s poll doesn’t show much movement, one imagines that recent events (Biden’s resurgence, Trump’s initial downplaying of coronavirus, the luffing economy with exploding budget deficit) have improved their 2020 hand.
Titus Bond – Remington’s MO presidential preference poll hits its mark giving MOScout readers an accurate assessment of the race.
Find a downloadable version here.
eMailbag: Leadership Picking Priorities in Truncated Session
While health concerns are rightly a current top priority, if Leadership picks priorities to pass we have anarchy and pure corruption in Grade-A form. There are options. There could be an emergency constitutional change in law to return to session for the same amount of days lost, or Governor Parson could announce he will call for a special session to cover it once the crisis has passed. Leaders lead. This is their moment to make the right decision for the citizens of Missouri who deserve to have debate because they are Americans… leaders picking legislative priorities cannot be contemplated seriously and give citizens any chance of expecting a system that can be likened to a democratic process.
$5K+ Contributions
MO Insurance Coalition PAC $8,250 from CFM Insurance.
American Property Casualty Insurance Association Political Account - $20,128 from American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
Uniting Missouri PAC - $10,000 from Rudolph Farber.
Jackson County Democratic Committee - $10,000 from UAW Region 5 Midwest States CAP Council.
Friends of Rex Larson - $5,001 from Rex Larson.
Missourians for Healthcare - $25,000 from Marillac Mission Fund.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Jason Klindt, Sara Howard, Mark Bruns, and Ryan DeBoef.
Sunday: Adam Gresham, and Jason Bean.