MOScout Daily Update: New Withholds - Budget Timeline - Moon Contra Parson - No Women on Stimulus Working Group and more...
More Withholds
Faced with declining state revenues and economic uncertainty, Governor Mike Parson announced a fresh round of budget withholds. The new cuts amounted to $47 million. See the list of withholds here.
Month-to-date state revenues – through April 17 – were down 38%. Those daily numbers can be volatile, but -38% is scary.
“COVID-19 is unlike anything we have ever dealt with before, and like many families during this time, we are having to make adjustments and cut back on our state expenditures,” Governor Parson said. “These are not easy decisions, but this is the right thing to do to ensure our budget is balanced and that we are financially prepared to deal with the impacts of COVID-19 going forward.”
Tentative Budget Timeline
According to an email circulated yesterday here is the tentative budget timeline…
Monday, April 27 – House and Senate reconvene.
Tuesday, April 28 – House perfects budget on the house floor.
Wednesday, April 29 – House third reads the budget and Senate first reads the budget.
Thursday, April 30 – Senate refers the budget to the Appropriations Committee.
Friday, May 1 – Senate Appropriations begins the budget mark-up.
Saturday, May 2 – Senate Appropriations completes mark-up.
Monday, May 4 – Place appropriations bills on the Senate calendar.
Tuesday, May 5 – Senate third reads the budget, House and Senate make conference motions and name conferees.
Wednesday, May 6 – Conference begins on the budget.
Thursday, May 7 – Conference on the budget is completed, staff finishes drafting bills and bills are distributed in the House.
Friday, May 8 – House and Senate adopt and TAFP appropriations bills.
Moon Against State of Emergency
Rep. Mike Moon has filed a House Resolution calling for the termination of Executive Order 20-2. That’s Governor Mike Parson’s EO declaring a state of emergency in Missouri.
“The Governor's declaration of state of emergency was improper on the grounds that no natural or man-made disaster of major proportions has actually occurred within the state of Missouri…”
Reps. Jim Neely, John Simmons, Jeff Pogue, Tom Hurst, Tony Lovasco, and Mike McGirl have co-sponsored the resolution.
What It Means
· It makes me wonder if “where did you stand on the coronavirus” will be an important issue in Republican primaries.
· The Moon-right side of the party calling it government overreach and overreaction, against more responsible/establishment Republicans defending the response.
· In MOScout’s GOP poll of Senate 31 last week, most Republican voters in the district were OK with the government’s actions: 64% said state government was “handling it correctly,” versus 16% saying “overreaction,” and 14% “not doing enough.”
· But of course opinions are fluid and perceptions can change, especially as the crisis unfolds and/or resolves.
No Women on Stimulus Working Group
Jack Suntrup reports that “an ‘informal working group’ tasked with providing recommendations on how to best spend billions of dollars in federal stimulus money will hold public meetings, a spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Parson told the Post-Dispatch on Monday. The Republican governor’s office announced the working group on April 10, saying it would ‘help make recommendations on the best use of the federal funding.’ But little else was known before Monday about the working group except for its membership, which does not include women or Democrats…”
Roadmap to Reopening
· Governor Mike Parson is telegraphing May 4 as the phase one (or soft) reopening. “We are continuing to reach out to the business community, as well as local county and city government, to put plans in place for May 4th and begin the first phase of reopening Missouri. This will be a gradual economic recovery plan with two initial phases intended to protect those most at risk of exposure to COVID-19 while returning Missouri to a new normal.”
· Meanwhile St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson said she’s watching the data for 14 days of declining cases, before she will look at “reopening.” She noted that the city – like others – has been unable to obtain adequate number of tests.
· And Republican state representatives in St. Louis County sent a letter to County Executive Sam Page asking him to re-open County parks. See it here. “The benefits of fresh air, sunlight, exercise and the many acres of nature are infinite for mental and physical health…”
eMailbag on “Distance Lobbying”
From a lobbyist: Lobbying long distance isn’t optimal or advised with all messages being discoverable. Lobbying via text/email/voice mail will absolutely come back to bite someone 6 months from now in the Clean Missouri era. Long after this crisis has passed the temptation for a “gotcha” moment will return.
Gubby Appt
Governor Mike Parson appointed Adam L. Caine as Circuit Judge for the 16th Judicial Circuit. He will fill the Circuit Judge vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable George E. Wolf.
eMailbag on Making Anti-Grain Belt a Priority
How tone-deaf is it for a Speaker to choose a transmission line project in the opposite side of the state, as his top priority during the COVID19 meltdown? The project will drive down energy costs in Missouri, at a time when utilities are keeping consumers afloat by not shutting them off. It also injects economic activity into a part of the state that will likely be one of the last areas to recover…
New Committees
Nancy Ragan filed an exemption committee. She’s running in House 62 as a Democrat.
Lobbyists Registrations
John Bardgett, Jacqueline Bardgett, Mark Habbas, Erika Leonard, and Chris Roepe added Moreable LLC.
$5K+ Contributions
UFCW Local 655 Elect Club - $5,636 from UFCW Local 655.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Dan Mehan, David Barklage, Rep. Doug Clemens, Conner Kerrigan, Paul Curtman, and Maynard Wallace.