MOScout Daily Update: Gov's EO on CCP - Howell Promoted - Budget Impact FY 22? - Schmitt's CoronAgneda - Plescia Leaves Bryan Cave and more....
Legislature Eyes Return Next Week
The Senate will return to the capitol on Tuesday. They plan to pass both the FRA tax and the supplemental budget on Wednesday. The House will return Wednesday to pass the supplemental.
The Senate will stream both the Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday and the floor proceedings on Wednesday.
Presumably legislators will minimize unnecessary speechifying, and the roll call votes will be lengthened to allow for social distancing.
· The public will be discouraged from attending. There will probably be some check-in/screening process/temperature-taking for legislators and members of the public alike to reduce the likelihood of someone carrying the virus from entering the building.
After this business is conducted it’ll be back to wait-and-see in terms of how the rest of the session plays out.
Parson and the Statewide Order
I heard from three different folks indicating that Governor Mike Parson is unlikely to issue a statewide stay-at-home mandate.
· One said that he’s temperamentally not the sort to reverse course after he’s made a decision.
· Another said that he worries about the impact on small businesses across the state and hates to essentially order them out of business.
· And a third shrugs: “Some people have told me there’s no way he’ll issue one. I just don’t see how he can’t. It just baffles me because I’ve always considered him a ‘do the right thing’ kinda guy.”
Instead
Yesterday Parson signed an executive order that waived all penalties for late renewal applications for concealed carry permits for sixty days.
It seemed a bit out of touch. Grocery and pharmacy workers are asking for first-responder status; 100,000 Missourians filed for unemployment benefits in the last week. Conceal carry renewal fees??
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade: “If the governor had issued his executive order on conceal-carry permits a day earlier, I would have thought it was a bad April Fools’ Day joke. The fact that the governor thinks this is a priority is beyond disappointing…”
Budget – The Longer Term
There’s a variety of projections about how quickly the economy will snap back after the coronavirus has petered out.
The optimistic case is that there’s a quick return to normalcy, a “narrow V” recovery.
The less optimistic case is that many of the businesses which have shuttered during this crisis don’t reopen.
At the Thursday daily briefing, Budget Director Dan Haug said he thought that the state budget would be impacted both this year, next year (FY2021) and maybe even beyond that.
Corona Cash Crunch?
It’s obviously very difficult for challengers to raise cash in this environment. We’ll find out how difficult in a few weeks when the April quarters are release. But the current situation gives a huge advantage to incumbents with name ID who already have a campaign war-chest.
In particular, it helps Sen. Lauren Arthur in Senate 17, and Floor Leader Caleb Rowden in Senate 19.
Additionally, another race to watch is Senate 1. If Republican David Lenihan can self-fund, that could lead to an asymmetry in resources there.
Also, impacting Democratic fundraising, as the economy tanks there may be less money from labor organizations flowing into campaigns.
Meanwhile
In Senate 25, former Rep. Steve Cookson gave himself $50,000. This Republican primary hasn’t had a whole lot of fundraising.
In these times it may be about finding big donors to fund independent expenditure PACS, and self-funding.
Howell Promoted
Jeff Howell is being promoted to Executive Vice President of Missouri State Medical Association (MSMA). He’ll take the reins on January 1, 2021. Heidi Geisbuhler Sutherland will become MSMA’s Director for Government Relations.
Plescia Exits Bryan Cave
As noted in the lobbyists registrations yesterday, Frank Plescia has left Bryan Cave. He’s working for Horizon Therapeutics, which is a biopharma company focusing on rare disease / orphan drugs. He’ll be running their state government affairs operations.
Schmitt’s CoronAgenda
While much of the attention concerning the state’s response to the coronavirous has focused on the governor, Attorney General Eric Schmitt has also been active.
He’s been going after scammers and price gougers who are attempting to profit off COVID-19.
He’s also raising serious concerns about the release of inmates charged with violent criminals in St. Louis as a response to the coronavirus.
· See a KMOV story here.
· And a KSDK story here.
Schmitt will be interviewed on Scott Faughn’s mid-week Twitter/Facebook update today at 11AM.
Onder on LG Considerations
"Over the last few weeks there has been speculation that I was considering filing in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of the state of Missouri. I spoke to the Lieutenant Governor's campaign team about two weeks ago and confirmed that I was indeed looking at this race. However after much consultation, reflection, and prayer, my family and I came to the decision that our state and our party would not be well-served by a hard-fought primary campaign. Rather, we believe that at this time of crisis our state should come together to combat the serious threat posed by the current pandemic. I will continue, nevertheless, to fight for the conservative principles that have always been the guiding light for my public service. At this challenging time, may God bless your families, and God bless the great state of Missouri."
Eigel Gets Endorsements
State Senator Bill Eigel's campaign, today, announced that he has received the endorsement of dozens of elected Republican officials from across St. Charles County.
Among the endorsers: Sen. Bob Onder, Reps. Ron Hicks, John Wiemann, Adam Schnelting, Phil Christofanelli, Tom Hannegan, Tony Lovasco, Justin Hill, Nick Schroer, and Bryan Spencer.
And
One Eigel supporter tips the lines of attack they may use against one opponent… “Eric Wulff is a criminal defense and trial attorney with a record of supporting tax increases and liberal judges for the courts… Missouri Republican primaries aren’t won with candidates from the middle. With the significant funding and conservative bona fides of Eigel, Wulff is a swing and a miss for liberal opponents to Eigel.”
eMailbag on Role of Government
Not to say I agree or disagree with Parson’s stay at home order stance, but generally in good times people proclaim government should not tell them what to do, and then when there is a crisis, they want government to tell them to do something they can simply do themselves. It is a weird dynamic.
New Committees
Alissia Canady formed a candidate committee (Canady for Missouri) to run for lieutenant governor as a Democrat
Dan O’Connell Jr formed a candidate committee (Win with O'Connell) to run for Senate 23 as a Republican.
Joshua Dunne formed a candidate committee (Joshua P Dunne for State Representative) to run for House 60 as a Democrat.
Frank 'Mr. D' S DeVenuto formed a candidate committee (Frank S DeVenuto Committee) to run for House 143 as a Republican.
$5K+Contributions
The Good Folks For Cookson - $50,000 from Stephen Cookson.
American Property Casualty Insurance Association Political Account - $7,400 from American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
Friends of Kimbrow - $15,000 from James Kimbrow.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Dusty Schnieders, Charles Portwood, and Ron Schieber