MOScout Daily Update: Senate's Short Day - PDMP Conference Sub - SBOE on School Start - Moon Contra Koenig and more...
Senate Adjourns Early
The Senate concluded its day relatively early yesterday kicking off at about 1PM. The early adjournment created some scuttlebutt.
The best theory is that Sen. Scott Sifton was angry with the House’s passage of SB 591. That’s the tort reform bill. Two lobbyists told me that he had expected that there would be some language changes to the bill. One said he thought he had a commitment to that from Senate leadership. But the House – perhaps nervous that anything changes would prolong the process and risk passage – TAFP’d it as it was.
Sifton was visibility upset on the Senate floor, alluding to the number 591. He appeared to be starting to slow things down. Floor Leader Caleb Rowden, rather than waste everyone’s time with a slow-burn filibuster, figured it was best to adjourn for the day, and hope that cooler heads prevail tomorrow.
The House, it seems, then quickly adjourned – almost as if in retaliation, as if to say “you not moving our stuff, we won’t move yours.”
Among the rumors was one that the Senate would just call it a session and gavel out a sine die motion today. A good source says that’s not under consideration.
· Senate Republicans caucus at 9:45AM this morning, we’ll see if they plot out a path forward for the next few days.
And
One Senate side source says that a “new issue that might get some legs [during these final days]… no excuse absentee [voting] for the 2020 election…” That might serve as a peace offering. We’ll see….
PDMP Bill Stripped Down
The conference committee substitute on the prescription drug monitoring program appears to have removed the fentanyl provision which caused some House Dems to balk. See it here.
On the conference committee: Sens. Luetkemeyer, Sater, O’Laughlin, Rizzo and Sifton; and Reps. Rehder, Stephens (128), Kolkmeyer, Roberts (77), and McCreery.
SBOE on School Start
The State Board of Education met virtually yesterday and made a motion to give local districts a process to seek a waiver on the start date for the upcoming school year.
Last year Governor Mike Parson signed a law moving the start date to no sooner than ten days before the first Monday in September. Despite the concerns shared with the commissioner from groups and businesses, including the Missouri Canoe and Floaters Association, the board moved to establish a process where districts can appeal the mandate by holding a public hearing, identifying an instructional purpose, and stating an intention to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Board member Vic Lenz said, “We are trying to honor the law, but we also have to look at the good of students in the classroom and learning.”
Moon Unreliable Ally for CC?
I wrote last week about Rep. Mike Moon’s penchant for making unpopular votes. Yesterday provided another example. Moon was one of only three House members to vote No on SB 569, Sen. Andrew Koenig’s bill about sexual assaults. (Reps. Tom Hurst and Jeff Pogue were the other two)
I wonder if it gives the Conservative Caucus pause to be backing Moon in his primary when he’s voting against one of their member’s bill which otherwise passed nearly unanimously.
Drinks to Go Fight
Post-Dispatch reports on a brewing fight between the Missouri Restaurant Association and the Missouri Beer Wholesalers Association.
As part of an effort to help restaurants stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control announced last month it was temporarily allowing the to-go sale of alcohol beverages packaged by retailers. Usually, to-go alcohol must be in its original package. The order, which was put in place as part of Gov. Mike Parson’s declaration of an emergency, expires in mid-June at a time when many restaurants may still be limiting service.
The National Restaurant Association is pushing state lawmakers to make the change permanent before the House and Senate adjourn for the year on Friday…
There is opposition to the idea. Brad Bates, executive director of the Missouri Beer Wholesalers Association, said the push has not been vetted by lawmakers, who have just three days left in their annual session. There have been no hearings on the issue to allow for the public to have input into the matter…
Meanwhile
The Missouri Restaurant Association is circulating a polling memo that shows “three in four Missouri adults favor allowing customers to purchase alcoholic beverages with their takeout and delivery food orders from restaurants on a permanent basis.”
The survey was fielded as part of an online omnibus study conducted by Engine among a
demographically representative sample of 500 adults ages 18 or older living in the state of
Missouri. This survey was live on May 8-12, 2020.
The Reopening Puzzle
Axios this morning has a graphic and story about the seeming disconnect between states that are reopening and new coronavirus cases. See it here. “Some of the states that skeptics were most worried about, including Florida and Georgia, haven’t seen the rise in total cases that some experts feared. Florida’s new cases have actually declined by 14% compared to the previous week, and Georgia’s fell by 12%...”
The reason appears to be that economic activity in “re-opened” states hasn’t markedly increased. See it here (page 23). This same report shows that states with later “stay-at-home” orders had already seen a drop in economic activity before the orders took effect. In other words, consumers are making their own judgements about the risks of carrying out previously normal activities.
National health leaders, meanwhile, continue to insist that wide-spread testing in the key to contain the virus as economies re-open. See the Wall Street Journal report on yesterday’s Senate testimony here. “Timely testing is vital to reopen America. Increasing contact tracing is critical,” Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the committee.
But one sticking point in the testing implementation is whether insurers should cover the costs of tests for asymptomatic people. For example, in Kansas City huge insurer Blue Cross is among those that does not cover testing for “evaluation for return to work.” That cost will fall to the employers or employees when reopening starts.
New Committees
Aaron Wisdom formed an exemption committee to run for lieutenant governor as a Republican.
Karen Planalp formed a candidate committee (Committee to Elect Karen Planalp) to run for House 9 as a Democrat.
Nola Wood formed a candidate committee (Friends of Nola Wood) to run for House 36 as a Republican.
Nick Allison formed a candidate committee (Committee to Elect Nick Allison ) to run for House 125 as a Republican.
Six County PAC was formed. Its treasurer is Harvey Faircloth.
Lobbyists Registrations
Evan Oneto added FedEx Corporation.
Lance LeComb added Union Electric Co. DBA Amerenue, Ameren Services, Ameren Corp. Francis G. Slay deleted SirenGPS, Inc.
$5K+ Contributions
MO Beverage PAC - $5,223 from Pepsi Beverages Company of St Louis.
Committee To Elect Elliott - $17,027 from Lee Elliott.
KCFOP PAC - $6,115 from Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 99.
Page PAC - $10,000 from Andrew C Taylor.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Maura Browning, Beth Low, and Corey Jackson.