MOScout Daily Update: House Committee Chairs - Senate Chairs Coming? - Shippy to Schatz - Schnelting Contra Big Tech and more....

Vescovo Names Committee Chairs

Speaker Rob Vescovo announced most committee chairs yesterday…

Committee on Administration and Accounts - Rep. Jason Chipman, R-Steelville

Committee on Agriculture Policy - Rep. Don Rone, R-Portageville

Committee on Budget – Rep. Cody Smith, R-Carthage

Committee on Children and Families - Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold

Committee on Consent and House Procedures - Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland

Committee on Conservation and Natural Resources- Rep. Randy Pietzman, R-Troy

Committee on Corrections and Public Institutions - Rep. Andrew McDaniel, R-Deering

Committee on Crime Prevention – Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin

Committee on Downsizing State Government – Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho

Committee on Economic Development - Rep. Derek Grier, R-Chesterfield

Committee on Elections and Elected Officials - Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial

Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education- Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport

Committee on Emerging Issues - Rep. Aaron Griesheimer, R-Washington

Committee on Ethics – Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit

Committee on Financial Institutions – Rep. Rick Francis, R-Perryville

Committee on Fiscal Review- Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit

Committee on General Laws – Rep. Curtis Trent, R-Springfield

Committee on Health and Mental Health Policy- Rep. Mike Stephens, R-Bolivar

Committee on Higher Education - Rep. Brenda Shields, R-St. Joseph

Committee on Insurance – Rep. Justin Hill, R-Lake St. Louis

Committee on Judiciary – Rep. David Evans, R-West Plains

Committee on Legislative Review – Rep. Dan Houx, R-Warrensburg

Committee on Litigation Reform – Rep. Bruce DeGroot, R-Ellisville

Committee on Local Government - Rep. Tom Hannegan, R-St. Charles

Committee on Pensions - Rep. Patricia Pike, R-Adrian

Committee on Professional Registration and Licensing - Rep. Jeff Coleman, R-Grain Valley

Committee on Public Safety – Rep. Shane Roden, R-Cedar Hill

Committee on Rules – Administrative Oversight – Rep. J. Eggleston, R-Maysville

Committee on Rules – Legislative Oversight – Rep. Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters

Committee on Rural Community Development – Rep. Brad Pollitt, R-Sedalia 

Committee on Transportation – Rep. Becky Ruth, R-Festus

Committee on Utilities – Rep. Bill Kidd, R-Buckner

Committee on Veterans – Rep. Dave Griffith, R-Jefferson City

Committee on Ways and Means – Rep. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau

Committee on Workforce Development – Rep. Mike Henderson, R-Bonne Terre

Special Committee on Criminal Justice – Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin

Special Committee on Government Accountability - Rep. David Gregory, R-St. Louis

Special Committee on Government Oversight – Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Republic

Special Committee on Homeland Security – Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Defiance

Special Committee on Small Business – Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon

Special Committee on Tourism – Rep. Brad Hudson, R-Cape Fair

Some Thoughts

·         It’s hard to overstate the amount of trust the speaker has placed in Rep. Fitzwater.  He’s the chair of the Ethics Committee which is where the House’s most messy stuff is dealt with.  And he’s chair of Fiscal Review which looks at all Senate amendments – a critical point in the legislative process.

·         Rep. Houx, similarly, gets an immensely important position.  The Legislative Rules Committee is a powerful new committee.  It will be the place where House subs are made.  “No House Substitute will be in order except those reported from the House Committee on Legislative Review.  No House amendment which, in the opinion of the Speaker, is effectually replacing the underlying bill or committee substitute will be in order.”  One observer says that “Later in session this committee in the spot where the entire building will be focused on their actions.”

·         Rep. Griesheimer lands one of the bigger fish, Committee on Emerging Issues.  He’s a sophomore and this committee will likely see a wide range of issues akin to the broad portfolio of Gen Laws.    

·         Rep. Gregory gets a good platform with the Special Committee on Government Accountability.  He can launch probes into government practice and demonstrate skills he could use as auditor.

·         Rep. Taylor takes over Government Oversight, the old Robert Ross committee that looked at the MMJ process.  This could be the 2nd floor’s new pet peeve – except that Taylor will be a bulldog.

·         Rep. Eggleston and Christofanelli claim the coveted Rules Committee chairmanships.

·         Former Sen. Wallingford gets some respect for his prior service by taking the gavel of Ways and Means.

·         Vescovo’s appointments were distributed across the various ideological spectrum of the caucus, not just the FOR (Friends of Rob).  Rep. Trent receives the relatively high-profile General Laws; Rep. Evans, the chair of the House’s more moderate Lincoln Caucus, takes over Judiciary; on the other extreme Rep. Hill is probably making some health insurers nervous as the new chair of the Insurance Committee.

·         It’s an honor for sophomores to be awarded a committee chair.  By my count nine members of the GOP’s sophomores class got chairmanships… Reps. Baker, Evans, Griesheimer, Hudson, Pollitt, Roberts, Shields and the Colemans.

·         And folks are assuming that Rep. Shaul will chair the House’s redistricting committee when that starts underway.

Rumors on Senate Chairs

It sounds like the Senate Committee chairs will be announced soon.  Here’s what I’m hearing…

Sen. Mike Cierpiot takes Commerce Committee; Sen. Denny Hoskins moves from Small Business to Economic Development, and Sen. Eric Burlison takes over Small Business.  Sen. Lincoln Hough gets Fiscal Oversight; Sen. Bill White will get a newly combined Seniors, Families and Veterans Committee; and Sen. Justin Brown will chair Transportation and Public Safety.

Staying put…

·         Bernskoetter – Ag

·         Crawford – Local Government

·         Eigel – General Laws

·         Hegeman – Approps

·         Koenig – Ways and Means

·         Luetkemeyer - Judiciary

·         O’Laughlin - Education

·         Onder – Health & Pensions

·         Riddle – Professional Registration

·         Wieland – Insurance

And

The expectation is that Bernskoetter will chair the Senate Redistricting Committee when that comes online.

Driving the Day: Price Censure Debate?

HC 1, the Ethics Committee’s complaint Against Rep. Wiley Price, is on the House calendar for third reading, meaning it’s cued up for debate.  Post-Dispatch reports that it may be today. 

MO Dems must be grinding their teeth that this will be the story of the day instead of the Republican madness in DC.

STL School Board Asks for Charter Ban

At yesterday’s State Board of Education meeting, St. Louis City school officials asked for a moratorium on new charter schools in the city.

MSBA tweeted: St. Louis School Board President Dorothy Rohde-Collins tells the State Board of Education the city of St. Louis is oversaturated with schools while charter schools are unchecked. She says education in St. Louis has become too fragmented.

The response from the board was basically: “We feel ya, but sorry.  Our hands are tied.”  There’s no mechanism for them to disapprove of new charters.

And

Sen. Lincoln Hough’s SB 315 would be a charter killer.  Among other things, it would require that new charter schools are sponsored by school districts.

Shippy Starts With Schatz

As rumored, Steele Shippy is Sen. Dave Schatz’ new chief of staff.  He is now listed on the Senate’s staff page.

Shippy was campaign manager for Governor Mike Parson’s successful re-election.  Before that he staffed Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.

GOP Legislators Ask Schmitt to Investigate Big Tech

Rep. Adam Schnelting drafted a letter calling on Attorney General Eric Schmitt to investigate big tech’s censorship and their potential violations of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.  He was joined by several other Republican legislators.  See it here.

FYI

Here’s who is registered to lobby for the three companies that Schnelting mentions in his letter…

Amazon – Dave Berry, Travis Brown, Tom Dempsey, and Tracy King.

Apple – Olga Gutierrez.

Google – Richard Brownlee and Rachel Hack Merlo.

Koch Re-Evaluates Giving

Wall Street Journal reports that the “Koch network's nonprofit advocacy organization Americans for Prosperity and the affiliated super political action committee will evaluate future support of politicians based on their actions last week leading up to the assault on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob… The decision adds to a growing list of deep-pocketed groups and companies who have halted giving in some form to Republicans in the wake of the riots.”

FYI

In Missouri AFP is repped by Jeremy Cady.

And Koch Industries is represented by Travis Brown, Tracy King, Thomas Robbins, and Steven Tilley.

Lincoln Project Promises MO Action

The Lincoln Project, a Republican anti-Trump organization, promised in a tweet yesterday to take aim at Senator Josh Hawley.  See it here.

We will be buying full page ads in Missouri papers listing all of the @HawleyMO

 donors demanding their money back. We will also be buying advertising focusing on the continuing financiers of Hawleys insurrection and sedition.

MEC Opinion

The Missouri Ethics Commission offered a clarifying opinion about whether the treasurer of a committee is in “control.”  See it here.

I am a registered lobbyist.  I am also scheduled to become treasurer of a political action committee in 2021. The PAC has a board of directors who vote to determine whether certain political candidates are worthy of the PAC’s support. The treasurer is an ex-officio member of the board but does not vote. As treasurer, I would solicit for contributions, keep track of the funds, maintain a membership list, and make contributions as directed by the board. Please provide guidance as to whether this constitutes “control” as that term is used in Section 130.097.2, RSMo?

The treasurer of a PAC is in control of the committee, as the term “control” is used in Section 130.097.2, RSMo. While that statute does not prohibit a lobbyist from serving as treasurer for a PAC, the statute does prohibit the lobbyist/treasurer from making contributions from the PAC to candidate committees and to committees controlled by public officials.

New Committees

Adrian Plank formed a candidate committee (Friends of Adrian Plank) to run for House 47 as a Democrat in 2022.  Obviously, with redistricting coming, there’s no guarantee where any lines will actually be in 2022.

Lobbyists Registrations

William Eugene Shoehigh added VRBO.

Richard McIntosh, David McCracken and John Gaskin added Dana Transport Inc.

Troy Stemming added Golden Entertainment Inc; and deleted Penn National Gaming.

Nexus Group deleted Lyft Inc.

$5K+ Contributions

House Republican Campaign Committee Inc - $7,500 from Craig Fishel for State Representative.

House Republican Campaign Committee Inc - $10,000 from Missourians for Cody Smith.

House Republican Campaign Committee Inc - $7,500 from Kansas City Chiefs Football Club.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Garrett Poorman and St. Louis City Alderman Jeffrey Boyd.