MOScout Daily Update: Second Floor Shake Up - McCloskey Serious? - Long to Pitch - MedEx Watch - FRA Tax Scuttled Again - HB 275 Dead? and more...

Second Floor Shake-Up

Governor Mike Parson made moves yesterday to reconfigure his top-level advisors.  Post-Dispatch reports: Two top state officials, including the controversial health director who led Missouri’s response to the pandemic, have stepped down amid a Cabinet-level shake-up in Gov. Mike Parson’s administration.  Parson’s office on Tuesday confirmed the resignations of Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Department of Health and Senior Services, and Drew Erdmann, chief operating officer.  Both were hired by former Gov. Eric Greitens in 2017, but have stayed aboard under Parson’s tenure. Parson appointed his deputy chief of staff, Robert Knodell, as acting director of DHSS effective immediately.  Knodell, who doesn’t have a public health or medical background, has served under Parson since the governor took over in 2018.

Hallway Talk…

·         The start of a second term is a normal time to see some turnover.

·         There was amazement that Williams lasted this long given the rolling series of mini-scandals DHSS faced (menstruation spreadsheet, marijuana rollout, and COVID response) over the years.

·         Knodell’s appointment was derided by one denizen (“I’ve run campaigns too, am I qualified for that job?”) while others were unperturbed at the decision.

·         The COO position will most likely melt away now without Erdmann.  It was a Greitens creation and Erdmann only stayed because he “had wowed” the administration initially.

·         Talk is that OA topper Sarah Steelman would be the next logical position to be changed.  She’s been doing it a long time, and given recent tensions in ParsonLand (Steelman-Tilley; Steelman-Graves) it would make sense.  That’s a tough job and I have no names yet to even start a short list for her replacement.

US Senate Watch

I wrote yesterday that Mark McCloskey was dropping hints on Facebook that he was seriously considering entering the US Senate fray.  Here’s more…

·         McCloskey has reached out to friends, gauging support for a potential run.

·         One source estimates that McCloskey could drop $1M into a committee to seed a campaign, but doubted that he’d completely self-fund a race. 

·         McCloskey’s gun-waving episode has endowed him with credibility with the target market: Republican primary voters.  He is, in the words of one operative, “the one potential candidate who takes votes directly from Eric Greitens’ base.”

What It Means

If McCloskey jumped in, he’d be the third St. Louisian (Eric Schmitt and Greitens), making the field more enticing for Vicky Hartzler and/or Billy Long.

Also

Congressman Billy Long’s Mar-A-Lago fundraiser next week could be a critical inflection point for Long’s Senate aspirations.  Word is that Long hopes for an audience with Donald Trump during his visit, and will likely make his pitch for an endorsement.  That interaction could be a deciding factor on whether Long enters the US Senate race or not.

·         Meanwhile, it seems that Greitens is taking an alternative strategy in the Trumpstakes.  He’s gathering up as many Trump-ish endorsements as he can (Giuliani, Guilfoyle) to create a Trump-endorsement-by-proxy look.

MedEx Watch

The Senate Appropriations Committee continues their work this morning, slogging through the budget, deciding where to take the House position or their own position on line items.

Tomorrow, though, is the main event.  They will decide whether to insert funding for Medicaid expansion back into the budget.

My assessment of the committee (see committee membership here) is that there’s a greater than 50% chance it gets put back in.  You’ll need four Republicans to join the four Democrats to make it happen.  That’s not a gimme, but assuming the chair and vice-chair are on-board, that gets you half the way there.

In the hallway yesterday one observer said it was time for the governor to personally make the ask of a few folks on the committee.  He could seal the deal if he did.

We’ll see….  

Onder Derails FRA

The Senate went back to the FRA tax renewal again near the end of their evening session.  The FRA tax brings matching federal dollars to support the Medicaid program.  Its passage is considered critical.

Sen. Paul Wieland had previously prevented its passage by adding an anti-abortion amendment.  But after some consultation, Appropriations Chair Dan Hegeman and Weiland apparently reached some workable language. 

Last night, however, after the new FRA substitute language was offer (SS#2, see it here), Sen. Bob Onder stood up.

He offered an amendment to “tighten” the language.  See his amendment here.  As best as I can tell the main impact of Onder’s amendment is that by including “any affiliate or associate thereof” the prohibition becomes broader.  The bill was laid over. 

And so the saga continues…

What’s Next for HB 275?

Rep. Tom Hannegan’s HB 275, discharged from committee by petition, now sits on the House calendar in its own slot: House Bills Taken From Committee Per Constitution.  HB 275 would add sexual orientation and gender identity to Missouri’s non-discrimination laws.

It could theoretically be called to the floor at any time by Floor Leader Dean Plocher and be debated for perfection. 

But I’m told that’s unlikely, perhaps as a nod to the power of committee chairs… “It doesn’t matter what bill it is, a bill removed from a Committee that way is dead.”

New Committees

Molendorp for Collector was formed.  This is former Rep. Chris Molendorp’s committee to run for re-election for Cass County Collector of Revenue.

Lobbyists Registrations

Steven Tilley, Tom Robbins, Brittany Robbins, Tracy King added Organic Remedies Missouri, Inc.    

Jason Zamkus added Missouri Corn Growers Association.

Scott Penman and Kaycee Nail deleted March of Dimes Foundation, Missouri Chapter.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to David Barklage, Dan Mehan, Paul Curtman, Doug Clemens, and Conner Kerrigan.