MOScout Daily Update: Conservatives Itchy - Anti-Greitens Plot? - Shaul Asks for Special - House Blinks - Bush Light Fight and more...

2 Days Left…

Just under 36 hours left in session!  Higher profile bills are making their way toward the finish line…

·         FRA vehicle (SB 64) is in conference.

·         Wayfair vehicles (HB 66 and SB 153) are inching forward.

·         New ESA language (SB 86) in conference.

·         Children’s protection (HB 557) is back on the House side.

But Conservatives Feel Left Out

Senate conservatives are sounding itchy to get to their priorities.

·         Sen. Denny Hoskins began yesterday’s morning session “congratulating” Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo on Tuesday’s passage of the gas tax, PDMP, and a MONA-lite vote on a withdrawn amendment. 

·         He then bemoaned that the conservative agenda appears stalled, citing the lack of movement of SAPA, tort reform and the anti-1619 project legislation.

·         Meanwhile, Sen. Bob Onder is running a Facebook ad (see it here) making the same point: “Republican General Assembly cannot pass SAPA, Election Integrity or a prolife amendment to a Medicaid bill. But it can raise taxes!”

·         And the Missouri Firearms Coalition was blaming Floor Leader Caleb Rowden for the lack of floor time for SAPA.  See it here.

Rowden Decries Threats

Senate Floor Leader Caleb Rowden on Twitter: I am disappointed in the tone and demeanor of interactions, including threats against me and my family, related to bills of interest at the end of this #MOLeg session. Civility and respect must exist alongside passion for a principled/political cause. We can and must do better!

Eigel Election Moves

Last night the Senate perfected its version of HB 850.  Sen. Bill Eigel was the Senate handler.  It contained an intriguing provision to include run-offs in statewide primary elections so that you needed at least 50% to win the nomination.

The mighty Jason Rosenbaum saw this as an attempt to minimize Eric Greitens’ chances to win the US Senate nomination.

Rudi Keller quoted Minority Leader John Rizzo saying the same thing, “The majority party is scared to death that Eric Greitens is going to win the Senate primary.”

Meanwhile Shaul Asks for Special Session

Press release: Committee Chair Dan Shaul and his members submitted a letter to the governor noting the Senate has held up several important elections reforms including Voter ID, Initiative Petition Reform, and protection from mass mail-in voting and ballot harvesting.

The letter says, “The House Committee on Elections and Elected Officials worked diligently with our colleagues in the House to send several key pieces of election legislation to the Senate. Unfortunately, these important issues are being held up in the Senate. On behalf of our constituents across the state of Missouri, my colleagues and I ask you to call a special session upon adjournment of our current legislative session to address election priorities.”

Shaul, R-Imperial, said, “As Chairman of the House Committee on Elections and Elected Officials, I have made it a priority since day one to support legislation that continues to ensure Missouri’s elections remain fair, transparent and trustworthy. In hearing from hundreds of constituents across the state, it remains clear that Missourians continue to support common sense legislation to ensure the security of elections. Unfortunately Senate Leadership has held up these important issues.”

Also Watching

·         Rep. Nick Schroer added “the police officers’ bill of rights” language to Sen. Karla May’s SB 57.  That language is already in Sen. Bill Eigel’s SB 26 which is in conference.  One rumor is that House Dems extracted a promise that bill would get sidetracked in return for their support for the gas tax.  The rumor made not be true, but perhaps Schroer heard it too and was working a second vehicle.

·         MOIndy writes about the new ESA language in SB 86.  Read that here.  The article also notes that the bill contains a new provision.  “An additional amendment offered Tuesday by Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho, would also allow families who own property and have paid at least $3,000 in school taxes in a district outside of their home district for at least three years to send their children to a public school in that area.”

TAFPed

Yesterday’s Truly Agreed and Finally Passed bills…

Sen. Dan Hegeman’s SCR 7 urging support of a water project.

Rep. John Wiemann’s HB 271, a local governments bill.

Rep. Tom Hannegan’s HB 273, a professional registration bill.

Rep. Jay Mosley’s HB 402, dealing with lottery winner information.

Rep. Bruce DeGroot’s HB 697, dealing with PACE.

Bush Light Fight

St. Louis Jewish Light complains that they can’t get an interview with Congressman Cori Bush.  See it her.

·         U.S. Rep. Cori Bush’s staff has refused to grant the St. Louis Jewish Light an interview with the Democratic lawmaker…. The Light wishes to speak with Rep. Bush because we do our best to inform our local Jewish community about the issues they care about most. And Bush, during the campaign, took an unusual position for a Democratic or Republican candidate on one such topic: Israel.

·         As a candidate, Bush expressed support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel movement… When Bush defeated Clay and then won in the general election, she became the third U.S. lawmaker who supports the BDS movement.

·         Wherever you are on the spectrum of opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from disinterested, to Israel can do nothing wrong, to Israel can do nothing right, to anywhere in the vast expanse in between those positions, the deletion of that page and Bush’s subsequent refusal to sit down for an interview with the Light should be a cause for concern, if you are concerned about accountability.

·         Support the BDS movement? You deserve to know if Bush continues to support its ideas. See the BDS movement as a cover for anti-Semitism? You deserve to know how Bush responds to that charge.

House Blinks

Missouri Independent reports on the House blinking in its stare-down with the Senate over anti-perjury language.  See it here.

·         House leadership backed off its insistence that a wide-ranging crime bill include stiffer penalties for lying under oath to the legislature a day after Gov. Mike Parson threatened a veto.

·         The provisions were inspired by the 2018 testimony of newspaper publisher Scott Faughn, who was called before a House investigative committee after he paid $120,000 in cash to an attorney representing the ex-husband of the woman who accused former Gov. Eric Greitens of coercive and violent sexual misconduct. Faughn said under oath that the money was for the purchase of recordings of Greitens’ alleged victim talking about physical abuse for a book he was working on — even though other journalists got the recordings for free.  The attorney he paid, however, said Faughn told him the money came from an unnamed wealthy Republican who did not like Greitens.

·         Faughn’s testimony has become a point of concern among some Republicans. That includes House Speaker Rob Vescovo, who publicly pushed for Greitens to be removed from office in 2018 but also expressed consternation that the source of the $120,000 that helped topple the former governor has remained a secret.

SB 53 just needs one last vote in the House to be Truly Agreed and Finally Passed.

New Committees

Chrissy Sommer formed a candidate committee (Citizens for Sommer) to run for County Council District 5 St. Charles County as a Republican.

Alex Dubinsky formed a campaign committee (Dubinsky for Missouri) to run for House 88 as a Democrat.  Rep. Tracy McCreery is termed.

Lobbyists Registrations

James Harris added St. Andrews Mini Mart.

Steven Tilley, Thomas Robbins and Tracy King deleted Public Consulting Group, and Merscorp Holding Inc.

$5K+Contributions

Midwest Region Laborers' Political League Education Fund - $6,944 from St. Louis Supplemental Dues Fund.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Maura Browning, Beth Low, and Corey Jackson.