MOScout Daily Update: Budget Conference - ESA Bill Moves - Children Protection Saga - Worker Classification Debate and more...

Budget Conference

The Budget Conference Committee dominated the day in the legislature.  While the House suspended its rule to allow floor work during the conference, the Senate basically took the day off.

The budget must be passed by Friday.  The conference committee worked through the entire budget and things appear to be on track to meet the constitutional deadline.  See the Missouri Independent’s article on the conference here.

·         One interesting debate was on HB 2, dealing with education.  It saw significant debate regarding a $2 million appropriation that appears to be headed for The Opportunity Trust.  All the Democrats on the conference committee – and Republican Sen. Lincoln Hough – voiced discomfort with the line item.  But House Budget Chair Cody Smith held firm, and it apparently didn’t prevent the bill from receiving the necessary signatures to move forward.

Children Protection Saga

The Dispatch has published another report on the abuses that occurred at the Kanakuk Kamps.  See it here.

In March Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed 102 criminal charges against the operators of the Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding School.

Children’s advocates are pushing for Missouri to abandon its laissez faire approach to children’s camps that they say has attracted bad actors to the state.

Rep. Rudy Veit’s HB 557 is the vehicle to construct a framework for the state to intervene where abuse occurs.  For example, it requires the facilities to notify the Department of Social Services of their existence.

ESA Vehicle Moves in Senate

Rep. Phil Christofanelli’s HB 349 (Establishes the "Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program") was voted out of the Senate Committee on Government Oversight and Fiscal Review.  The vote was 5-3 with Chairman Lincoln Hough and the Democrats on the losing side.

This is a clean ESA bill without charter expansion, and appears to be the most likely vehicle for the Senate to attempt to pass education reform in the final days of session.

TAFPed

Yesterday’s Truly Agreed and Finally Passed bills…

·         Rep. Bruce DeGroot’s HB 362 dealing with the sunshine law.

·         Sen. Bill White’s SB 120, military affairs.

Worker Classification

Wall Street Journal reports that “The Biden administration blocked a Trump-era regulation that would have made it easier for businesses to categorize gig workers and others as independent contractors, and signaled it would take a tougher enforcement stance against employers on worker classification.  The Labor Department said Wednesday it is nullifying a rule it completed in early January that sought to make it more difficult for a gig worker, such as an Uber or DoorDash driver, and other workers to be counted as an employee under federal law. Having status as an employee, rather than a contractor, means those workers are covered by federal minimum-wage and overtime laws…”

Lyft President John Zimmer reacted by noting that the primary classification policy of workers occurs at the state level.

FYI

·         Sen. Bob Onder has filed legislation dealing with work classification over the years.

·         Lyft dropped its lobbyists (Nexus Group) last year when the COVID crisis hit their business.

Fayette Eyes Pot Vote

Late last month a campaign committee was formed to support a November ballot measure in the small college town of Fayette Missouri which would legalize marijuana.

The committee is Fair Access Missouri, and, according to the paperwork, the treasurer of the committee is Jodi McSwain.

Husch Paid $2M+ By Clay

Kansas City Star reports on the tremendous amount that Husch Blackwell was paid by Clay County over the past few years.  See it here.

·         In April 2020, law firm Husch Blackwell had six different attorneys billing Clay County for tasks that legal invoices simply described as “county counselor work.”  All those lawyers, regardless of their status as partners or associates, each billed the county $365 an hour for a combined total of 120 hours that month. Some of the time they billed was for attorneys to make the trip from Husch Blackwell’s Jefferson City office to Liberty and back to attend Clay County Commission meetings.  The total bill to Clay County taxpayers: $43,800 for that month alone.

·         Taxpayers paid Husch Blackwell $2,268,024 from 2018 to 2020, years in which the then-Clay County Commission replaced its full-time staff attorney with a large law firm that bills its time by the hour. The average annual amount Husch Blackwell was paid by Clay County for those three years works out to $756,008.

·         By comparison, Kansas City spent $60,876 last fiscal year on outside law firms, according to a city spokesman.

Back to the Office for State Workers

Press release: Governor Mike Parson directed all state workers to return to their offices for in-person work no later than Monday, May 17, 2021, and that all state buildings be open and accessible to the public during normal business hours…

Lobbyists Registrations

Sherry Doctorian added CRH Americas Materials.

James Moody added Molina Healthcare, Inc.          

Lynne Schlosser added Midwest Natural Fiber.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Reps. Tom Hannegan and Danny Busick.