MOScout Daily Update: Schmitt Suit - Gunby in CD-2? - AmView in the Field - Vax Mandates Patchwork and more...

Schmitt Sues To Reverse STL Masking Order

Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued St. Louis City and St. Louis County to reverse their mask order.  Schmitt went on Fox News to explain his action, fueling criticism that this was part of the “New Eric” act, jettisoning his former persona as he appeals to Republican primary voters.   

The suit, see it here, argues that the order is unconstitutional because the “Missouri Constitution prohibits government restrictions that are unconstitutionally vague.”  It then cites example of the vagueness of the order…

·         The order does not define when, for deaf and hard-of-hearing people and those communicating with them, “the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.”  Ex. C § III.3.v.  As a result, the order is vague and vests too much discretion in officials to make on-the-spot determinations of whether seeing a communicator’s mouth is essential for communication.

·         What is “actively engaged in consuming food or drink” is also not defined in the order.  Ex. D. § 2.b.  But the scope of that exception is also incredibly vague.  It is unclear, for example, whether it requires masking between bites or sips, or whether it permits people to remain unmasked throughout the meal, or something in between.

And

SuperAttorney Chuck Hatfield tweets that he’s “surprised” Schmitt didn’t seek a Temporary Restraining Order.  “Without that request we are months from a court order…”

Schmitt FB Ad

Eric Schmitt for Senate’s current Facebook ad is not exactly helping dissuade vaccine hesitancy.  It features a picture of Joe Biden and warns of folks going door-to-door to take a “vaccine census.”  See it here.

Rumorville Gunby for CD-2?

Tipster says that Rep. Trish Gunby is eyeing a congressional bid in CD-2.  Gunby, see her legislative bio here, flipped a St. Louis County House district for Dems back in 2019. If Gunby runs, she’d join Ben Samuels (see his website here) in a Democratic primary.

·         CD-2 will be a long-shot bid for Dems.  The best guess is that CD-2 will turn redder in 2022 with redistricting.

American Viewpoint in the Field

MOScouter tell me… “Called by American Viewpoint on the Senate primary. They asked if the primary were held today, would I vote for Schmitt, Greitens, McCloskey, Hartzler, Smith, Long, Wagner, or Schatz. All of the oppo questions were centered on Greitens…. Took almost 20 minutes…”

Axios on Vax Mandate Patchwork

Axios reports on the various vaccine mandates that are starting to work their way through the economy.  Read it here.  Here in Missouri, we’re already seeing it: hospitals are requiring their workers to be vaccinated and universities are requiring returning student to vaccine.

From the article…

·         The VA became the first federal agency to require its employees to be vaccinated.

·         More than 50 medical groups — including the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association — called for mandatory vaccinations of all health care workers, WaPo first reported.

·         California announced that state employees and health care workers must show proof of vaccination or get tested regularly.

·         New York City brought all municipal workers — including teachers and police officers — under a vaccine requirement that had previously only applied to health workers.

·         Even the SF Bar Owner Alliance hopped onboard, announcing that the 500 San Francisco bars it represents will require indoor customers to show proof of vaccination or a negative test.

Talk: No Special for Redistricting?

One fear is that Governor Mike Parson won’t call a special session for congressional redistricting.  The concern is that Parson still “feels burned” by his crime special session that sputtered for weeks.

I think Parson will call a special – probably waiting again until Republican leaders can guarantee they have a map that able to pass.  But if he didn’t, redistricting would dominate the first few weeks of next session as it’d be a race to pass the map ahead of filing in February.

Next Week’s Election Day

Next Tuesday, August 3, local municipalities across the state will hold elections.  These are prime dates for passing local taxes and bond issuances.  I keep an eye on the formation of new committees as they often hint when local resistance is building to a proposal.

·         For example, Local Taxpayers For Responsible Spending was recently formed.  Its purpose is to oppose a ballot question next week in Warrenton, a “property tax increase to support Warrenton Fire Protection District.”

eMailbag on Single Subject Violation

Looks like the Desoto case defines "single subject" closer to how Mike Moon would describe it. Passing legislation by amendments just got harder…

$5K+ Contributions

Uniting Missouri PAC - $20,000 from Phoenix Home Care & Hospice.

Friends For Hardy Billington - $80,000 from Hardy Billington.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $10,000 from Missouri Soybean Association.

Lobbyists Registrations

Richard McIntosh added Carahsoft Technology Corp. on behalf of Salesforce, and PhoneLiveStreaming.

Steven Tilley and Thomas Robbins added Justice Grown.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Lacy Clay, Shanon Hawk, Jim Avery, and Jack Gamble.