MOScout Daily Update: Lots of Hot Hearings Today - Gross' IP - No Growth 2023? - $261M to High Speed and more...

Today’s Hot Hearings

This gives a sense of how the legislature is galloping along…

8AM

·       Senate Agriculture Committee will hear three bills on foreign ownership of farm land.

·       Senate Education Committee will hear three bills on open enrollment and then probably vote out the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” bill with anti-CRT language in it.

Noon

·       House Election Committee will hear five proposals to change the initiative petition process.

·       House Professional Licensing will hear two bills to give folks greater access to physical therapists - a proposal that gets just a little bit farther each year.

·       House Special Committee on Tax Reform will hear three bills on exempting social security benefits from state income tax.

·       Senate Insurance Committee will hear a bill to tighten bring credit card regulations in line with neighboring states.

4:30

·       House Healthcare Reform Committee will hear a proposal to mandate that health insurance plans include coverage for diagnostic breast examinations.

·       House General Laws will hear three bills on transgender athletics, three bills on gender transitions, and two bill regulating drag shows.

What It Means

·       This time of year can be tough on contract lobbyists (or reporters) juggling multiple important committee hearing going on at the same time.

·       But the big picture remains: House and Senate leadership are cueing up a very full pipeline for this session.

·       And, remember the House’s 2-slot rule.  Does General Laws use both their slots on transgender issues? Or roll them together?

Upcoming EcoDevo Row?

Denny Hoskins, Chair of the Senate Economic Development Committee, said they’d be hearing various film tax credit proposals in next week’s committee hearing. 

Those proposals have long been disparaged by free market advocates who detest the government spending tax money to “pick winners and losers.”

·       Show Me Institute’s Dave Stokes tweeted: Film tax credits are a joke.

High Speed Rollout

Press release: Governor Mike Parson announced that the Department of Economic Development (DED) has awarded a total of $261 million through the ARPA Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program to 60 recipients for projects that will expand and improve internet access statewide. Projects receiving funds are expected to create more than 55,000 connections in locations that previously lacked adequate internet access.

What It Means

This effort is absolutely necessary.  But crazy slow and expensive.  The math (even assuming all these projects hit their target here): $4,745 per household.

Gross Files IP

Former Democratic attorney general candidate Elad Gross filed an initiative petition.  See it here.  His proposal would…

·       Restrict the legislature from making the IP process more restrictive.

·       Require a ¾ majority from the legislature to overturn any IP-initiated statutory changes within 7 years of those changes going into effect.

·       Change the state’s term limit laws from 8 years of service per chamber to 16 years of service overall.

Slow Growth 2023

As budgeteers consider tax cuts and spending, Wall Street is debating whether the economy is headed into a recession.  But the “recession” or not may be academic with growth slowing to the point where it will feel like a recession regardless.  One assumes that state revenues will underwhelm in these no-growth scenarios.

Daily Shot has a couple visuals on the state of the economy...

Bailey Unveils Website

Attorney General Andrew Bailey went live with his website.  See it here.

Sater Among Gubby Appts

Governor Mike Parson announced new appointments…

·       David Sater was appointed to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

·       Tameka Randle was appointed to the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

·       Tim Francka and Jeff Schrag were appointed to the Missouri State University Board of Governors.

·       Lisa Newcomer was appointed to the Missouri Board for Respiratory Care.

·       Harry Thompson was appointed to the Air Conservation Commission.

·       Chris Williams was appointed to the Missouri Mining Commission.

Lobbyists Registrations

Helen Fitzpatrick added Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Sharon Geuea Jones added Madsen-Wright, Inc.   

Catalyst added Northeast Missouri Health Council, Satoshi Action Fund, and Electronic Transactions Association.

Thomas Robbins, Brittany Hyatt Robbins, Christopher Schoeman and Alec Rosenblum added Alternative Medicine Alliance.

Josh Thomas added Flock Group Inc. dba Flock Safety.    

Jessica Pabst deleted Boulevard Brewing Co.

$5K+ Contributions

Committee for Liberty (pro-Ashcroft) - $12,500 from 1776 PAC.

Legal Missouri 2022 - $10,000 from Flora Ceres, Inc.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Jim Hansen, Crystal Williams, Lisa Buhr, and Travis Brown.