MOScout Daily Update: IP Reform Debate Ahead - Senate Switches Schedule - Poll on Anesthetists - Pro-Bates PAC and more...
Kansas City Chiefs won a nail-bitter last night, advancing to Super Bowl LVII. Scott Charton tweets: Just waiting to see customized Super Bowl 57 adornments of Missouri's happily embroidered "Gov57" @GovParsonMO, flamboyant @Chiefs cheerleader.
Senate Schedule Switch
Tomorrow the Senate will switch its working schedule a bit. They’ll ditch the routine of morning hearings with a break at 10AM for session, followed by afternoon hearings. Instead, they’ll clump all the hearing in the morning, and convene at 1PM.
This will allow floor debate to proceed without the interruption for returning to committees – and without the interruption of a lunch break.
The idea, I presume, is to create longer spaces of debate, especially for more controversial items. Shorter debate periods favor opponents of legislation as it’s easier to run out the clock.
We’ll see how it goes. See the schedule here.
IP Reform
There two vehicles moving forward in the House’s effort to change the initiative petition process: HJR 30, sponsored by Rep. Ed Lewis, and HJR 43, sponsored by Rep. Mike Henderson.
They’ll be heard in the Rules Administrative Oversight Committee today (12:30) with floor debate expected on Wednesday.
· HJR 43 would raise the threshold for constitutional amendments from its current simple majority to 60% approval.
· HJR 30 is a bit more complicated. It retains the simple majority approval for a constitutional amendment, but adds a second criteria. The proposal must also win a majority of votes in a majority of the state’s House districts. In other words, in addition to winning majority approval, it must win majority approval from Missouri’s rural population which make up a large portion of Missouri’s House districts.
Both would have to be approved by the voters, so they won’t impact any IPs on the 2024 ballot.
Polling on Anesthesiology
Getting passed around… polling from Remington Research. It’s a topic-specific poll dealing with anesthesiology. I assume it’s in reaction to bills proposing a change in the physician – nurse anesthetists relationship: Sen. Justin Brown’s SB 27, and Rep. Bennie Cook’s HB 329.
Survey conducted January 23 through January 25, 2023. 1,273 Missourians participated in the survey. Margin of Error is +/-3% with a 95% level of confidence. Totals do not always equal 100% due to rounding.
Q1: Who do you trust to administer anesthesia for your medical treatment?
Physician: 60%
Nurse: 10%
Not sure: 31%
Q2: A physician anesthesiologist is required to receive 5-7 more years of education and 9,500 or more hours of training than a nurse qualified to administer anesthesia. Does this make you more or less likely to support nurses being allowed to administer anesthesia without the oversight of a doctor?
More likely: 19%
Less likely: 51%
Not sure: 30%
Q3: Eliminating a physician anesthesiologist and allowing a nurse to administer anesthesia rarely reduces healthcare costs. Does this make you more or less likely to support nurses being allowed to administer anesthesia without the oversight of a doctor?
More likely: 17%
Less likely: 59%
Not sure: 24%
Q4: Who would you want to treat you for long term pain?
Physician: 71%
Nurse: 13%
Not sure: 16%
Q5: If a medical complication or anesthesia emergency occurred during surgery, who would you want to respond?
Physician: 80%
Nurse: 7%
Not sure: 13%
Q6: Who would you want to be involved with your anesthesia care around the time of your surgery?
A Physician and a nurse: 85%
Only a nurse: 5%
Not sure: 10%
FYI
· Lobbyists for Missouri Association of Nurse Anesthetists: Steven Tilley, John Bardgett, Jacqueline Bardgett, Chris Roepe, and Carol Kemna.
· Lobbyists for Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists: Jorgen Schlemeier, Jeff Brooks, John Gamble, Kathryn Gamble, David Jackson, Paul Mouton, Sarah Schlemeier, and Olivia Wilson.
WSJ: Missouri Camping Ban Squeezes Rural Homeless
That’s A6 of today’s Wall Street Journal. Its dateline is the governor’s home town of Bolivar. Read it here.
· Missouri since Jan. 1 has banned camping on state-owned land, part of a national push to restrict visible homelessness that has spread to a host of cities, including Portland and Los Angeles…
· Advocates for those without housing say the policies amount to criminalizing homelessness and leave people with nowhere to stay in communities that have no shelter beds or designated campsites. But the policies’ supporters associate street camping with trash or increased rates of violence and want to usher those who are unsheltered into treatment programs for behavioral health or addiction issues…
· Missouri Republican State Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, who proposed the measure and said she experienced homelessness growing up, said it was inhumane to let someone sleep on the streets…
· Springfield has a network of shelters to provide beds for homeless people, but many more rural places in Missouri don’t…
· Ms. Thompson Rehder said there is a caveat to the law: No one can be cited unless they are offered shelter and refuse it. That would exempt a place such as Bolivar where there is no 24-hour shelter available. She said the law has led to no changes in rural areas in her district…
Pro-Bates Committee
A pro-Brad Bates PAC was formed. See the paperwork here.
Bates is a Jefferson City School Board member. He’s running for re-election. He’s also a lobbyist for the Missouri Association of Beer Wholesalers.
Lobbyists are not allowed to have campaign committees. Therefore, a political action committee was formed to support his candidacy.
Gubby Appts
Governor Mike Parson announced three judicial appointments…
· The Honorable Nicole S. Zellweger, of Ladue, was appointed as Circuit Judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit.
· The Honorable Shannon R. Dougherty, of Dittmer, was appointed as Circuit Judge for the 23rd Judicial Circuit.
· Daniel R. Wichmer, of Springfield, was appointed as Circuit Judge for the 31st Judicial Circuit.
eMailbag: Questions for Pols
· Did Eric Schmitt forget he voted against McConnell? Slow and steady wins the race.
· Does David Gregory understand that a state senator can't double the size of St. Louis County's police force? Perhaps he should instead cut a deal with Harder to run for his County Council seat where he might be able to fulfill this pledge.
Lobbyists Registrations
Dustin Backes added World Wide Technology.
Nexus added KC Recycle & Waste Solutions, and KidSmart.
David Barklage, Steven Tilley, Thomas Robbins, Brittany Hyatt Robbins, Christopher Schoeman, and Alex Rosenblum added US Term Limits.
Shanon Hawk added Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
Nancy Giddens, Shannon Cooper and Zach Pollock added Union Electric Co. DBA Amerenue, Ameren Services, Ameren Corp.
Caitlin “Cait” Smith added The Trevor Project.
Josh Thomas added Flock Group Inc. dba Flock Safety.
Meagan Forbes, Maya Rubin, and Christina Walsh added Institute For Justice.
Aaron Baker and Hannah Beers Sutton added Republic Services Inc; and deleted Lathrop GPM LLP.
Dick Wiles and Sam Wiles deleted Genentech Inc., a Member of the Roche Group.
Cassandra Grewing deleted Lathrop GPM Consulting LLC.
$5K+ Contributions
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $5,300 from Abram McGull.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Chuck Caisley, and Erika Brees.