MOScout Daily Update: Where Things Stand At Mid-Point and more...
Where Things Stand At Midpoint
There are numerous normal fault-lines that emerge each legislative session that can create obstacles for passing legislation…
· Republicans – Democrats
· Governor – Legislature
· House – Senate
· House Speaker – House Floor Leader
· Senate Republicans – Senate Far Right Republicans
The Republican-Democratic conflicts will never go away, but in an era of Republican supermajorities, it’s less impactful. Among the others, the only one to really rear its head so far this session has been the simmering Republican Caucus tensions.
Still, it’s surprising, given the lack of open conflicts how very few major issues appear to have an easy path to passage.
· Sports Betting: As long as sport betting and video lottery terminals are tied together, this issue appears stuck. The recent RICO lawsuit (read the MO Indy article about that here) doesn’t change that essential equation at all. The question is whether there’s any enticement that can be offered Sen. Denny Hoskins to let VLTs come to a separate vote, and then let sports betting go free.
· Open Enrollment: This barely eked out of the House which is never a good sign for prospects in the Senate. The path is hard because it’s expected some Republicans will join Dems to stand on the floor. Still, Sen. Andrew Koenig is a magician of making accommodations and finding compromises to advance his causes. Don’t count this out yet.
· IP Reform: This is considered a top priority of Speaker Dean Plocher. Therefore, one would expect that it will see significant floor time on the Senate to assuage any Senate-House tensions. Still, it’s expected to be difficult to get through the upper chamber given Democratic resistance – and special interest opposition.
· Transgender Issues: The Republican majority has signaled that they will PQ this near the end of session if a compromise hasn’t been reached. The problem in negotiations is that the ground which Sen. Greg Razer appears willing to cede (athletics and surgeries) are parts of the bill that Republicans felt they already pocketed; athletics was a forgone conclusion, and it’s not clear that any surgeries on minors is actually happening. So, is there anything left beyond total surrender Razer can offer to mollify them?
· Tax Cuts: The House appears to be itching for a big tax cut (corporate taxes) while the Senate has been very willing to pass tax credits. With the right vehicle and enough time, the two sides should be able to agree on some package of tax relief. From my angle, the easiest agreements could be in the form of cutting sales tax on food and feminine products. But sometime the easy wins are elusive.
· Foreign Ownership of Land: It enjoys broad public support, and therefore would seem to be a candidate for passage. And yet, it might not. The House bill, and Sen. Jason Bean’s version reduce the current limit from 1% to 1/2of 1%. Some view in the Senate that as a “bad vote,” because they’d still be voting to allow foreigners to buy land. So, we’ll see…
· STL Police Takeover / STL Prosecutor Appointment: These will face filibusters from St. Louis Democrats in the Senate. However, with Kim Gardner losing support from Mayor Tishaura Jones and suffering the resignation of Marvin Teer, it seems like some version of Rep. Lane Roberts’ bill could make it to the governor’s desk.
Luetkemeyer Backs Broad Banking “Safety Net”
Politico reports that Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer wants the government to “temporarily insure every bank deposit in the country.”
· “If you don’t do this, there’s going to be a run on your smaller banks,” he said. “Everyone’s going to take their money out and run to the JPMorgan’s and these too-big-to-fail banks, and they’re going to get bigger and everybody else is going to get smaller and weaker, and it’s going really be bad for our system.”
· Luetkemeyer is one of the first Republican lawmakers to call for a broad-based deposit guarantee as a remedy for the banking crisis, leaning into a Biden administration response that other GOP politicians have blasted as a bailout. Luetkemeyer is among the House Republicans supporting regulators’ recent actions to contain the banking meltdown, in line with House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.).
Lobbyists Registrations
Brian Robert Hackett added Animal Legal Defense Fund.
Richard McIntosh deleted Gold Rush Gaming.
John William Payne deleted Missouri Medical Marijuana Collective, CannaVer LLC, and Buds Dispensary.
Doug Stone deleted Motorola Solutions Inc, Big Garages LLC, Exeter Property Group, Adams Farm LLC, Imagine Hollister Hotel, and Convenience Grocery Group 6401 LLC.
Nathan Nickolaus deleted City of Odessa.
$5K+ Contributions
MBA Pony Express Region PAC - $5,113 from BTC Bank.
Progress PAC - $40,000 from L.I.U.N.A. Local 110 PAC Fund.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Sen. Jason Bean, Reps. Bennie Cook and Dave Hinman, Adam Gresham, and Gary McElyea.