MOScout Daily Update: Senate Filibuster - Trump Effect? - Falkner for Speaker - Senate 23 Maps and MDHEWD Defends DEI...
Find information about burial and memorial services for Jessica Pabst at the bottom of the post.
Senate Filibuster, House Sprints
The Republican legislature wasted no time, tackling a number of their remaining priorities.
The House perfected the controversial “landfill” bill, and sports betting. And the Senate immediately returned to their debate on transgender issues. That led to a filibuster which proceeded through the night and is ongoing right now.
Instead of picking back up Sen. Mike Moon’s SB 49, the Senate used Sen. Holly Rehder’s SB 39 as the vehicle. It dealt with transgender athletics, but she offered a substitute which included Moon’s SB 49 language to ban gender transition procedures for minor.
As of 4:30AM, the filibuster continues, but in a recent floor inquiry Pro Tem Caleb Rowden said that negotiations were “headed in the right direction” and have yielded new language on both (athletics and procedures) which will be brought to the floor “soon.”
· Also, apparently complicating their work is calculating the interplay with Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s announcement that his office would initiate emergency rules to temporarily stop minor procedures.
Around the Capitol
· In celebration of his birthday, State Treasurer Vivek Malek is hosting an Indian luncheon outside his office today for people in the Capitol.
· Press advisory: Kids Win Missouri and partners will host the 41st Annual Child Advocacy Day for the first time in-person since 2019. They will welcome over 550 registrants from throughout Missouri Advocates will rally, meet with legislators throughout the day and network in the Third Floor Rotunda. At the rally (9:30AM): Remarks from Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe; and Call to Action from Reverend Doctor Starsky Wilson, Children’s Defense Fund.
Missouri Mapper on Senate 23
With Sen. Bill Eigel termed, Senate 23 will be among the possible battleground state senate districts. It’s clearly a lean Republican district, but it’s less solidly Republican since redistricting. The “Missouri Mapper” has worked up some maps of the district.
· Eric Schmitt carried the district by only 2.7% against Trudy Valentine, but MM notes that most other races showed a stronger Republican bent.
Trump Effect Coming
The current speculation is that Donald Trump will be indicted on Wednesday evening. Politico reports, “Law enforcement officials from the NYPD and U.S. Secret Service, along with other court officials, met this afternoon at NYPD headquarters to game plan for the politically charged indictment… Trump will be finger-printed and his mug shot will be taken, though he won’t have a ‘perp walk’ and may not be handcuffed. After Trump called for protests in New York on Saturday on Truth Social, the NYPD today erected steel barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court…”
Ahead of the criminal charges, some Republican elected officials are preemptively defending Trump, others are taking a wait-and-see approach. Eric Schmitt, for example, is in the former camp… “The reported upcoming arrest of President Trump by hyper partisan Soros prosecutor Alvin Bragg is some Third World Banana Republic lunacy and a very, very dangerous road to go down… The left’s conduct is similar to the conduct you find in a banana republic where the authoritarian state punishes its political enemies with criminal prosecutions in search of crimes.”
· I wonder if any gubernatorial candidates will seize the MAGA narrative by following Schmitt’s lead. So far, no bites.
Falkner for Speaker
Mark Zinn reports that “Missouri State Rep. Bill Falkner, a former mayor of St. Joseph, told me that he is going to run for House Speaker.”
· The speakership remains Floor Leader Jon Patterson’s to lose.
MDHEWD Defends DEI
Rep. Bishop Davidson posted an anonymous letter on social media from an employee of the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development who doesn’t like the department’s voluntary diversity meetings. “I BELIEVE Woke has NO PLACE in State government agencies and needs to be addressed.”
MDHEWD Interim Commissioner Leroy Wade responds with a 14-page letter. See it here.
What It Means
DEI has become a cultural and political flashpoint, much like CRT. Wade’s defense outlines why having these programs are part of good management practices.
First, it is essential to understand what MDHEWD means when it says diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. While some entities may co-opt these terms to divide and create victimization, MDHEWD’S’s efforts are quite the opposite. Simply put, to better serve each team member and all Missourians, we focus on
· recognizing and respecting each person’s varied background (diversity),
· providing adequate resources and supports to meet the individual and at times, specialized needs of a person (ex. those with health conditions or impairments, veterans) (equity),
· ensuring all members have a voice in setting the direction of the department and its activities (inclusion), and
· becoming a place where team members feel connected and part of the larger mission (belonging)…
Hampton Hacked?
Former state representative Kent Hampton’s Facebook page now is full-on crypto… Several weeks of mining got me here. LOL & Before posting this on here, I already conducted the necessary research and have been doing Crypto for years… The results of little investments on a consistent basis will surprise the hell out of you real fast! If you haven’t dipped toes into the crypto world yet, you may ask if it’s too late to get involved. The answer, of course is no!
Lobbyists Registrations
Nexus Group added Rivian Automotive, LLC; and deleted L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
James Harris added LabTest Diagnostics.
Connor Luebbert added Missouri Voter Protection Coalition.
Chris Moody added Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly Facebook).
Elizabeth Oreck added Best Friends Animal Society.
$5K+ Contributions
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $5,650 from John Schicker.
Leadership Counts - $10,000 from Kevin Short.
Citizens For Ken McClure - $7,000 from Coalition for Building a Better Tomorrow.
21st Century St. Louis PAC - $10,000 from Jerald Kent.
Committee to elect Pam Mason - $10,000 from Pam Mason.
Missouri First - $9,000 from Republic Services.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Chastity Young, Thomas Long, Trent Summers, and Clay Rodgers.
Services Information for Jessica Pabst
A Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, March 23, 2023, at St. Andrew Catholic Church, 400 St. Andrew Lane, Holts Summit, Mo. 65043, with the Reverend David Skillman and the Reverend Roberto Ike concelebrating. Graveside services and interment will be held at a cemetery in Jefferson City, Mo.
A reception will follow her graveside service at Revel Catering and Events, 102 East High Street, 2nd Level, Jefferson City, MO 65101, for family and friends to gather and share memories. There will be a time of sharing around 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the reception.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Jessica Pabst Memorial Fund, which will be used to help with education expenses for Paxton and Lincoln. Family and friends can make a donation online at www.gofund.me/57184c70 or by mailing donations to P.O. Box 95, Jefferson City, Mo. 65102.