MOScout Daily Update: Budget Day in the House - KC for Bailey - Parson Adds to Funeral Board - Anti-COVID Vax Bills - IP Reform in Senate Queue and more...

Budget Day in the House

The House will work through the budget bills today, with final passage slated for Thursday.

·       Floor Leader Jon Patterson’s weekly outline of the House’s activities projects that the House will be working from 10AM to 6PM on the budget.

KC for Bailey

Last night, nearly 50 prominent members of the region's business and legal community hosted a roundtable event with Attorney General Andrew Bailey at Hotel Kansas City. 

MOScouters report: Governor Mike Parson attended and gave a powerful endorsement of Bailey during his introduction.  Bailey spoke about his experience in the military as well as the courtroom.   Very impressive.  He and Parson both stressed that he would be around and not run for higher office.

In the room: Mike Ketchmark, Deputy AG Ray Wagner, Former US Attorney Todd Graves, and Eddie Greim flanked Parson and Bailey.  Others in attendance included Warren Erdman, Charlie Shields, John Sherman, Steve Dunn, Lisa Garney, and several partners of the major law firms including Mary Jane Judy of Polsinelli, and Jean Paul Bradshaw of Lathrop & Gage, Danny Pfiefer, Sammy Panettiere, Richard Martin and Tom Krewson.

Garrison to ADFL

Tim Garrison on Facebook says he “excited to get to work as Senior Counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, the world's largest legal organization protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, marriage and family, and the sanctity of life…”

House Bills Queued Up in The Senate

There are now a couple of House bills queued up on the Senate calendar for third reading.

·       HJR 43 is the IP reform resolution which would let voters decide if they want to increase the threshold to pass constitutional amendments.  Sen. Sandy Crawford is the handler. One reader sent me a note yesterday that the only citizens can vote provision isn’t entirely a phantom issue.  Some cities are moving to let non-citizens vote.

·       HB 115 would loosen restrictions on physical therapists.  Sen. Karla Eslinger is the handler for this Brenda Shields bill.

Modern Day Gangsters?

Just keeping an eye on what issues might be coming this way.  In Ohio, the attorney general is suing pharmacy benefit managers.  See it here.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost accuses pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics of using a little-known, Switzerland-based company to illegally drive up drug prices and ultimately push those higher costs onto patients who rely on lifesaving drugs such as insulin.  “PBMs are modern gangsters,” Yost said.

This collusion, the lawsuit maintains, has been made possible by PBM market consolidation, which has left the three largest PBMs, including Express Scripts, in control of more than 75% of the drug market and the three next largest in control of much of the rest.

FYI

·       Yost is a Republican, for what it’s worth.

·       Express Scripts was a Missouri company, bought out by Cigna in 2018.

·       Cigna’s Jefferson City lobbyists is Nexus Group.

Gubby Appts

Governor Mike Parson made new appointments…

Gilbert (Gib) G. Adkins to Missouri Community Service Commission.

Brad Belk to Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Kasey W. Griffin, Scott Michael Meierhoffer, and Christopher Howard to the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.

Marie Laseter to the Coroner Standards and Training Commission.

·       The State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors has been more controversial than you would think.  Read up on past hub-bubs here.  Griffin was among the appointees to the board that was withdrawn in January 2022.

Anti-COVID Vax Bills

Sen. Justin Brown’s Emerging Issues Committee is handling some of the session’s hot-buttons and hot-potatoes.

Today’s committee hearing (10AM, SCR1) will hear bills that seek to prevent the COVID-19 vaccine from becoming a mainstream vaccination required for various activities.

SB 99 – Eigel - Modifies provisions relating to childhood immunizations

SB 201 – Brattin - Creates new provisions relating to COVID-19 vaccination requirements

SB 159 – Schroer - Prohibits educational institutions from mandating COVID-19 vaccines or gene therapy

FYI

On the House floor last week, some representatives continued to say the COVID vaccination isn’t fully approved, and is still “experimental” and for emergency-use only.  That was true originally, but is no longer true. They were fully approved in 2021.

eMailbag on Arnold’s Passing

Burleigh Arnold was considered one of the most influential lobbyists in the '70s & '80s, representing then-very powerful Central Bank.  He ran for the US Senate in 1982 when John Danforth looked vulnerable, and had much of the Democratic establishment's support.  He lost in the primary to Harriett Woods, who then lost a nail-biter to Danforth.

Lobbyists Registrations

Amy Blunt added Missouri Motion Media Association, and Safer St. Louis LLC.

Heath Clarkston and Doug Nelson added Colonial Management Group, LP.

Daton Lynch added National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.   

Garrett Webb added Tier One Tactical Solutions LLC, and Wireless Infrastructure Association.

Gamble & Schlemeier deleted Primary Marking System, Inc.

$5K+ Contributions

American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $20,000 from Missouri Cattlemens Association PAC Account.

Brandon Jenson for SGF - $6,370 from Heavy Construction Laborers Local Union #663 PAC.

Dean For Springfield - $13,604 from Heavy Construction Laborers Union No. 663 PAC.

Melanie Bach for Mayor - $11,383 from Heavy Construction Laborers Union No. 663 PAC.

SWMO Forward PAC - $7,500 from Loren Cook II.

21st Century St. Louis PAC - $10,000 from Thompson Coburn LLP.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Scott Lipke and Joe Fallert.