MOScout Daily Update: CQ Strategies Coming - Where Abortion Fight Is Headed - Bailey’s Mar-A-Lago Audition - Sheriffs Fund Looks At “Merger” and more…
Happening today…
· The Governor’s Mansion Christmas tree will arrive this morning between 7AM-8AM, a portion of Madison Street will be closed during this time.
· Pre-filing begins for the upcoming legislative session.
First in MOScout: Quade Hangs Out a Shingle?
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving when most folks were unplugging their laptops to settle in for a long weekend, out-going Minority Leader Crystal Quade was filing paperwork with secretary of state’s office…
CQ Strategies… could be it a new political consulting firm for the battle-hardened Democrat? Perhaps a start-up lobbying firm now that it seems the old legislator/lobbying freeze periods seem to be melting? Or maybe something completely different. We’ll see…
Bailey Outlines New Abortion Battlelines
Missouri Independent reports on an “opinion letter” from Attorney General Andrew Bailey to Governor-elect Mike Kehoe. Read the letter here.
Bailey explains that some statutes restricting abortions will no longer be enforceable after the voter-approved constitutional changes. But rather than the wild and unregulated outcome that opponents of Amendment 3 had warned of, Bailey draws clear lines where his office intends to enforce existing statutes. Bailey says those circumstances involve fetal viability, minors who don’t have parental consent for an abortion, and situations where women are unlawfully pressured to have an abortion.
What It Means
This is another indication that Missouri is re-entering the trench warfare over abortion regulations. Each legislative session for the foreseeable future will have a slew of bills aimed at incrementally reducing the number of abortions in Missouri while not running afoul the new constitutional protection.
· As the battle ultimately hinges on judicial interpretation of the broad new right to reproductive healthcare decisions, I’m guessing that this fight will spill over and create a new push to abandon Missouri’s non-partisan court plan, and refashion our state supreme court to elected positions.
Bernskoetter: Chaos-Causers Gone
News Tribune’s Ryan Pivoney quotes Sen. Mike Bernskoetter sounding optimistic about the upcoming session.
"Some of the people that caused all the chaos are gone," Bernskoetter said. "And the people that might have that tendency to follow in their footsteps know that the strategy they used didn't work."
Sheriffs Mull Merging Their Retirement Fund?
Ceilidh Kern reports on the Sheriffs goings “back to the drawing board” after the demise if Amendment 6 which would have legalized a fee to bolster their retirement fund. One option on the table: merging with another (more stable) retirement system.
Rep. Barry Hovis is interviewed: He said the system's lawyers are currently looking at the constitutionality of "probably four or five" different solutions, including counties contributing to the system and merging the fund with another retirement system.
Axios On the Trump AG “Finals”
Axios explains how Bailey lost the Trump AG job the way an actor might lose a part. Read it here. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey flunked his Mar-a-Lago meeting with Trump. Bailey "looked the part" but "just didn't have the presence in the room," we're told.
Vescovo Terminates Candidate Committee
Former Speaker Rob Vescovo terminated his candidate committee, sending $14,723 to Jakes Blessings, a nonprofit founded by former Rep. Randy Pietzman in honor of his son, Jake.
· The Vescovo-aligned PAC, Mighty Missouri PAC, is still active. It had a cash balance of $370,475 as of its last filing.
MO Minimum Wage
Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations sent out a press release outlining the future of the minimum wage law: Missouri voters approved Proposition A, amending Chapter 290 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri to provide an increase to the state’s minimum wage. A minimum wage of $13.75 per hour will take effect on January 1, 2025, and a minimum wage of $15.00 per hour will take effect on January 1, 2026. Thereafter, all future annual adjustments to the minimum wage will be based on the Consumer Price Index. Current state law provides for a minimum wage of $12.30 per hour. Missouri’s minimum wage has increased from $7.65 in 2015…
Alter Passes
Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman posts that Bill Alter passed away the morning of November 29. “Bill was a devoted dad and granddad, loving husband, faithful public servant, friend and
mentor. Please join me in praying for his soul and family.”
Alter was a career law enforcement officer. He served in both the House and Senate. He was 80.
· I’ll publish funeral arrangements when they are determined.
Kander on 60 Minutes
Former Secretary of State Jason Kander was featured on 60 Minutes last night as they reported on the orchestrated rescue of Afghan allies.
How do you fly a plane into Afghanistan to rescue nearly 400 people without the Taliban disrupting the plot? The plan, led by American Jason Kander, involved a code word, a decoy wedding, and a leap of faith.
Berry Fined
The Missouri Ethics Commission fined Paul Berry $58,297 for all kinds of reporting violations in his 2020 bid for St. Louis County Executive. See the order here. Berry, the Republican candidate, lost to Sam Page (winning 39.4%).
· Berry later lost a Congressional primary against Ann Wagner (winning 8.5%) in 2022, and lost to David Wasinger in the LG primary last summer (winning 2.7%).
$5K+ Contributions
Tony PAC (pro-Luetkemeyer) - $25,000 from Rex Sinquefield.
Lobbyist Registrations
Dena Ladd added Silver Star Protection Group.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Brent Hemphill, Theckla Spainhower, Jeanne Sinquefield, and Stephen Bough.
Fundraisers
