MOScout Daily Update: Lincoln PAC Reserves TV Time - Razer Appt Day - Sauls’ Button - Christ’s Takeover Bill and more…

First in MOScout: Lincoln PAC Readies TV Buy

With a huge cash advantage, Lincoln PAC, the political action committee allied with Sen. Lincoln Hough, is reserving its first TV ad buy.

The $130,000 ad buy will be a mix of broadcast and cable television and will focus on the Cape Girardeau media market.  That’s the home turf of one of Hough’s opponents, Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder.

As of last quarter, Hough’s PAC had $1.2 million cash on-hand.  His nearest rival was Rehder whose PAC had $264,000 on-hand.

·       The buy will be placed by FP1 who Lincoln PAC has retained. FP1 currently has 31 Senators and 8 Governors among its clients.

What It Means

It appears that Hough’s huge cash lead will steamroll his opponents, but Rehder (the only woman in the field and the top of the ticket) is his most potent opposition.

Gubby Appts

The Senate Gubernatorial Appointments Committee will have an unusual occurrence this morning.  Sen. Greg Razer will play two roles.  He’s the sponsor for one of the appointees (John Mitchell to the Public Service Commission), and he’ll be an appointee himself (to the State Tax Commission).

Other high-profile appointees today…

·       Taylor Burks to the Truman State University Board of Governors.

·       Katie Sinquefield to the Public Defenders Commission.

·       Michelle Hataway as the Director of the Department of Economic Development.

·       Ann Marie Baker to the State Highways and Transportation Commission.

What’s Next
Assuming everything rolls along without a hiccup, Razer will resign his office before the full Senate confirms his appointment tomorrow.  That will officially start the duel to replace him between Pat Contreras and Rep. Patty Lewis.

Sauls’ Button Replay

Yesterday on the House floor, Reps. Ben Baker and Robert Sauls had an interesting exchange concerning the vote on the huge education bill last week.

Sauls was not recorded voting on the bill, but filed an affidavit testifying that he voted Aye.

I, State Representative Robert Sauls, District 21, hereby state and affirm that on Pages 1446-447 of the Journal of the House, my vote which SS#2 SCS SB 727 was truly agreed to and finally passed, was incorrectly recorded as “Absent with Leave”. Pursuant to House Rule 93, I am requesting that the Journal be corrected to show that I was in fact present in the chamber when the vote was taken. I did in fact vote, my vote was incorrectly recorded, and should have been recorded as “Aye”.

But Baker went back to the House video archives and said Sauls was late getting to his desk and voting and therefore was not an Aye. 

The Baker Amendment passed with 102 votes, mostly Republican but a few Democrats including Minority Leader Crystal Quade.

Senate Approps Powers Through Budget Bills

The Senate Appropriations Committee raced through the first seven House budget bills yesterday.  They’ll be back at it at 9AM this morning, breaking for session.

The need for Approps to finish their work this week will mean light session days for the full Senate.  Although the Senate is capable of suspending the rules and allowing the committee to meet at the same time as the full body meets, that’s rarely invoked as senators prefer not to potentially miss something important on the floor.

Christ Takeover Bill

Rep. Brad Christ’s HB 1481 will get a hearing this morning in the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee.

The bill, which would allow for the state to takeover of the St. Louis City police, is a hot-button issue within the building.  City officials have walked the halls repeatedly this session to make their case against the measure. 

Meanwhile, Missouri Law Enforcement for Good Government has emerged as a potential player in the battle.  The political action committee is focused on supporting candidates who can advance their agenda of a state takeover of the St. Louis police force.  And it catapulted into one of the top “cash on-hand PACs” in last quarter’s filing.  They have a little over $1 million in the bank as a result of a very big contribution from Mike Rayner.  He’s part of the Cargill family.

·       Last quarter, the PAC game $3,000 to Mike Kehoe’s American Dream PAC, and $150,000 to Lincoln PAC.

What It Means

I don’t see this issue surviving a Senate filibuster with limited time remaining and other priorities vying for floor time.  But… I also don’t see this issue going away.  It’ll be interesting to see how the PAC deploys its resources in this election cycle to make a stronger push next session.

Lobbyists Registrations

Madison Eacret added Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund.

Sarah Wood Martin added Mercy Healthcare Systems.

Jewell Patek added Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce, A Place for Mom, and Caring.

Madeline Peterson added Conservatives for Lower Health Care Costs.

Olivia Wilson added Indivior.          

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Brian Munzlinger.