MOScout Daily Update: Last Day Dump - Parson Say No State $$$ for Suit - Eigel 2016 and more…

Final Day Dump: 743 Bills

Rule 38 of the House rules states that “the Speaker shall refer all bills and resolutions to a committee.”

But it doesn’t say when.

One of the “choke points” of legislation is that the Speaker can simply hold bills the entire session essentially killing them, and then refer them to committee on the final day in keeping with Rule 38.

Speaker Dean Plocher refers 8 House Resolutions on the final day; and 23 Concurrent Resolutions; and 81 Joint Resolutions; and 743 House Bills.

The 743 bills killed by the speaker constituted approximately half of the 1538 bills filed by representatives this session.

Most of those bills had Democratic sponsors, and some had Republican sponsors who had had a falling out with the speaker, like Rep. Adam Schwadron who called for Plocher’s resignation.  But there were also some that might have had legs if they’d been referred, like Rep. Bill Allen’s bill to explicitly protect in vitro fertilization.

·       Almost all of them were referred to the General Laws Committee.

Eigel 2016

The impact that the Freedom Caucus had on session, and they extent to which they vexed and bedeviled Senate leadership, has a lot of folks watching the upcoming Republican state senate primaries very closely.

Several candidates in those primaries seem like they would align with the Freedom Caucus if elected.  Reps. Brad Hudson, Doug Richey, and Adam Schnelting, as well as Jacob Turner, are all thought to be potential new additions to the Senate Freedom Caucus.

One haunting piece of history… Bill Eigel, in his initial run in 2016, barely won his primary.  He squeaked it out with just 400 votes.

As forces on both sides of this Republican schism deploy their resources, that’s a reminder of the high stakes of winning – or losing – the close ones.

Parson: State Won’t Pay Defamation Damages

Governor Mike Parson told the Office of Administration not to pay any damages arising from the defamation lawsuits against Sens. Rick Brattin, Denny Hoskins and Nick Schroer.  See the letter here.

Parson, who has endorsed Attorney General Andrew Bailey for re-election, had previously disagreed with Bailey’s decision to represent the three state senators in their suits.

And

·       A second attorney from the AG’s office, Deputy Solicitor General Sam Freedlund, joined Brattin’s case.

·       Schroer, like Brattin, in a court filing declared that he made the Twitter post while “engaged in my regular duties as a Missouri State Senator.”

eMailbag on AG repping Sens

Whatever one thinks of the AGO's position on jurisdiction, I think using it as the reason for representing the three senators overlooks the salient point.  *Anyone* can make that argument, and it’s not exclusive to the AGO.  Indeed, the coverage question (official capacity vs personal capacity) is typically answered before issues like jurisdiction so it’s mind boggling that’s the position the AGO is taking.

Scharf Ever In Trump’s Orbit

NBC’s Katherine Doyle reports that MO AG candidate Will Scharf was among those joining Donald Trump yesterday at his NY trial.

·       And one MOScouter reports that Congressman Eric Burlison was there to show his support as well.

Readers React to Ashcroft Video

·       There's something particularly poignant about Jay Ashcroft already bringing in his dad to fight his battles against Kehoe when you remember that Kehoe was raised by a single mother.  One of them was washing cars after school to help his support his siblings and single mother and the other could get his dad to open the state library on a Sunday to finish book reports.  Also, Daddy Ashcroft turned all his public good will into lucrative lobbying contracts when he retired so I can’t wait until he talks shit against Eigel.

·       Daddy to the rescue!!!... 100% effective. He is going to need validators because he’s not great on camera.

·       Two thoughts about that John Ashcroft video: 1) He speaks of "Jay Ashcroft" like he's only read about him in a book.  I know Big John is a cold fish, but how about showing a little passion in defending his son and namesake?  2) That is the cleanest truck bed and set of tools I've ever seen on a working farm.

$5K+ Contributions

Committee for Liberty (pro-Ashcroft) - $25,000 from Sun Solar, LLC.

Majority Forward (pro-Senate Dems) - $25,000 from Scott Sifton for Missouri.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom (pro-reproductive rights) - $47,321 from Abortion Action Missouri Foundation.

Missouri Realtors PAC - $6,296 from St. Louis Association of REALTORS.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to MO McCullough.