MOScout Daily Update: Inauguration Day - Fewer House Committees On Tap - Law Enforcement PAC’s Broader Agenda - Peters Takes on MIRA and more…
Situational awareness: Brian Hauswirth reports that for today’s inauguration “Parking will be at a premium and that you should dress warmly.”
1 Big Thing: Fewer House Committees
According to the proposed House rules changes, it appears that Speaker Jon Patterson is cutting the number of standing committees from 36 to 32. Among the proposed changes…
· Transportation Accountability and Transportation Infrastructure will be consolidated into a single Transportation Committee.
· Instead of three Rules Committees, there will only be two.
· Healthcare Reform, Rural Community Development and Workforce and Infrastructure Development will be eliminated.
· And one new committee, Commerce, will be added. “The Committee on Commerce may consider and report upon bills and matters referred to it relating to commercial interests of the state.”
Last session Dean Plocher also had 16 “special” committees, so we’ll see to what extent Patterson does or doesn’t make use of those.
Why It Matters
Some felt that the ballooning number of House committees last session was unnecessary. It made scheduling harder for legislators (and journalists and lobbyists), and almost impossible for the average citizen who wished to follow the legislature closely.
· But… fewer committees means few chairmanships which are a cherished status symbol for many state representatives.
Inauguration Schedule
According to the media advisory Mike Kehoe will gavel in Missouri Senate at 10AM. I’d thought last week would be his last time at the dais, but it looks like he’ll have one more chance to say goodbye to his old colleagues.
11:30AM – Inauguration Ceremony begins on Capitol South Lawn with welcome by Andy Blunt, Chairman of Securing Missouri’s Future Inaugural Committee, and departure of Governor Michael L. Parson.
Kehoe’s swearing in is scheduled for Noon. And, again according to the media advisory, we’re not looking at a long speech from Kehoe. Ten minutes is all it’s allotted on the schedule…
12:03PM - Governor Kehoe delivers inaugural address.
12:13PM - Performance by 135th Missouri Army National Guard Band.
Then it looks like maybe Kehoe will be signing some executive orders…
12:45PM - Day One Action Ceremony in the Governor’s Office.
AB takes center stage at 1:45PM “Promenade of the Budweiser Clydesdales from the Missouri State Capitol to the Missouri Governor’s Mansion.”
Followed by a 2PM “Meet-and-Greet with Governor Mike Kehoe and First Lady Claudia Kehoe at the Missouri Governor’s Mansion.”
Bailey and Patterson Co-Host Inaugural Reception
Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Speaker Jon Patterson will be hosting an “open house” (pun intended?) at 5:30PM tonight in the House Lounge. See the invite here – which was printed up before JP officially won the speakers’ race…
List of Inaugural Sponsors
On the Securing Missouri’s Future website, the Inaugural sponsors are listed. See them here.
Most of Missouri’s biggest companies are represented on the list, as well as some heavy donors and lobbying firms.
Scoop: LEGG PAC’s Broader Agenda
The Missouri Law Enforcement for Good Government is also on the inaugural sponsors list. I wrote on Saturday that they were focused on state control of the St. Louis police force and had just received a new $1 million infusion from Mike Rayner.
I’m told that state control is only part of their agenda…
The Law Enforcement for Good Government PAC champions pro-law enforcement initiatives to foster safe communities, and stands with the men and women who protect and serve Missouri. While state control is an important part of that agenda, the PAC's efforts will go far beyond that. We aim to position Missouri as a national leader in supporting law enforcement. That includes equipping officers with the tools and resources they need to succeed, safeguarding officers’ rights, officer recruitment and retention, ensuring their safety on the job, holding criminals accountable through rigorous prosecution, and empowering the governor to take on progressive soft-on-crime prosecutors who undermine the rule of law.
Why It Matters
The PAC’s broader agenda means that it will be a player in Jefferson City for the foreseeable future. If/after state takeover becomes law, they won’t be packing up shop.
Peters Pushes Repeal of MIRA
Post-Dispatch’s Tony Messenger looks at Rep. Tara Peters’ HB 723, which would repeal Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act. Read it here.
· The law, passed in the late 1980s, allows the Missouri attorney general to file a lawsuit against people in prison to try to take their assets — potentially leaving them penniless when they re-enter society. It’s known as a “pay-to-stay” law.
· “People have paid their penance and served their time,” Peters says of men and women in Missouri prisons. “If this money could be the difference between them making a fresh start and not, why would we take that opportunity away from somebody?”
What It Means
For a decade now, going back at least to Eric Schmitt’s SB 5 in 2015, Republicans have taken seriously the impact that the criminal justice system has in perpetuating poverty and limiting economic opportunity. But as this shows, it’s a long, slow journey.
Robert Knodell Says Goodbye
Department of Social Services Director Robert Knodell says goodbye to his teammates.
21 years in and around Jefferson City seems like a lifetime for me, but what wonderful years they have been. Here, I met my wife and started a family…
Lobbyist Registrations
Rich AuBuchon and Trent Watson added Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons.
Kaycee Nail added Safer + Simpler Missouri.
Ariel Cathcart added Everytown For Gun Safety Action Fund.
Patrick Fucik added T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Zach Pollock and Jon Hensley added City of Nevada, Missouri Society of Eye Physicians & Surgeons, Missouri Games LLC, Stupp Fiber Missouri; and deleted Sovereign ISP LLC, and Safer St. Louis LLC.
Paul Mouton added Compass Academy Network.
Thomas Riggs added Fab Tech Wastewater Solutions LLC.
Steve Tilley, Thomas Robbins, Brittany Hyatt Robbins, Christopher Schoeman, Alec Rosenblum, and Cassandra Allana Henderson added Missouri Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs.
Thomas Robbins, Brittany Hyatt Robbins, Christopher Schoeman, and Alec Rosenblum added Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis.
Gretchen Thompson added Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Jeffrey Boyd, and Garrett Poorman.