MOScout Daily Updat: Senate and House Chairmanships - Davidson for Budget Vice-Chair?! - The Newest GOP Mega-Donor? - Pro-choice Infighting and more…

Chairmanships

Appointing chairmen and committee assignment is arguably the most important decisions Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin and Speaker Jon Patterson will make this month.  Both were out on Twitter, but haven’t seen any official press releases yet.  Find the Senate chairs here; find the House chairs here.

Here’s What’s Important

·       Governor Mike Kehoe’s efforts on public safety will be aided by favorable chairmen.  The Senate Transportation Committee includes public safety and that chair, Sen. Travis Fitzwater, already filed a bill for takeover of the St. Louis police force.  On the House side Rep. Jeff Myers is a former Missouri Highway Trooper and serious legislator.

·       Similarly, Kehoe’s educational agenda has Sen. Rick Battin leading the Senate Education Committee, and Rep. Ed Lewis on the House side.  Both have voted for greater school choice in the past.  Lewis getting the spot over last year’s chair, Rep. Brad Pollitt, surprised me.  But one lobbyist mused to me that maybe ed reform was a “litmus test for JP.” Lewis chaired the Subcommittee on Education Appropriations last year.

·       As expected, Sen. Nick Schroer will chair Judiciary.  It’s a huge win for MATA to have a trial attorney as the chair of that committee.  That pretty much puts the kibosh on any tort reform bills for the next two years.  Rep. Cameron Parker gets Judiciary on the House side. 

·       Parker is one of a number of sophomores scoring very nice chairmanships.  That class did well.  Among the plump assignments: Myers (Public Safety), Brad Christ (Emerging Issues), Sherri Gallick (EcoDevo), Ben Keathley (General Laws), David Casteel (Commerce), Dave Hinman (Local Gov), and Dane Diehl (Insurance).

·       Meanwhile some House seniors were who had chairmanships aren’t on the list, like Rep. Jeff Coleman who had Professional Registration.  That’s now is being led by Rep. Jeff Knight; Rep. Bill Falkner’s Local Government to Hinman; and Rep. Rudy Veit’s Corrections went to Rep. Don Mayhew.  Some of these reps may be given “special” committees.  We’ll see…

·       One tealeaf: Schroer and Brattin taking important chairs would seem to signal a better working relationship between the Freedom Caucus and leadership in the Senate.

·       With a possible big utility bill coming this year, committees on both sides stay in stable hands.  Sen. Mike Cierpiot will once again chair the Senate Commerce Committee, while Rep. Bob Bromley leads the House Utility Committee.

·       Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman will chair the Senate Government Efficiency Committee.  On twitter she cheerfully declared it MO DOGE.  And Sen. Curtis Trent gets General Laws.  The wide-ranging portfolio of that committee is a good fit for Trent.

But The Biggest News…

The biggest talk was around the rumor that Rep. Bishop Davidson will be vice-chair of Budget.  Previous talk had been that Rep. Scott Cupps would get that spot.  Cupps is one of two Rules chairs.  (The other is Rep. Brenda Shields). 

Why It Matters

·       If Davidson serves two years as vice-chair, he is practically a shoo-in to be the Budget chair in January of 2027.  That is perhaps the most powerful chairmanship in the building.

·       One lobbyist notes there’s “a lot of grumbling right now” about the decision.  Davidson hasn’t even been on the committee for his first four years, and now he’s leap-frogging those members to become the heir-apparent.

Post: Pro-Choice Infighting

Post-Dispatch reports on an unexpected result of Amendment 3, pro-choice discontent.  Read it here.

Dr. Colleen McNicholas, long the public face of abortion access advocacy in Missouri, has resigned as chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers…

·       The resignation is the latest sign of deep divisions among abortion-rights supporters engendered by the campaign to pass Amendment 3, the constitutional amendment that enshrines the right to an abortion in Missouri until the point of fetal viability.

·       Some advocates — including McNicholas — warned about what they saw as legal shortcomings in the ballot language, which leaves open to legal interpretation which state statutes regulating abortion remain in place. And Republican state lawmakers, given that opening, have already filed legislation that would continue to restrict abortion access.

Rayner for Law

In the large contributions Mike Rayner sent $400,000 to Jason Law for St. Charles Country.  Law is the mayor of Lake St. Louis and running for St. Charles County Executive where Steve Ehlmann is retiring after his fifth term.

Law faces St. Charles Councilmember Mike Elam and probably former Sen. Bill Eigel.

What It Means

·       Rayner gave heavily to the campaigns of Mike Kehoe and Andrew Bailey.  Now this big check to Law, and smaller check to former Rep. Derek Grier’s mayoral campaign hint that he could be emerging as a new Republican mega-donor.  He’s a staunch supporter of law enforcement, and that was Law’s former career.

·       Eigel has a race on his hands.  With his superior name ID from running after running for governor, and his own uber-donors (paging James Onder), you’d still have to call Eigel the front-runner.  But this donation means it’s a real race.

Moody Services

Freeman Mortuary: James Robert “Jim” Moody, age 75, of Jefferson City, Mo., passed away peacefully Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital, surrounded by his loving family.

Visitation will be held from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Monday, January 20, 2025, at Freeman Mortuary.  Funeral services will be conducted at 4:00 p.m. Monday, January 20, 2025, in the Freeman Chapel. Burial will be private for the family.

$5K+ Contributions

Jason Law for St. Charles County - $400,000 from Michael L Rayner.

Progress Chesterfield (pro- Grier) - $15,000 from Michael Rayner.

Missouri Leadership Fund - $10,000 from Blanton Construction.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $15,000 from MO Values PAC (pro-Ben Baker).

Citizens to Elect Gray - $8,419 from Citizens To Elect Gray.

Lobbyist Registrations

Katie Berry added St. Louis Realtors.

Jorgen Schlemeier, Jeffery Brooks, David Jackson, Elizabeth Grace Riley, Sarah Schlemeier, and Nikki Strong added Teachers of Tomorrow.

Liz Henderson deleted clients of Brent Hemphill & Associates.    

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Mary Still, and Don Gosen.

MOScout Schedule

I’ll be taking the MLK weekend off.  No Legislature on Monday January 20.