MOScout Daily Update: What To Watch on Opening Day - SBOE Considers SLPS Downgrade - Nelson to Insurance - Hoskins Adds Integrity Staffer and more…

SBOE on SLPS

At yesterday’s State Board of Education meeting, Board member Kerry Casey made a surprise motion to downgrade the classification of the St. Louis Public School District to provisional accreditation.  Casey, from Chesterfield, has been on the Board since 2021.

She expressed alarm based on media reports, and social media postings.  Others on the board agreed with her concern but were wary to make the declaration without a more systematic review.

Casey’s motion failed when it did not receive a second from any other board member.

Read MO Independent’s report on the meeting here.

What It Means

Casey’s motion was premature and failed to garner support, but it highlighted an ongoing lack of faith in the St. Louis City institutions.

·       Governor-elect Mike Kehoe concerned about crime is aiming to re-take control of the St. Louis police force.

·       Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released a damning report on the previous St. Louis City Circuit Attorney (see below).

Start of Session

The legislative session opens today.  The gavels will bang at noon.  Here’s what I’ll be watching.

In the Senate…

·       We could have an emotional goodbye from Governor-elect Mike Kehoe as presides over the Senate for the final time before his inauguration next week. 

·       I’d expect incoming LG David Wasinger to be on hand as well.  I’m told Wasinger has been doing up on the Senate rules and doing some dry runs.  Wasinger will be the first LG in recent history without a Senate pedigree.  Kehoe, Mike Parson, Peter Kinder, Joe Maxwell, and Roger Wilson all came from the Senate.

·       I’ll be listening closely to Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin’s speech.  Where will the policy emphasis be? On her agenda (MODoT control and Judicial appointment changes), on the Kehoe agenda (public safety, school choice and economy), or on the grassroots’ agenda (Amendment 3 reverse, IP changes)?  Or will she stick to a unity theme and avoid big policy promises?

In the House…

I think the big Justin Sparks challenge will be anti-climatic.  There’s no doubt that Speaker-designate Jon Patterson prevails.  It’s likely that Sparks’ vote total will be so small that JP’s stature has been enhanced with this episode.

And

The real talk today will likely be about committee assignments.  Here’s my best guess in the Senate.  It’s not unusual for a new Pro Tem to make some modifications to the committee structure – combine a pair or spin some off.  But if the committees remain the same, this – to my mind – is the most logical outcome.  Senators in bold would be new in those positions.

Agriculture – Jason Bean

Appropriations – Lincoln Hough (with Black as Vice-Chair, see below)

Commerce – Mike Cierpiot

Economic Development – Ben Brown

Education – Curtis Trent

Emerging Issues – Justin Brown

Fiscal Oversight – Rusty Black – Black is considered in likely successor for Appropriations after Hough is termed, so Fiscal Oversight would be a related committee.

General Laws – Mike Bernskoetter

Government Oversight – Mike Moon – A small government guy like Moon might like this committee.  But it would also avoid giving the sometimes-maverick senator any high-priority bills to manage.

Health – Mary Elizabeth Coleman.

Insurance – Sandy Crawford.

Judiciary – Nick Schroer – Attorney, served as vice-chair under Luetkemeyer. This would be a big win for MATA, as Freedom Caucus is MATA-sympathetic.

Local Government – Jill Carter – Carter’s political philosophy seems to be honoring local control and she’d probably be comfortable with a committee dealing with local government issues.

Progress – Brian Williams – Served as vice-chair under Arthur.  Two years left in the Senate and then he could hand this gavel to the next Democrat.

Transportation – Travis Fitzwater

Veterans – Rick Brattin – One lobbyist wonders if Brattin might be in line for “something better,” but he’s a veteran so I think this committee probably makes good sense for him.

House committee chairs are expected out next week.  That’s a lot more complicated.  I’m expecting some consolidation.  There were an unwieldy 75 House committees last year.  If you strip out the Joint Committees and the Interim Committees, there were still 55 House committees.  I’m guessing that comes down to 50 or maybe even high 40s?  We’ll see.

Patterson Reversing Some Plocher Changes

Floor Leader Alex Riley announced he’d be filing some changes to the House Rules, including a reversal of the limit to how many bills a legislator can file and how many bill “slots” are available for each committee.  See his memo here.

The biggest changes…

·       Rule 26 – page 31 – Removes the committee bill slot limit established in the prior General Assembly and reinstates the language which previously existed thereby empowering committees to move legislation at their discretion.

·       Rule 39(b) – page 41 – Eliminates the current cap limiting legislators to 20 bills thereby allowing legislators to file as many bills as they choose.

·       Rule 49(e) – page 49 – Requires amendments to the amendment and substitute amendments to be distributed prior to inquiring or speaking on the bill or underlying amendment thus ensuring members have more time to vet and analyze amendments before voting.

·       Rule 72 – page 61 – Requires all amendments and substitute amendments to be germane to the underlying amendment thereby protecting bills from being derailed on the floor or declared unconstitutional by the courts because of unrelated legislation being attached.

·       Rule 87 – page 66 – Reduces time to speak on third reading to five minutes from ten minutes which should provide opportunities for more members to speak on the floor during third read debate.

Fitz on Gardner

Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released his report on Kim Gardner’s reign as City of St. Louis Circuit Attorney.  See it here.  It earned the dreaded “poor” rating.

While there may be outrage at the details of waste (CAO officials issued 64 checks, totaling $58,482, for disbursements from the Contingency account that were not allowed by state law. These purchases included food, flowers, disc jockey services, wall art, party and community meeting location rentals, a Sam's Club membership, chili cook-out supplies…) and fraud (Gardner did not devote her full time to the CAO as required. Instead, she took classes and completed clinical coursework to obtain a Family Nurse Practitioner, Post-Master's Certificate from Saint Louis University…), the real problem was that failure of the office to function.

·       During [Gardner’s] tenure, the number of cases referred, filed, and closed significantly declined while the time to prosecute the reduced caseload significantly increased.  The number of cases filed decreased from an average of 4,666 cases per year during the prior administration to only 2,529 cases per year… a significant number of CAO personnel left employment, which contributed to the decline in the efficiency and effectiveness of the office. At the beginning of her tenure, the [office] had 141 employees. By May 2023, the office had only 89 employees, a 37 percent decline.

What It Means

Despite all this talk about taking over the police force, the change from Gardner to Gabe Gore may have been the more significant deterrent to criminal activity in St. Louis City the last couple of years.

Nelson to Insurance

Press release: Governor-Elect Mike Kehoe announced today the appointment of Angela L. Nelson as Director of the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI). Nelson will assume the role of DCI Director effective March 1, 2025, and await Missouri Senate confirmation…. Most recently, Nelson served as Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Relations for AAA Missouri, following an accomplished 18-year tenure at DCI…

Hoskins Adds Integrity Czar

Press release: Missouri Secretary of State-elect Denny Hoskins is pleased to announce the appointment of Nick La Strada as the new Director of Election Integrity. La Strada, former Pettis County Clerk/Election Authority, brings a wealth of experience in overseeing local, state, and international elections to this critical new role.

Chrissy Peters, who has served as Missouri’s Elections Director, will continue in her position, playing a key role in maintaining the integrity of the state’s elections. With over 30 years of combined election experience, La Strada and Peters will work together to ensure that Missouri's elections remain fair, transparent, and secure.

Updated 2026 Watch

I’ve updated the 2026 Watch candidates.  Adding Joe Steelman to Senate 16, and Democrat Susan Shumway to Senate 2.

$5K+ Contributions

Uniting Missouri PAC (pro-Parson) - $50,000 from Liberty & Justice PAC.

UAW Region 4 Midwest States PAC (MO) - $5,437 from Midwest State Cap Exchange (Ottawa, IL).

Lobbyist Registrations

Nexus Group added Graduation Alliance Inc.

Gamble & Schlemeier added Compass Academy Network.

Jay Reichard and Claudia Alley added Practical POCUS. 

Heath Clarkston, Doug Nelson, and Michael Henderson added Consumer Healthcare Products Association.

Cassandra Allana Henderson added MoCannTrade, and Torch Electronics LLC.

Doug Stone added River Market Community Improvement District.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Mike Cunningham, Justin Hicks, and Janson Thomas.