MOScout Daily Update: Realtors Sue Hoskins - Gannon Pursues Data Centers - JeffCity Lodging Tax Fight - Hummel Halloween and more…

Quick Friday update…

Realtors Sue Over IP Language

The Realtors sued Secretary of State Denny Hoskins concerning the ballot language for the initiative petition question heading to voters next year.  Read the suit here.

The main objection in the suit filed by the Realtors’ attorney Chuck Hatfield is that the summary statement “does not accurately describe the measure’s central purpose and effects.”

[T]hree of the five provisions included in the General Assembly’s ballot summary statement are already the law. The General Assembly elected to include these provisions in bullet points one, two, and three to conceal the central purpose of HJR 3, which is to limit citizens’ ability to approve citizen-led initiative petitions to amend the Constitution.

What It Means

This is just the Realtors opening salvo in what may be a year-long campaign to sink the measure.  Legislators can’t say they weren’t warned.

Jeff City Lodging Tax Fight Heats Up

There is now organized opposition running attack ads through a dark-money committee against renewal next month of Jefferson City’s lodging tax renewal.

One capitol veteran explains the situation: It will be a low-turnout off-year election and the lodging tax renewal is the only thing of interest on the local ballot. Supporters want to use the renewed revenues to build the downtown convention center and a new Madison Street parking garage. The old public parking garage is being torn down with about as much advance notice as the White House East Wing demolition. And with results causing pain close to home in the capital city. The Madison Street garage project will require blocking off the alley that is the only access to Bones, the legendary lawmakers and lobbyists watering hole. The project is so disruptive, displacing Bones' November and December revenue stream from holiday parties, that the establishment’s manager says it may not survive. So beyond the circle of powerful wealthy locals promoting the projects and tax renewal, this one seems ripe for a local blue-collar populist voter revolt.

Pain Phase Coming on Shutdown

Governor Mike Kehoe issued a statement yesterday outlining the hardships coming to the state due to the federal shutdown…

November 2025 SNAP benefits cannot be issued. SNAP benefits are 100 percent federally funded, with each recipient receiving benefits from the federal government via their Electronic Benefit Transfer card. There is no mechanism for state appropriations to be transferred to cover this funding…

Additional Impacts on Missouri

·       In Missouri, there are approximately 56,000 federal workers who may not receive a paycheck this Friday.

·       Small Business Administration loan distributions are frozen during the federal government shutdown. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, over $15 million in loan assistance is blocked per week to small businesses in Missouri.

·       Missouri's Gross State Product is estimated to decline by approximately $232 million each week the shutdown extends, which could lead to an increase in unemployment of about 800 workers in Missouri under a one-month shutdown.

JeffCo Says Yes to Data Centers

Jefferson County Executive Dennis Gannon penned an op/ed explaining why Jefferson County is “open for business” when it comes to data centers.

Here in Jefferson County, two of the most common concerns I hear from residents are about public safety and the condition of our roads. Families want well-maintained streets, faster emergency response times, and a strong, well-equipped public safety network. I hear you and I agree.  But the reality is, we can’t address these priorities on hope alone. We need a reliable, long-term funding source. Data technology centers give us this revenue source.

Hummel Haunted House

Post-Dispatch reports on the life of Sarah Martin.  Read it here.

“We live on Holly Hills Boulevard, and my husband has a decorations disorder,” resident Sarah Martin wrote in an email. In his defense, he’s an electrician and makes many of the displays himself.  Their house gets more than a thousand trick-or-treaters on Halloween night, possibly up to 1,500, she says. Martin has suggested to her husband that perhaps they should decorate with a theme in mind. “He says, ‘Absolutely not,’” she says. “The more randomness, the better.”

·       When asked to describe the aesthetic, she sums it up with a single word: Tacky.

New Committees

MO Faith & Freedom was formed.  It’s in support of Justin Barnhart who is running in House 5 to replace termed Rep. Louis Riggs.

$5K+ Contributions

St. Charles Realtors PAC - $31,160 from Missouri Realtors PAC, Inc.

St. Charles Realtors PAC - $7,438 from Missouri Realtors PAC, Inc.

Respect MO Voters Campaign - $100,000 from Respect Missouri Voters PAC.

Paladin PAC - $15,000 from J&J Ventures (Effingham, IL).

Senate Democratic Campaign Committee - $15,000 from Centene Management Company LLC.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to House Majority Leader Alex Riley, Chuck Hatfield, Jay Wasson, Jon Galloway, and Brian Wahby.