MOScout Daily Update: Hanaway’s Billions - School Choicers’ Whale - Reed’s Primary - Credit Unions’ Muscle and more…
Hanaway Says Chinese Bounty Coming
Yesterday Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said her office was progressing in its attempt to secure “Missouri’s historic $24 billion judgment against the People’s Republic of China.”
Federal law requires states to wait a “reasonable period of time” after a judgment is entered before initiating the service and enforcement process against a foreign government. With that waiting period now completed, Missouri can move forward with the next phase…
Hanaway: “We are committed to holding them accountable and recovering every dollar we can, starting with Chinese-owned assets, including farmland.”
What It Means
$24 billion would be an incredible jolt to Missouri’s budget. I don’t think any Missouri lawmakers are holding their breath that the aspirations of this press release materialize into reality.
School-Choicers’ Whale
Advocates in favor of expanding school choice scored a huge victory last year with the inclusion of general revenue money to fund the MOScholars program.
While they will surely have an agenda for the coming session to keep their ideas alive, the next big whale is most likely a 2027 fight. That will come when the foundation formula rewrite is expected to dominate legislators’ time. Governor Mike Kehoe appointed a task force to study updating the formula which determines how state funding is dispersed to schools. They’re mandated to make their recommendations in December of 2026 – ahead of the 2027 session.
School-choicers would love to see the formula incorporate their ultimate target: state funds that follow the students rather than being assigned simply to schools.
Credit Unions Adding Lobbying Muscle
The credit unions are adding some muscle to their lobby operation, bringing on Jay Reichard and Olivia Wilson from HB Strategies. Richard and Wilson join building staple Mike Winter and MO Credit Union Association Executive Director Ray Bozarth as Missouri credit unions’ advocates in Jefferson City.
Underwhelming Growth
It’s been two decades of underwhelming economic growth for Missouri.
· Republicans have held control of both chambers (Senate in 2001, House in 2003) nearly this entire time.
More on Thornhill
Post-Dispatch reports on more controversies involving Judge Matthew Thornhill who was recently disciplined. Read it here.
Days before the presidential election last year, some St. Charles County Republicans were worried that election challengers weren't being allowed in polling places during early voting.
So on Oct. 30, 2024, a county Republican committeeman filed suit. County officials widely viewed the move as an attempt to stop early voting… Before making a ruling, Thornhill got on the phone — from his courtroom. Also in the courtroom was the man who filed the lawsuit, Republican committeeman Travis Heins, according to internal GOP emails obtained by the Post-Dispatch. Thornhill wanted to ask Bob Eno about his opinion on the case… Eno was Thornhill's former campaign treasurer. He's also the chairman of the county Republican Party.
· "Judge Thornhill asked to speak to me," Eno wrote the following day in an email to party members. "The judge asked if I was aware of the lawsuit being filed by Travis, I said yes. He asked if I supported the lawsuit because I would undoubtedly be brought into the proceedings. I said yes."
Dimmitt Kickoff Coming
Rep. Ray Reed’s primary looks to be credible. Mayor David Dimmitt is gathering a list of local endorsements from other mayors in the county, and he has some heavy-hitting fundraising names on his upcoming December 3 kickoff.
Feds to Bigfoot States on AI
Yesterday the Missouri Future Caucus convened to hear testimony from experts about “the future of AI policy in Missouri to both capture the benefits and protect the public interest. AI may offer tremendous advantages to public and private organizations operating across multiple economies of Missouri. However, there also is risk in terms of how AI is used, to what degree the public is informed, and how many resources Missouri must spend in order to compete in the AI space.” Some representatives want AI “guardrails.”
· As if on cue, it appears that the White House is planning to fence off any state-level AI regulation. Politico reports: The White House is preparing to issue an executive order as soon as Friday that enlists the power of the federal government to block states from regulating artificial intelligence…
New Committees
Stacy Bax formed an exploratory committee to run for statewide office as a Democrat. See the filing here.
· According to this article in the Unterrified Democrat, Bax is the President of the Osage County Democrat Club, and a “go-getter.”
$5K+ Contributions
NEMO Leadership PAC (pro-O’Laughlin) - $7,500 from AT&T.
Missouri Alliance PAC (pro-Patterson) - $10,000 from Spire Missouri Inc.
Breakthru Beverage Missouri, LLC - $30,000 from Daniel Wirtz (Chicago, IL).
Committee to Re-Elect Melissa Holcomb for Circuit Clerk - $10,000 from Melissa Holcomb.
UAW Region 4 Midwest States PAC (MO) - $29,230 from Midwest State Cap Exchange (Ottawa, IL).
Lobbyist Registrations
Jerry Hobbs added Nola Education, LLC.
Sarah Wood Martin added Ceres Environmental Services.
Michael Moehn added Union Electric Co. DBA Amerenue, Ameren Services, Ameren Corp. Holly Rehder added No More Victims, a Texas nonprofit corporation.
Steven Tilley, Thomas Robbins, Caleb Rowden, Christopher Schoeman, and Alec Rosenblum added Osage Beach Development Group, LLC.
Thomas Robbins, Caleb Rowden, and Alec Rosenblum added Missouri Tow Truck Association.
Angie Schulte added Missourians for Fair Regulations.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Matt Blunt, Myron Neth, Sharon Pace, and Michael Vogt.