MOScout Daily Update: 3 Reasons Next Session Will Be Tough - Rex Backs Hanaway - Shutdown Impacts Affordable Housing - MATA $$$ to Food Banks and more…

Pessimism Reigns

Pre-filing of legislation is a month away.  However, the upcoming session has a trio of factors that will make it especially challenging for those trying to get items to the governor’s desk.

From a lobbyist who recently explained the “3 areas of ‘tension, tension, tension’ for the 2026 session” for his clients…

·       Senate PQs on Abortion and IP amendments, Overtime/Sick leave, Congressional redistricting, all of which are or will be contested.

·       Budget woes - Short an estimated $1 Billion, and the fact this legislature has never had to cut the budget.

·       2026 election cycle with 10 open senate seats, all to be contested, and over 35 House seats due to term limits and those leaving early.

What It Means

Easier said than done, but… if you have something non-controversial, get it done early before things go cattywampus.

Sinquefield Backs Hanaway

In the Large Contributions (below), Attorney General Catherine Hanaway lassos a $25,000 check from Republican uber-donor Rex Sinquefield.

And

Sinquefield also sent $25K to Treasurer Vivek Malek’s PAC.

Why It Matters

Incumbents taking the big donors off the table makes an insurgent challenge even more daunting.

Shutdown Impact on Affordable Housing

CREDaily reports that “the federal shutdown is causing major delays in affordable housing projects and threatening funding for key rental assistance programs. What began as a bureaucratic slowdown has become a major disruption across the affordable housing ecosystem.”

·       Due to the shutdown, federal agencies have furloughed most staff. HUD is operating with just 25% of its workforce. As a result, new loans are stalled, inspections are paused, and developers can’t access critical financing tools.

·       The timing is also a problem. Developers face year-end deadlines to lock in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). If projects can’t close by Dec. 31, millions in credits may be lost.

·       [S]ome tenants have already missed federal paychecks. Others are asking for payment deferrals.

·       If the shutdown continues past mid-November, HUD’s Section 8 program may exhaust its funds. That could trigger a wave of missed payments, evictions, and canceled developments.

Malek Trick-or-Treat Tweet

Treasurer Vivek Malek retweeted this Secretary Linda McMahon tweet on his official account. 

The Trump era has obliterated the line that used to exist between official communications which focused on performing the duties of the office, and the political barbs of a political account.

AirBnB Restrictions To Meet World Cup Influx

Kansas City Business Journal reports on the how restrictions on short-term rentals will need to be relaxed for the influx of World Cup attendees.

“There are 650,000 people coming, and we only have 65,000 hotel rooms within a 100-mile radius,” said Susan Brown, vice president of the Missouri Vacation Home Alliance and president of the KC Short Term Rental Alliance.

·       Municipalities throughout the Kansas City area have been grappling with short-term rentals for the past several years, through the rise of online booking services like Airbnb and inevitable backlashes from neighbors. The situation will be only more muddled as local governments wrestle with how to accommodate an influx of international visitors for the World Cup…

·       Rules governing short-term rentals vary from city to city throughout the metro area. Some suburban markets — including Prairie Village, Gladstone, Weston and Leawood— prohibit rental stays for less than 30 days. Other cities — including Independence, Excelsior Springs and Kansas City — require property owners to register and follow city-specific guidelines to operate a short-term rental.

MEC Fines Over Anti-A3 Billboard

The Missouri Ethics Commission fined David Jansen $1,766 for failing to file a non-committee expenditure report.  He paid for a billboard opposing last year’s Amendment 3.

See the consent order here.

MATA Donates to Food Banks

Press release: To help ease the growing burden, on Wednesday, Nov. 5, the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys kicks off a series of stops at Feeding America food banks, beginning in Springfield and finishing up in Kansas City on Thursday, Nov. 13. At each stop, MATA members and staff will deliver a check then work a shift in the food bank.  The organization’s “food bank tour of Missouri” is an effort by its charitable arm, Missouri Trial Lawyers Care (Mo-TLC).

·       MATA members will bring a $8,000 donation to Ozarks Food Harvest, 2810 N Cedarbrook Ave, Springfield, and volunteer from 1- 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5.

·       MATA members will bring a $7,500 donation to the Central Missouri Food Bank, 2101 Vandiver Drive, Suite B, Columbia, and volunteer from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10.

·       MATA members will bring a $7,000 donation to the Southeast Missouri Food Bank, 600 State Hwy H, Sikeston, and volunteer from 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12.

·       MATA members will bring a $10,000 donation to Harvesters, the Community Food Network, 3801 Topping Ave., Kansas City, and volunteer from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13.

·       MATA members will present a $7,500 donation to the St. Louis Area Food Bank, 70 Corporate Woods Drive, which is pleasantly so blessed with volunteers that they didn’t need our labor just now.

UPDATE… our members wanted to pitch in more so we are now at $50K and climbing. Additional monies to be split evenly among the banks.

$5K+ Contributions

American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $25,000 from David Lowe.

American Promise PAC (pro-Malek) - $25,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

Hanaway for MO - $25,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

FCA PAC - $125,000 from Accel Entertainment Gaming LLC (Bollingbrook, IL).

The Rowdy PAC - $20,000 from J & J Ventures Gaming of Missouri LLC (Effingham, IL).

NEMO Leadership PAC (pro-O’Laughlin) - $10,000 from Missouri Growth PAC.

NEMO Leadership PAC - $7,500 from MOCS Action.

NEMO Leadership PAC - $7,500 from Conservative Leaders of Missouri LLC.

NEMO Leadership PAC - $7,500 from MOCANNTRADE PAC.

MoCannTrade PAC - $15,000 from Strategic Capitol Consulting.

Missouri House Democrats Action Fund - $10,000 from Enterprise Holdings, Inc. PAC.

KBS PAC - $10,000 from DoorDash Inc. (San Francisco, CA).

Citizens for John Elliott - $10,000 from John Elliott.

BUILD St. Louis PAC, Inc. - $25,000 from McBride & Son Properties.

Lobbyist Registrations

Brian Finn and Robert Kirkwood added The Gordian Group, Inc.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Rep. Bill Allen, Clint Zweifel, Kim Cella, Kevin McManus, and David Linton.