MOScout Daily Update: Attacks on Prop A - Dunklin Co Seizes VLTs - Sieren to Hawley - Gephardt on DOGE - Endangered Fiscal Hawks and more…

1 Big Thing: Attacks on Prop A

Proposition A is under attack on multiple fronts. 

Passed in November with 57.5% of the vote, Prop A promised to phase-in a higher minimum wage and provide paid sick leave for employees. 

However, Missouri’s business community has argued that the new requirements are too burdensome and has worked to undermine its implementation.

·       Yesterday, the House perfected Rep. Sherri Gallick’s HB 567 which guts the newly approved law. 

·       This morning (9AM), the Missouri Supreme Court will hear Raymond McCarty, et al. v. Missouri Secretary of State, et al., which challenges the constitutionality of the new law.  McCarty is the head of Associated Industries of Missouri, a pro-business association.

Both efforts face difficulties. 

·       Senate Dems will be fiercely resistant to changes to the Prop A laws.  And some Senate Republicans will be wary as well, and are probably more open to a modification like carving out small businesses.

·       While it’s never easy to predict how the state’s high court will act, one assumes they’ll need a very convincing case to overturn the will of the people.

Dunklin County “Big Bust” of VLTs

Another skirmish has broken out in the ongoing efforts of some communities to contain the proliferation of video lottery terminals.

KFVS reports that “a recent coordinated effort by law enforcement agencies in Dunklin County led to a big bust of illegal gambling machines. Dunklin Co. Sheriff Nick Darter said his office worked with the Malden Department of Public Safety, Kennett Police Dept. and the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control to execute eight search warrants throughout the county on Monday, March 10. As a result of this collaborative effort, 73 machines were seized along with an undisclosed amount of money.”

·       “These machines are causing not just family problems but problems around communities,” said Sheriff Darter in a statement.

·       Dunklin Co. Prosecutor Nicholas Jain approved the search warrants and will review the cases for potential charges once he receives reports from MSHP.

Senate Advances Patterson Priority

The Senate advanced HB 737 which has various provisions aimed at improving the state’s foster care.  It was the first bill passed out of the House this session and is a top priority of Speaker Jon Patterson.

·       Just another example of the two chambers playing well together.  Sometimes, in a more acrimonious setting, the bill would be held onto as “leverage.” 

Sieren to Hawley

Madeline Sieren, previously with the Attorney General’s office, has been tapped by Senator Josh Hawley as deputy communications director.

Endangered Fiscal Hawks

The Republican supermajority has been surprising blasé about the possibility that a budget crunch could be coming.  The House passed an income tax deduction for capital gains.  And although the Senate declined yesterday to immediately approve it, I was shocked how some Republicans shrugged off the $230 million fiscal note. 

Meanwhile, uncertainty stemming from Trump/DOGE’s erratic policy process is paralyzing some businesses and consumers.  This is stoking recession fears.  Even if a recession is avoided, a slowing economy will result in lower tax receipts in the coming months.

Cuts to Department of Education

NYTimes reports that the Department of Education has fired half its staff (about 1,300 people). 

When the idea of eliminating the Department of Education was first floated back in November, Aligned wrote an explainer how this might impact the states.  Read it here.

·       State and local governments are still the primary funder of K-12 education. In the 2020-21 school year, the federal government spent $88 billion on elementary and secondary education, whereas state and local governments combined spent $749 billion. Much of the federal portion is for programs like Title I and IDEA, which directs resources to school districts that serve low-income families and students receiving special education assistance respectively.

·       If the Trump Administration succeeds in convincing Congress to eliminate the department, its duties would still have to be discharged by another arm of government. Funding for programs like Title I and IDEA could go to states through block grants; however, there is the potential to lose oversight and administrative questions that Congress must adjudicate. For instance, the Treasury Department could administer the federal student loan program, and the Justice Department could oversee the administration of civil rights protections.

Gephardt on DOGE

Former Congressman Dick Gephardt writes about the last time the government had a surplus, calling for a more inclusive process for reining in the budget.  Read it here.

·       My experience as a public servant to participate in the U.S. House of Representatives — with two different U.S. Presidents and all of the 535 members of the Congress — to achieve a balanced budget in 1999 leads me to question whether the current DOGE effort will achieve its announced goals.

·       The effort involved all 535 members of Congress because they are the voice and vote of the entire American population. Our Constitutional system that gave us the unique gift of self-government is not the fastest or easiest way to make decisions that affect everyone; but it is far superior to an authoritarian system where one human being makes consequential decisions that impact everyone. When all of the people are heard and involved in making such important decisions, the necessary compromises are then accepted — sometimes grudgingly.

·       The mandates of one — or a handful of — powerful billionaires won’t be enough to make this happen. Instead, it will take long, hard, patient work by hundreds — if not thousands — of people to bring about the compromises needed to be successful.

eMailbag on Exceptions

Regarding "Pro-Life enough": Accused by who of not being Pro-Life enough? MRL supports the bill and every Republican with the exception of Moon will vote for it, including the conservative caucus.

$5K+ Contributions

Leadership Counts - $7,500 from Steven Stone.

71 Percent PAC - $15,000 from Brinkmann Constructors.

Lobbyist Registrations

Andrew Foley, Mike Lodewegen, and Craig Redmon added Scotland County Hospital.                                                    

Richard McIntosh and John Gaskin added Veterans Advantage Urgent Care.

Michael Michelson added Dr. Thomas Turnbaugh, MD.    

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Travis Smith, and Kack Haslag.