MOScout Daily Update: Moon Rebels Against Abortion Plan - Spencer Wins First Round in STL - Crime Bill Back in Senate - Schatz Gets FrankCo Spot and more…

Moon Exits Families Committee Over Rape Exception

Republicans are preparing to send the abortion issue back to the Missouri voters in 2026.  To do this, they’ll pass a resolution.  It would re-institute Missouri’s ban with exceptions for rape and the mother’s health.  Sen. Mike Moon has apparently decided that he cannot abide by this.  And the Senate Families Committee is such (4 Republicans, 2 Democrats) that if he were a No vote, the resolution wouldn’t pass.  So he’s leaving that committee….

Senator Cindy O’Laughlin, President Pro Tem,

While I understand the potential ramifications of the passage of Amendment 3 in the November 2024 General Election and the need to address the resulting radical language in the Missouri Constitution, Article I, Section 36, I cannot support the creation of a sub-human group

(e.g., persons who were conceived during a rape, et cetera).

Although, the numbers of persons alive today who were conceived as a result of a horrible act is relatively small, I cannot find good reason to vote in favor of a resolution which will allow another horrible act – murder. Simply because a ‘man’ (the biological father) commits a crime, we should not condemn the resulting baby to death.

Republicans, and some Democrats, profess to be ‘protectors’ of life. I claim to be one of them. Because of this, I cannot support an effort which does not recognize all life as precious and worth saving and protecting.

Because of this, I request to be removed from the Families, Seniors, and Health Committee, effective immediately.

Mike Moon

Kristina Martin, Secretary of the Senate,

Pursuant to Rule 12, I am making the following changes to the Committee on Families, Seniors, and Health: I remove Senator Moon and appoint Senator Brattin.

Sincerely,

President Pro Tem

What It Means

Republicans are largely unified over this strategy, but as Moon’s actions indicate, there will be some hard-core pro-lifers who won’t support the resolution.

Driving the Day: Senate to Go After Crime Bill Again?

The Senate is expected to once again debate the omnibus crime bill which includes one of Governor Mike Kehoe’s top priorities: the state taking over the St. Louis police force.

I expect we’ll see a floor substitute which maybe cleans up the exceptionally broad rioting definition and addresses other ancillary criticisms. 

We could see a long night, but it’s not clear that Sen. Karla May – the chief opponent of the bill – will have enough allies to create a sustainable filibuster. 

·       Sen. Barbara Washington has been a vocal dissenter of the idea, based on her experience with state control of Kansas City. 

·       And Sen. Steven Roberts stood for a bit during earlier debate.

STL City Results

Alderwoman Cara Spencer far out-paced incumbent Mayor Tishaura Jones in the mayoral primary.  Spencer won 68%, while Jones only took 33%.  Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler received 24% and the fourth candidate added another 14%.  Because voters can vote for more than one candidate in this round, the number exceeds 100%.

·       Spencer is clearly the favorite now as the two candidates begin their sprint toward the April general election run-off.

What It Means

A Mayor Spencer doesn’t signal a huge policy divergence from Jones, but it could offer a relationship reset between the City and Governor Mike Kehoe and other Jeff City leaders – should Spencer choose to pursue that avenue.

February Revenue Rise

February 2025 state tax revenues rose 5.9%, showing some life after a few lackluster months.  The results were buoyed by strong sales tax growth (11%).  The jump in revenue equates to about $48 million more in tax receipts this February compared to February 2024.

·       Fiscal year-to-date, tax receipts are still slightly negative (-1.36%) lagging $115 million behind last fiscal year.

Why It Matters

Budgeteers, working through the details of the next year’s budget right now, are presumably keeping one eye on these revenue numbers – as well as one eye on economic data, and a third eye on Trump policies which could impact federal funds – to make sure they’re not missing a sudden curve in the road.

More on Budget Timeline

Two longtime House budget wonks took umbrage at my suggestion that the rule of thumb is that the House should complete the budget by spring break. One noted that the last time we had a new governor take office at the start of the year (2017), the budget wasn't passed out of the House until April 6, and projects that we will be at least a week ahead of that pace this session.

·       A second said that House passage before spring break was “more the exception than the rule” in recent history.

No Movement for HB 811 Yet

It’s tough being a freshman House Democrat.  Rep. Ray Reed posted this on social media after the Black Caucus met with Speaker Jon Patterson.  Alas, one week later, HB 811, the bill that he spoke with JP about, still hasn’t been referred to a committee yet. 

Schatz Gets FrankCo Appt

Governor Mike Kehoe appointed former Sen. Dave Schatz to be the next Franklin County Presiding Commissioner, and former Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer to the Mizzou Board of Curators.  Here’s his full list of appointments from yesterday…

·       William "Blaine" Luetkemeyer, of St. Elizabeth, was appointed to the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

·       Dave Schatz, of Sullivan, was appointed as the Franklin County Presiding Commissioner.

·       Scott Albers, of Country Club, and Todd Michalski, of St. Joseph, were appointed to the Missouri Western State University Board of Governors.

·       Kathy Lambertz, of Harrisonville, was appointed as the Cass County Clerk.

·       Ellen W. Dunne, of Des Peres, was appointed as the Circuit Judge in the 21st Judicial Circuit.

·       Adam Warren, of Chillicothe, was appointed as the Associate Circuit Judge for Sullivan County in the 9th Judicial Circuit.

$5K+ Contributions

314 Forward (pro-Tishaura Jones) - $10,000 from Delta for Women in Action. Inc. (Atlanta, GA).

Lobbyist Registrations

James Harris added Civix.                      

Danny Pfeifer, Alex Eaton, Rebecca Lohmann, Greg Porter, David Willis and Tashayla Person added Holistic Alternatives Recovery Trust, and A Place for Mom.                                                                   

Richard McIntosh and John CE Gakin added Brycorp, LLC.      

George Oestreich deleted Mercer (US) Inc, and RxE2 LLC.

Nick Knoth deleted Missouri Association of Realtors.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Paul Fitzwater, and Shane Roden.