MOScout Daily Update: Kehoe To Call Special Today - O’Laughlin Backs Stadium Plan - Counting Senate Votes - Willett in Senate 34 and more…
Driving the Day: Kehoe to Call Special
The media advisory… Tuesday, May 27, at 10:00 a.m. Governor Mike Kehoe will hold a press conference at the Missouri State Capitol to announce details regarding a special session.
According to the tidbit I reported on Friday, Speaker Jon Patterson told members the session would include both a policy bill, and an appropriations bill. Folks take this to mean there’d be a bill about the stadium subsidy, and a bill revisiting HB 19’s capital appropriations. The theory is that capital projects in specific members’ districts will ease their misgiving about the stadium package.
· Additionally, JP said that the session will start on June 2, but that the House would “take up its work” on the week of June 9. That implies that the bills would start in the Senate, where the real fight will be. And (as usual) the House will be expected to take whatever the Senate can pass.
· Appropriation bills traditionally start in the House, but this isn’t a constitutional requirement.
O’Laughlin Backs Stadium Subsidies
On Facebook, Senate Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin signaled she’s on-board with the stadium subsidies…
We will soon be going back to Jeff City to consider the future for the Chiefs and Royals. At least what part Missouri wants to play in that future…
· Both franchises want a better environment for their teams. I don’t blame them; the stadiums sit in what could only be called a blighted area. There’s no decent hotel, no restaurants, no nothing. When the games are over you get out of there as fast as you can because it’s not a good place to be after dark…
· Right now both teams have offers from Kansas (through tax incentives) to relocate and have incredible upgraded facilities and surroundings. So at this very moment the state stands to lose the taxes both teams generate which means we lose (combined) about $60 million yearly…
· My personal belief is both the direct and indirect dollars accruing to Missouri businesses from the Chiefs and Royals being located here far exceeds what they are asking. I also believe if they left the state it would tear out the heart of Missouri leaving two big concrete structures as a forever reminder of what might have been.
Senate Votes
The potential trouble in the Senate comes from three groups…
· Democrats – Generally skeptical about “welfare for billionaires” to begin with as still angry about the way Republicans failed to meaningfully negotiate at the end of session and instead closed off debate.
· Freedom Caucus and allies – In the Trump mode of economic populism, they too will recoil at “welfare for billionaires.”
· Other conservatives – Generally free market conservatives are against “picking winners and losers” by target specific industries (or in this case a specific enterprise). They also generally exhibit scorn for the magical “multiplier effect” used to justify economic development expenditures.
The math is tough if all three coalesce in opposition…
· 7 Dems (10 – 3 = 7?): Doug Beck, Karla May, Tracy McCreery, Angela Mosley, Stephen Roberts, Stephen Webber, and Brian Williams. I think the Jackson County senators (Patty Lewis, Maggie Nurrenbern, and Barbara Washington) would have to support the project.
· 8 Freedom Caucus and Allied Senators (4 + 4 = 8): Rick Brattin, Brad Hudson, Adam Schnelting, and Nick Schroer + Ben Brown, Jill Carter, Mike Moon, and Joe Nicola.
· 4 other possible dissenting conservative Republicans: Mary Elizabeth Coleman, Trent Curtis, Travis Fitzwater, and David Gregory.
And Sen. Lincoln Hough spoke against the package when it was rolled out during session, but I assume the governor’s office has lassoed his support if they’re ready to call the special.
This is a two-stepper for Team Chiefs/Royals.
First, they have to make sure that they have enough votes. The easiest way is to promise something big to one of the blocs (Dems or Freedom Caucus), but they can also just try to peel off senators with reasoned arguments, arm-twisting, and capital project promises.
Second, they have to overcome a filibuster. How many of the No votes would stand and filibuster?
Certainly it would seem that Dems are angry enough to do so. Remember the PQ speeches from Sens. Beck and Webber…
· Beck: I am not a person who makes hollow threats. I have never made hollow threats in here. I've worked with every person in this chamber, but I will guarantee you, I will guarantee you nothing will happen. Nothing. The banner year that everybody had in this place, that is over with. So to the lobbyists, don't even ask. To everybody in this building, don't ask.
· Webber: I don't want any misconception today or next year when you're wondering why. You can't get your special guest introduced when you're listening to me talk about basketball, know why… when there’s a failure in the Senate there needs to be a response. That response can’t last forever. But that response has to happen. And it has to be painful. And it has to make us all understand that when the Senate doesn’t function as a body, we all lose.
Willett in Senate 34
Nathan Willett amended his campaign committee to run for Senate 34 as a Republican. Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer is termed.
· Willett is a Kansas City Councilman.
· See his KC Councilman campaign website here.
· See his LinkedIn here.
On my 2026 Tracker, Willett joins Rep. Brenda Shields, who I consider the front-runner at this point.
Hannibal Tackles Truancy
Muddy River News reports on Hannibal School District’s attempts to improve its attendance through rigorous engagement, including a referral to a prosecuting attorney…
The district’s current policy is:
· Automated phone calls to parents at the time of an unexcused absence
· Calls from school secretaries to parents in instances of multiple unexcused absences
· A mailed letter from a student’s school when attendance drops to 94 percent
· A second mailed letter when attendance drops to 88 percent
· A third mailed letter when attendance drops to 82 percent
· Meeting with a “success team” including “school personnel, parents and any additional outside resources that may be beneficial” in instances of continued absences
· Home visits in instances of continued absences
· Additional phone calls or emails in cases of continued absences
· A fourth mailed letter requesting parent and student attendance at an off-campus meeting with representatives from the Juvenile Justice Center (JCC) and the Children’s Division of the Department of Social Services (CD)… A plan is developed with the student, parents and school personnel, and parents are warned that charges of neglect will be pursued if attendance does not improve
· A probable cause statement is submitted to the prosecuting attorney if parents do not show up to the scheduled meetings or do not implement the plan, and attendance continues to decrease.
Of the 92 families who received invitations to such meetings, 63 percent implemented a plan and improved attendance following the meeting. Eight of the 92 continued to struggle with attendance, but further communication and documentation determined that health concerns were the cause of absences… The remaining 34 of 92 families were referred to the prosecuting attorney’s office.
In the notes field for a family that had been referred to the prosecuting attorney’s office, [Assistant Superintendent Meghan] Karr noted that a parent did not show up to any of the scheduled meetings, but she did call the district’s office and called her a “stupid b****,” “a f***ing c***” and threatened to come to the office and bury her alive. The attendance rate of that parent’s student improved by seven percent after the family’s referral to the prosecuting attorney’s office.
Most attendance rates improved following the referrals, in one instance jumping as high as nearly 20 percentage points.
Lobbyist Registrations
Ron Hicks added Transcend Clinic.
$5K+ Contributions
MBA Truman Region PAC - $6,900 from Country Club Bank.
Senate Democratic Campaign Committee - $25,000 from MSCEW PAC.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Becky Lohmann, Bob Dixon, Debbie Monterrey, and Scott Leiendecker.