MOScout Daily Update: SAPA Stalls, As Does Child Care Tax Credit - Wild Budget Conference Ahead? - Schmitt on Watching Cards - Trump Appts and more…

SAPA Stalls, As Does Child Tax Credit

The Senate put in a full 12+ hour day, working on several bills. 

The reworked Second Amendment Preservation Act (Rep. Bill Hardwick’s HB 1175, carried in the Senate by Sen. Rick Brattin) was brought up a couple different times.  It faced Democratic opposition.

At some point in the evening, the SAPA legislation was laid over and the Senate went to Rep. Brenda Shield’s HB 269 (carried in the Senate by Sen. Sandy Crawford).  This is the child care tax credit package.

Brattin acknowledged, in an inquiry with Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, that he expected passage of the tax credits to ease passage of SAPA.  Dems would “lighten up” their opposition if the credits passed.

·       Coleman criticized this approach: I think it’s a bad idea to trade Republican priorities for things that divide the Republican that divide the Republican caucus.

Coleman offered a “stay-at-home” tax credit as an amendment.  It would have given a $10,000 tax credit “for each dependent for which the taxpayer foregoes employment to care for such dependent.” 

Coleman explained, “One of the real tragedies has been that people seem to value a woman’s work only when it’s outside the home and not in the home.  Being a homemaker and being a mother is a devalued position and literally being devalued by this bill. So the amendment that I have distributed would allow a tax credit to go to moms, to stay-at-home moms.”

The amendment failed 10-18 on a standing division. 

Coleman then offered another amendment essentially defunding the Shield’s bill, and inquired of several different senators asking if they would rotate a filibuster to stop the bill. Her opposition was mainly that she didn’t “think that a government needs to be taking over another industry.”

Sens. Jill Carter, Mike Moon, and Joe Nicola all agreed with her, and the filibuster began.

Coleman read Little House on the Prairie until about 11PM.  When Sen. Nicola took over for her and began to read a book that he himself had written.  At that point, the bill was laid over and the Senate called it night.

To be continued…

Budget Conference Committee

Last night on the Senate Floor, Appropriations Chair Lincoln Hough said the conference committee meeting today with the House will be different than previous years.  They’ll hash out their compromise line-by-line rather than just presenting a done deal as they usually do.

“The House said, let's go to conference tomorrow around 3 o'clock, which I'm completely supportive of, and… instead of myself and the House Budget Chair getting together in the small round room off the back of the Pershing Gallery where very few people can get it get inside and actually see what's going on, we’re arguably going to do this in a more open and transparent way tomorrow.  In front of everyone, and the media, and any interested parties, and go through line by line. The last count that I had was, we've got 93 pages of differences between the House and the Senate…  So we have to negotiate those positions. But arguably, tomorrow, going through this in an open fashion is a more transparent way to do it, which I'm fine with.”

• Although Hough said the conference would be at 3PM. The conference is noticed up for 9AM. 

UPDATE: The conference committee gaveled in and out, recessing until 10PM.

Trump Appts Judges. Bailey, Hawley, Schmitt Approve.

President Donald Trump announced four nominees to become Missouri judges: Cristian Stevens, Maria Lanahan, Zachary Bluestone, and Joshua Divine.

Eric Schmitt: “I am thrilled that President Trump’s first slate of judicial nominees will serve the Eastern District of Missouri. All four nominees served under me in the Missouri Attorney General’s office and together we fought each day for Missourians across our state.”

Andrew Bailey: “In a historic first for President Donald J. Trump’s 2025 judicial nominations, two attorneys from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s Office have been nominated to serve as federal judges on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.”

Josh Hawley: “We need judges that are committed to the rule of law and upholding the Constitution, and I’m ecstatic to see President Trump nominate these outstanding individuals to the federal bench.”

Schmitt on Watching the Cards

Senator Eric Schmitt questioned Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President of Media and Business Development Kenny Gersh at a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation Hearing, asking him for clarity about watching baseball on TV/streaming.

Schmitt: “I would only during baseball season, when I cut the cord, actually buy the cable subscription, which was really expensive, just to see the Cardinal games when I was at home. And we gravitated, you know, at first I had Sling because they carried the Cardinals. Then it went to YouTube TV because they had the Cardinals, and then they didn't have the Cardinals. So it’s been a journey for a lot of fans… I just wanted to ask you, where is all this headed? Because people want to see the games.”

Gersh: “Where this is going is a great question. And I think, as the Commissioner has stated, he is looking to get to a more national product…  Our main rights deals come up after the 2028 season, that's what we're looking to achieve, is a place where there's a whether it's a national streaming package or MLB Network, becomes the home of local baseball, but where there's one place that you go to know where your games are that aren't being broadcast nationally.”

eMailbag: GOP Accomplishments

Whomever wrote that list of accomplishments for the Republicans lives in the Capitol far too many days a year. Maybe the Republican accomplishment list should include better access to higher education, jobs training and economic development, public safety, good energy policy, and children's protection and enhanced services. Clearly those aren't as important as protection from people getting their guns taken away, but they are an honorable mention.

$5K+ Contributions

Jason Law for St. Charles County - $25,000 from Anandkumar Patel.

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $5,022 from William Irwin.

Lobbyist Registrations

John Bardgett, Jacqueline Bardgett, and Chris Roepe added Unite America Inc.                                                                   

Ginger Steinmetz added Retrieving Freedom.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Rep. Brenda Shields, Adam Rapert, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Scott Sifton, Don Phillips, and Stuart Murray.