MOScout Daily Update: Budget Decision Day - OBBB Hits FRA Rate - Choi’s Pitch to Trump - Waller for JeffCo Clerk? - Sun Solar to IL? and more…

Driving the Day: Kehoe Budget Decisions

Today is the final day of the state’s fiscal year which means it’s also the day in which Governor Mike Kehoe must sign the budget bills – and line-item veto what he wants to cut. 

The thinking among Jeff City folks is that the administration may be more aggressive with the vetoes to offset some of the extra spending from the special session.

·       And – I’ve mentioned this before – there’s a concern among some in the education lobby that we’ll see Kehoe withholds later in the new fiscal year aimed at the foundation formula.  The legislature funded that at a higher level than the governor had recommended.

DC Watch

The Senate version of the President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” has the lower cap on taxes like Missouri’s FRA tax.

·       According to a Missouri Hospital Association presentation last year Missouri’s FY2025’s FRA assessment rate was 4.2%, and MHA forecasted that “the assessment rate will increase in FY26.”  That means a cap at 3.5% would ding MO general revenue for a couple hundred million dollars at least.

And – Senator Josh Hawley who said he’d oppose moves like this because of the damage they’d do to rural hospitals blinks and votes for the bill.

Boston Globe Reports on Mizzou

Boston Globe’s story “Universities in red states and heartland may be winners as Ivy League contends with Trump onslaught” has a Columbia Missouri byline.  Read it here.

·       As a pall descended on major East Coast research schools this spring, Mizzou’s president began pitching the research reactor to the Trump administration. In a March visit to Mar-a-Lago, Mun Choi was the only university president in the room, he said.

·       Choi has calibrated his sales talk to resonate with a White House that has deep anxieties about global competition. If the university does not get the funding to build the new reactor, Choi said in his wood-paneled office overlooking Francis Quadrangle’s six limestone columns, there is “no other supplier in the Western Hemisphere.”

·       “We do not want to be in a situation where we are reliant on other countries’ generosity to be able to share the radioisotopes with American patients,” Choi said.

Sun Solar to IL?

Caleb Arthur, CEO of Sun Solar, posted on Facebook… “Missouri is failing it's citizens by letting solar be damaged by its own government systems, while passing legislation to allow utilities to double your rates.”

·       Illinois streamlines solar approvals and permitting, while having the forethought to invest in renewables and batteries... Sun Solar is looking at moving our headquarters to Illinois.  I love Missouri, but elected officials are not moving in the right direction to control our energy costs and protect our citizens. I've built great relationships, I've fought, I've begged, I've invested millions in infrastructure, payroll, and good will. We have so many amazing team members and customers here.

·       I'll be honest, for 13 years I've stayed in the hardest solar market because it's my home, but I'm ready to be where I'm wanted and appreciated….

Arthur is a regular Republican donor.  In 2024 he gave $1,000+ to the campaigns of Governor Mike Kehoe, Rick Brattin, Mike Moon, Adam Schnelting, Darin Chappell, Bishop Davidson, Aaron McMullen, and Cody Smith.

Waller Eyes JeffCo Clerk Spot

Leader Publications reports that Rep. Ken Waller is considering running for Jefferson County Clerk.  He had been mentioned as a possible Senate 22 candidate around the building, but that talk is apparently fading.

·       Jefferson County Clerk Jeannie Goff has announced she will not seek reelection in 2026. She made that announcement on June 17, and a day later, state Rep. Ken Waller (District 114-Herculaneum), who previously served as Jefferson County Clerk, told the Leader he was considering running for the office. His current term in the Missouri House ends Jan. 6, 2027.

·       Waller, 63, said he hasn’t yet decided whether to run for the county clerk office again, but thinks it is a possibility. With Goff retiring, he said, it would serve the county well to have someone with experience head up the office.

Luebbert Leaves Treas Office

Caty Luebbert has left the State Treasurer’s Office where she was the director of communications.  She’s now Public Relations Director at the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency.

eMailbag: on Kehoe-Vogel Sit

In response to the Kehoe/Vogel picture, the Kehoe and the Vogel families have known each other as local businessmen for years. It wouldn’t be unusual to see them together at a regular Jeff City spot then and it shouldn’t be now.

$5K+ Contributions

Missouri House Democrats Action Fund - $50,000 from Mid America Carpenters Regional Council MO-KS Area PAC.

Lobbyist Registrations

Garrett Webb added Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc.                                           

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Brent Evans, Jeff Porter, and Pat Dougherty.