MOScout Daily Update: Christofanelli Registers - Bailey Pursues Proxy Firms - STL Cops Pursue Parents - Better Columbia Escapes MEC Scrutiny and more….
Christofanelli Registers
Former Rep. Phil Christofanelli has registered to be a lobbyist. Christofanelli will lobby for the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA). PCMA is the pharmacy benefit managers’ (PBMs) national association.
There’s been increasing interest in regulating PBMs…
· Sen. Travis Fitzwater’s SB 45 was the main vehicle in the Senate last session.
· In April, Attorney General Andrew Bailey asked Congress to prohibit PBMs from owning pharmacies.
Christofanelli lost a state senate primary last year to Adam Schnelting (50% to 27%).
Folsom Out of Senate 4
Blaine Folsom, after filing a limited activity for his July fundraising quarter, is apparently dropping his bid for Senate 4. He has terminated his campaign committee.
· Right now, the field to replace termed Sen. Karla May includes Reps. LaKeySha Bosley and Steve Butz, and former Rep. Gina Mitten.
Latest “No Action” From Ethics Commission
Paralyzed by a lack of quorum, the Missouri Ethics Commission continues to spit out “no action” on what could be very serious, or at least very interesting, complaints.
The latest: Citizens for a Better Columbia.
Columbia Missourian had reported on this PAC during the Columbia mayoral campaign: The largest donor to mayoral candidate Blair Murphy’s campaign is mysterious, to say the least. A political action committee known as Citizens for a Better Columbia, which donated $25,000 to Murphy’s election bid, lists its treasurer on Missouri Ethics Commission documents as a Hallsville man who died in 2022.
[A] concrete answer about the leadership of Citizens for a Better Columbia, and who donated money to the PAC, is unclear. The committee never disclosed that it made the large donation to Murphy in the first place… Without the knowledge of who leads or donates to the PAC, Columbia residents don’t know who has contributed $25,000 to the Murphy campaign.
Bailey Pursues Proxy Companies Using DEI
Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed two “Petitions for Order to Enforce Civil Investigative Demand” yesterday as he pursues cases against proxy voting services.
· Glass Lewis: Glass Lewis touts that its voting recommendations are purposefully designed to advance DEI and environmental causes, regardless of whether the proposed policies would undermine the immediate financial and economic impact of its recommended policies and investments… This means that Glass Lewis’s statement that it provides “research and data” that allow its customers to “make informed investment decisions” is false.
· ISS: According to publicly available documents, ISS touts that its voting recommendations are purposefully designed to advance DEI and environmental causes, regardless of whether the proposed policies would undermine the immediate financial and economic impact of its recommended policies and investments… This means that ISS’s statement that it has “objective and impartial offerings” that allow its customers to “make informed investment decisions” is false.
New STL Crime Initiative?
Post-Dispatch reports that St. Louis City police are “hopeful they can curb juvenile crime by citing kids’ parents.”
· Chief Robert Tracy: “We need to be able to change the behavior and the accountability of individuals that are responsible for the juveniles.” He hopes it will push adults to pay more attention to their children — and help bring juvenile crime rates down.
· All 50 states have some kind of “parental responsibility” law, Brank said. In Missouri specifically, state statute gives anyone the ability to sue a parent for up to $2,000 if their minor child injures them or breaks their property.
· But while Missouri’s parental responsibility law only covers damages for civil lawsuits, St. Louis city code goes a step further. It opens the door for parents to be cited with “contributing to the delinquency of a child” for their kids’ actions.
White House Visit
It turns out a lot of folks went to the White House. In addition to a lot of Republican senators and representatives, the Statewides made the trip as well as some staffers and even a few consultants. Among the non-electeds: Katie Ashcroft, Drew Dampf, Dan Engemann and James Lawson, Mike Hafner, and James Harris.
Bailey Announces Next Solicitor General
Press release: Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced the impending appointment of Louis “Lou” J. Capozzi III as Solicitor General of Missouri, which will take effect upon the confirmation of current Solicitor General Josh Divine to the federal bench…
Capozzi most recently served as an Associate in the Issues and Appeals and Government Regulation practice groups with Jones Day, where he led litigation teams in major constitutional and administrative-law disputes, including serving as first chair in a six-week federal bench trial on behalf of the Republican National Committee.
· Before entering private practice, Capozzi served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch during the 2021 Term.
New Committees
Maple Leaf PAC was formed. It’s to support Rep. Cathy Jo Loy. See the filing here.
$5K+ Contributions
HBS MO State PAC - $20,000 from HB Strategies.
Living Well PAC - $25,000 from Starling Missouri.
Missouri House Democrats Action Fund - $10,000 from AGC of MO PAC.
Lobbyist Registrations
Julie Baker added Washington University.
Phil Christofanelli added Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA).
David Sweeney added MO Hemp Trade Association.
Alex Eaton and Rebecca Lohmann deleted DraftKings Inc, BetMGM LLC, Secure Elections Project, Heart of Missouri CASA, FanDuel Group Inc, Sports Betting Alliance, Lexia Learning Systems, Center for the Rights of Abused Children, and MyLand Inc.
David Klarich deleted Family Covenant Ministries.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Ron Fitzwater, Jeff Brooks, and Don Ruzicka.