MOScout Daily Update: Owen Eyes Tax Credit Cap - State Energy Plan - Fogle Ad - Wellenkamp Contra GOP and more...

Beers and Budget Episode 1: Owen Eyes Tax Credits

Lobbyists Erin Schrimpf and Andy Foley are launching a weekly video podcast to cover the Missouri budget.  The first guest of “Beers and Budget” is incoming House Budget Chair Bill Owen.  Watch it here.  There’s plenty of color here – like how Owen was tapped by incoming Speaker Alex Riley – but there’s also real news.

The biggest nugget: Owen plans a tax credit overhaul, and Rep. Terry Thompson will be carrying that bill.

From what Owen sketched out, it will involve adding sunsets to tax credits, eliminating ones that aren’t being used and – critically – creating an overall tax credit cap.  After that, according to Owen’s plan, tax credits would be subject to the House Budget Committee’s balancing rule.  You could only add a tax credit or increase one’s cap by reducing another.

Why It Matters

Tax credit programs have been used to circumvent the appropriations process. The new House Budget chair wants to rein them in.  Owen estimates they are reducing net general revenue by about $600 million annually. 

State Energy Plan Released

The Department of Natural Resources released its “State Energy Plan and Policy Brief.”  Find it here.

·       The data-center boom is driving a lot of this.  The state is looking at 4.1 gigawatts of announced large-load commitments.

·       Natural gas is important. The in-state-generation scenario produces about 55% more combined-cycle gas capacity than business as usual. Nuclear cannot arrive quickly enough to meet near-term data-center demand. And the modeling assumes existing coal retirements and finds new coal uneconomic.

·       Callaway’s future. The plan calls the existing Callaway site the clearest route for another large nuclear reactor.

Senate 30: Pro-Fogle Ad

A new pro-Betsy Fogle ad plays on her strong roots.  It starts with a picture of her as a little girl and ends with the line “Betsy’s one of us.”  See it here.

This is Betsy Fogle. Yeah, I know the bangs are bad, but she's got a big heart. She's Springfield's biggest fan. She grew up cheering on the Bears. Now she cheers for us. She's helped Springfield families afford prescriptions, housing, and child care, fought the tax on everything, and passed the deciding vote for our schools. The bangs gone. Her love for Springfield never changed. Betsy’s one of us. Vote Betsy Fogle for state senate.

House 105: Wellenkamp Standing Up to GOP Leaders

In House 105, a new HRCC ad has Rep. Colin Wellenkamp touting his “standing up to party leaders.”

This is Colin Wellenkamp and he’s taking on Big Tech when nobody else will. Big Tech targeted Missouri to build massive AI data centers and stick families like yours with higher electric bills.

Colin Wellenkamp isn’t backing down. He’s standing up to the Big Tech lobbyists and his own party’s leaders. Because Colin answers to our families.  Wellenkamp wrote the bill himself to make data centers pay their own way – not you. That’s just common sense.  Colin Wellenkamp: Leadership that St. Charles can always trust.

What It Means

Important to note the collateral damage that’s being created in this election cycle.  Running for their lives means running over anything Big Tech, AI and Big Electricity.

House 96: Real Action Hits Vitale

The pro-Brad Christ Pac, Real Action, is dinging his Democrat opponent Matt Vitale for his connection to St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Megan Green. 

One reader: While some candidates will loosely tie their Dem opponents to socialists, Vitale has actual ties to DSA leaders, having recently moved from the city and donated multiple times to Green, who recently co-hosted a Vitale funder. Will the hit resonate in pro-police Southwest StL County? We’ll see.

Schmitt Flub Fallout

Politico reports that “ETHAN HARPER, the general counsel to Sen. ERIC SCHMITT (R-Mo.), was expected to leave his role on Friday and begin a new one in the White House Staff Secretary’s office next week, according to three people familiar with the plans granted anonymity to discuss them. But that transition was in doubt today following a congressional hearing that’s embroiled Schmitt in controversy, the people said.

Harper was the staffer standing behind Schmitt, holding up a board displaying screenshots of text messages as the senator falsely accused JACK SMITH of lying to Congress about attending a basketball game as a guise to investigate President DONALD TRUMP…”

$5K+ Contributions

American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $25,000 from Nexus PAC

American Dream PAC - $10,000 from Larry Lapinski.

Forward PAC (pro-Fogle) - $50,000 from Leanard Drey.

Forward PAC - $10,000 from Caesars Enterprise Services, LLC (Las Vegas, NV).

Heart of SGF PAC (pro-Stinnett) - $10,000 from Loren Cook II.

1776 PAC (pro-Schroer) - $10,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

HOMEFRONT PAC (pro-Webber) - $20,000 from Missouri Gaming PAC.

Make Jefferson County Great Again PAC (pro-Avery) - $50,000 from Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council Missouri Kansas PAC.

Missouri Enterprise Fund (pro-Hardwick) - $50,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

Missouri Leadership Fund - $10,000 from Rex Sinquefield.

Her Health, Her Future PAC - $750,000 from Her Health Her Future Missouri.

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $100,000 from MCR PAC.

Missouri House Democrats Action Fund - $7,500 from Sports Betting Alliance (Lubbock, TX).

Will of the People – $90,000 from Missouri Wins Investor Network.

Will of the People - $85,000 from Missouri Wins Investor Network.

Spirit of Missouri - $10,000 from J&J Ventures (Effingham, IL).

The 1821 PAC - $10,000 from J&J Ventures (Effingham, IL)

Protect NEMO Values PAC - $10,000 from Missouri Soybean Association.

Best Start for Kids STL - $50,000 from Alison Ferring.

Insuring Missouri's Future PAC - $10,000 from Insuring Missouri’s Future PAC.

Strong and Courageous PAC - $6,000 from Derek Sewell (Oak Point, TX).

Yes on 1: A Safer, Stronger Jefferson City PAC - $10,000 from Civic Progress Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Sen. Sandy Crawford, Reps. Jo Doll and Melanie Stinnett, Andy Arnold, Kristy Manning, Tom Irwin, Matthew Potter, and Steve Kraske.