MOScout Daily Update: Feds Investigating VLTs - Hanaway Beefing Up Consumer Protection - Data Centers Could Double Rural School Budgets? and more…

Quick Friday update…

Hanaway: Feds Investigating VLTs

Yesterday in the House Budget Committee, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway dropped a bombshell: the Feds are investigating video lottery terminals. Read the Post-Dispatch story here.

The Feds reached out to me and said that they were working on it and wanted to know what we were doing on it… I'm talking about Feds who are already Missouri, FBI agents, IRS agents. Maybe even Secret Service because some of the issues are money laundering and so banking issues… it’s happening, and I don’t want to say anything more because I don’t want to disclose the details of an ongoing investigation.

·       One MOScouter: Hanaway is a smart former federal prosecutor so she doesn’t go off half cockled…

Why It Matters

VLTs has been a hot topic with a lot of campaign contributions flowing.  Rep. Bill Hardwick’s bill addressing the issue was passed out (barely, 6-5) of the Rules Committee yesterday.

Hanaway Beefing Up Consumer Protection

The other news (lost amid the bombshell) is that Hanaway is beefing up her consumer protection unit…

We're asking for additional FTEs (full-time employees) in consumer protection a total of 11. These are the investigators and lawyers who make it possible for us to be responsive to those complaints we get from real Missourians that they have been ripped off by somebody in some scheme… to me, this is, like, purely a great service to the people of the state.

Hataway on Data Centers ‘Gold Rush’

Yesterday in the Senate Appropriations Committee, Michelle Hataway, Director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, spoke about the benefits to rural areas that data centers could bring.

We are comparing it to the gold rush…  We are positioned very well in Missouri for these opportunities because, not only our access to water, some of our access to land, but also our access to energy, which is one of the most important things…

What I've seen from the numbers for some of these, especially in rural areas, you were talking about opportunities for school district budgets to double if done correctly… because it's such a large investment, the real property, that money is going directly to schools.

And

It’s interesting to note that data centers benefit from one of the state’s many sales tax exemptions. (I wonder how many of these will be eliminated as part of the plan to transition away from the income tax).

Data centers get sales tax exemption for…

·       All electrical energy, gas, water, and other utilities including telecommunication and internet services used in a new data storage center;

·       All machinery, equipment, and computers used in any new data storage center; and

·       All sales at retail of tangible personal property and materials for the purpose of constructing any new data storage center

Hall Appointee Pulled

Governor Mike Kehoe pulled back the nomination of Heather Hall after she was blocked by Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern.  Hall’s appointment was to the Kansas City Police Board of Commissioners. 

·       Nurrenbern questioned her ability to be impartial.

St. Charles County Exec: Law Rallies First Responders

One reader reports from a Jason Law campaign event last night…

It was a packed house at the Firefighters Hall in St. Peters, with more than 250 members of the region's public safety community and campaign supporters in attendance, including law enforcement leaders from across the region. The event marked a rare and historic display of public unity for a candidate, with firefighters and police standing shoulder-to-shoulder in support of Jason Law, sending a clear message that the entire public safety community is standing with him.

$5K+ Contributions

Building Communities PAC Inc - $20,000 from O'Reilly Development Company LLC.

The Cigna Group Employee Missouri PAC - Federal Committee - $20,000 from The Cigna Group Employee Political Action Committee (Washington, DC).

Dr. Jeff Brown for Missouri - $10,000 from Jeffrey Brown.

MFR PAC - $15,000 from The Forest Kansas City LLC.

Lobbyist Registrations

Gamble & Schlemeier added Scout Motor Inc. c/o MultiState Associates LLC.

Joe Bruns, Tony Dugger, Andy Foley, and Craig Redmon added Missouri Valor Alliance, Inc.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to Rep. Doyle Justus.