MOScout Daily Update: Senate Boils - House Budget Markup - State Investing in Crypto? - House to Hit 100 Bills? and more…
Senate Boiling
The Senate reached a boiling point yesterday as Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern confronted Sen. Rick Brattin over a procedural move which exposed underlying tensions.
Non-controversial bills which pass out of committee unanimously can be designated “consent.” They are un-amendable on the floor, and usually the body will pass them through the body quickly. Any senator can remove any bill from the consent calendar by sending a letter to the Senate Secretary.
It’s not a frequent occurrence, but it’s also not unheard of. Former Sen. Jason Crowell regularly removed anything that sounded remotely controversial from the calendar back in the days when he was slowing down the Senate as a matter of practice.
Brattin removed Nurrenbern’s bill which sought to honor a firefighter who died in the line of service by naming a stretch of highway after him. He did it in retaliation for Nurrenbern, and Democrats, holding up bills.
Nurrenbern drew a distinction between policy disagreements and common courtesy. Brattin raising his voice, cutting off Nurrenbern repeatedly, explained: You continue day in and day out to delay the process to advance good conservative policy. And then you think that you get a special out for whatever bill… I'm sick and tired of bills not moving in this chamber where we have had literally your group of senators, all 10 of you or 11, I should say, there's a new member, have killed this entire session because you want to continue to play games and play mad. And again, you think you get a special out because of a consent calendar. It's consent of this entire body whether you get to a free pass on a bill… when all you've done all session long with your other compadres is torch every other member's bill. So, yeah, it has nothing to do with your firefighter bill or anything. But I wanna protect the unborn. I wanna cut taxes. I wanna stop illegals from obtaining all these other measures and do the things people send us here to do. But yet you've prevented that in every aspect, and then you think you get to come up here and again throw your little temper tantrum and get your way.
· Sen. Travis Fitzwater, on the dais, intervened with a bang of the gavel: Senators, we would ask that you'd have a little bit of decorum while interacting with each other.
What It Means
· The “new member” of the Democratic Caucus Brattin was referring to, I assume, is Republican Sen. Lincoln Hough, who spoke against holding up the consent bill, and has been sympathetic to Dems this year.
· One observer sent me a text scoffing at Brattin’s complaint, recalling that just a few sessions ago, Brattin and others “torched” most of a session as the “Conservative Caucus.”
· Another texted me that killing a bill to honor a firefighter could be detrimental to Brattin’s congressional bid.
· These tensions aren’t new. And sometimes members need to blow off some steam to move forward. However, this did not feel like that. This felt more like a tremor before an earthquake. We’ll see…
House Budget Markup
It was a very long House Budget meeting. A few notes…
· Deaton’s Higher-Ed FTE Funding Model survived. There was serious debate, and bipartisan misgivings that the change was too radical and too fast for colleges to digest. But the amendment to revert Higher Ed funding to the status quo / governor’s request failed.
· Childcare payment by attendance remained. Ranking Minority Member Betsy Fogle pleaded her case that the House should fulfill the governor’s promise to switch childcare provider payments from attendance-based to enrollment-based. But budget concerns had the committee stick with the status quo attendance-based formula.
· Deaton’s Title I change holds. Chair Dirk Deaton’s proposal to carve out $10M of Title I money for competitive innovation grants was criticized as taking money away from schools that need it for traditional uses. But the committee backed the change.
· Restrictions on the Parents as Teachers program. Language preventing children enrolled in public pre-K from also receiving services through Parents as Teachers was approved. There was debate whether this was “double-dipping” or “two different services that meet two different needs. One is a classroom and one is a support program for the family. Calling that a double-dip ignores what those programs actually do.”
· Tension with MoDOT. Rep. Don Mayhew wondered why the budget appropriates general revenue for a road when there’s a road fund. The answer: “If we appropriate out of the road fund, which we certainly could, then I think what would be most likely to happen is nothing.”
· Concern about projections of income from sports betting. “Looks like we’re going to be relying a lot on this sports wagering revenue, which we have absolutely no history on in Missouri. We’re making assumptions about what that number is going to be, but we don’t actually know.”
And
Reps. Scott Cupps and Mazzie Christensen wore shades as the new fluorescent lighting was causing headaches.
House Third-Read Watch
· As of this morning, the House has passed 88 bills. Will they hit 100 before Spring Break?
· And after 85 votes on perfection, how many votes will HJR 173 & 174 (the Kehoe tax plan) get today?
Let the Treasurer ‘Invest’ in Crypto?
HB 2080 was voted out of the Commerce Committee yesterday. It’s part of the excitement over cryptocurrencies, allowing the state treasurer to invest in this new asset class. The treasurer can’t play the commodities market, but we’re going to let them “invest” state money in the even more volatile crypto market? What could go wrong?
· Oh, and you can start paying your parking fine in crypto if you want… All governmental entities shall accept cryptocurrency, as approved by the department of revenue, for the payment of any tax, fee, cost, charge, assessment, fine, or other payment of expense owed to the governmental entity.
New Candidate Filing
· House 11 – Kim Miller (Republican)
· WITHDRAWN - House 60 - Steven Houser (Republican)
New Committees
Missourians for Ethical & Transparent Government was formed. Its treasurer is Adam Schwadron.
$5K+ Contributions
Lake of the Ozarks Community Gaming - $500,000 from Signature GLP LLC.
First Principles PAC - $25,045 from First Principles PAC – Federal (Nashville, TN).
Together KC - $75,000 from Heavy Constructors Association.
Ryan Riley for New Madrid County - $6,000 from Ryan Riley.
North County Alive PAC - $9,224 from Electrical Workers Voluntary Political PAC.
Lobbyist Registrations
Adam Pennings added ALEC Action.
Nikki Strong deleted Missourians Improving Higher Education.
Steven Carroll deleted Missouri Alliance For Animal Legislation.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthday to Travis Smith.
MOScout Schedule
I’ll do an update tomorrow then take off for a three-day Spring Break weekend.