MOScout Daily Update: Mazzie for Congress? - Hanaway ‘Not F***ing Around’ - School $$$ to Wedding Dress? - Kicking KC Out of Jackson County? and more…
Situational awareness: Cardinals’ Opening Day. 3:15PM first pitch means STL legislators and Cards fans may want to wrap up today’s legislative session in time to zip home for the opening ceremony.
CD-6 Talk Heats Up
Inside the building the assumption is near 100% that Congressman Sam Graves won’t be running for re-election. New names that were being mentioned yesterday as possible congressional candidates…
Lieutenant Governor David Wasinger
· He’s originally from Hannibal which is in the vast North Missouri district.
· He could self-fund or at last self-seed – a big positive for what could be a short four-month campaign.
Rep. Mazzie Christensen
· Trump bona fides – “Prior to being elected, Christensen served in the White House as an executive assistant to the Director of Presidential Personnel John McEntee under the Trump administration, as well as a war room analyst for Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.”
· She shouldn’t be underestimated. Remember she knocked off an incumbent (and it wasn’t even close).
Graves Dominoes
With Nathan Willett apparently ready to pivot from Senate 34 to CD-6, the talk yesterday was that Rep. Mike Jones similarly pivot from his House re-election to the Senate 34 race.
· Without Jones, an incumbent, fighting to House 12, Dems’ chances for a pick-up there increase.
Hanaway Gets Tough
Hanaway is staying busy cleaning up Missouri.
· In a public service announcement, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway warns businesses about having “gray machines”: “If you have these devices at your business, you could be subject to criminal and civil penalties. Unplug and remove these devices today.”
Kind of wonder what our last couple AGs were doing… as one lobbyist put it: “Hanaway is not f***ing around.”
Wolfin, Davis Raise Objection
Reps. Bryant Wolfin and Michale Davis had formal constitutional objections to SS SCS HCS HBs 2273, 1946, 1814 & 2551 noted in the House Journal. This is the Truly Agreed and Finally Passed crime bill that expands and toughens Missouri’s laws around sexual offenses – especially child exploitation and online abuse. Wolfin and Davis alleged that it violates the single subject prohibition.
Why It Matters
If someone does sue, this could be evidence that even some legislators considered the sweeping bill too disparate.
When Every $5M Matters
From Tuesday, House floor debate on the budget, you can file this under “realities of a tight budget.” Rep. Tony Harbison: “As I’ve noticed here in House Bill 4, there is a new project, new money, $5 million. As I would like to support everybody’s projects, we’re $600 million in the hole. We cannot afford this project or any new money project. I urge the body not to support this in this bill.”
Red Diesel = Red Tape
HB 3392 was heard in the House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday. It deals with dyed diesel.
“Dyed diesel” is exempt from the state gas tax. It’s just regular diesel fuel that has a red dye added to it. The dye doesn’t change how it works, it’s just a visual marker for enforcement. It’s sold for off-road uses like: farm equipment or generators, items that don’t use public roads. And this can add up. If a farm burns 50,000 gallons/year, that exemption saves it $15K annually.
The thinking is they shouldn’t be subject to the state gas tax because they’re not using public roads. But because the state wants to prevent folks from cheating by buying the cheaper dyed diesel for their pickup truck, they require a form to be completed.
But that’s a system built in a different world, one where you go inside, talk to a clerk, and fill out forms. Now people swipe at the pump, and some stations are nearly unmanned. So, the paperwork isn’t happening. And one company that didn’t collect paperwork got audited and is stuck with a $127,000 tax bill.
So this one-page bill eliminates the form: the purchaser of dyed diesel fuel for agricultural purposes, as defined in Section 144.030, shall not be required to file a Form 149 Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate when such fuel is purchased at a retail motor fuel pump designated for off-road use.
· No one testified against the bill. The Department of Revenue testified for informational purposes only.
Pension Watch List
At Tuesday’s Joint Committee on Public Employee Retirement hearing, Sen. Mike Moon was elected to be the new chair, and Rep. Kathy Steinhoff was elected vice-chair. Then Robert Coleman, the executive director of the joint committee, gave an overview of current issues / hotspots to keep an eye on. Here’s their December reported Watchlist. Among those Coleman highlighted…
· Judicial Retirement System – chronically underfunded. “I expect them to continue to be on the watch list for a while.”
· MOSERS (Missouri State Employee Retirement System) – About 50% funded. “They are extremely inactive heavy with 73,000 inactive members with only 44,000 active.”
· Columbia Fire & Police – “They are a top heavy plan… and it's a fairly generous pension benefit, which also contributes to the drag.”
Westview Audit Underway
State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced an audit of the Westview C-6 School District. Piquing his interest… “It appears former Superintendent Misty Hailey may have abused that trust by misusing the district's credit card to purchase items for herself and her family that include a wedding dress for her daughter."
· Westview, in Newton County, is represented by Sen. Jill Carter and Rep. Dirk Deaton.
People on The Move
· Joe Miller is headed to the Missouri Department of Social Services. He’s the “brand-new Rural Health Transformation Office. A Northeast Missouri native with deep roots in rural healthcare, Joe is ready to lead the charge in modernizing care and improving health outcomes for every corner of our state.”
· DJ Griffin, Senator Eric Schmitt’s press secretary, is headed to North Carolina where he’ll be working a senate race.
Resolution to Remove KC
HJR 107 had a hearing yesterday in House Local Government Committee. It’s a proposal by Rep. Mike Steinmeyer to move Kansas City out of Jackson County and become St. Louis-like: a city not within a county.
· It’s a funny idea because over in St. Louis, the civic crowd has been trying for forty years to figure a way to bring the St. Louis City back into St. Louis County.
Help Wanted
Brightli/Centerstone seeks a Director of State Government Affairs.The position is responsible for shaping and executing the System’s state legislative and regulatory strategy, with particular emphasis on ensuring behavioral health services are prioritized, accessible, and integrated within the broader healthcare system. Based in Missouri, the Director will lead the organization’s government relations agenda within the state while also supporting state legislative efforts across other states in the System (approximately 60% of time focused on Missouri and up to 40% supporting priorities in other states).See the posting here.
$5K+ Contributions
Missouri Right to Life PAC - $5,001 from Pamela Fichter.
Committee to Re-Elect Melissa Holcomb for Circuit Clerk - $10,000 from Melissa Holcomb.
Hoisington for MO - $10,000 from Robert Hoisington.
Together KC - $7,500 from Multistudio.
Lake of the Ozarks Community Gaming - $250,000 from Signature GLP LLC.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthdays to Madeline Romious and Ed Smith.