MOScout Weekender: Stigall for Congress - The Budget’s ‘Couch Cushion Money’ - Hallway Shrugs at Next Budget Chair and more…
The Budget’s ‘Couch Cushion Money’
For all the moaning about the tight budget this year, every indication is that next year is where the real pain will be. This year’s budget spending is down the majority of the state’s remaining cash reserves, a buffer that won’t be available next year.
But also, as House Budget Chair Dirk Deaton made clear in Thursday’s press conference, there were various one-time maneuvers to “find” money.
We did a lot of things that I think you do in these instances, kind of looking under the couch cushions and we swept a lot of funds that maybe had accumulated and been sitting there and maybe they were intended at one time for another purpose, but they hadn't been spent or aren't needed... you know near $60 million from the blind pension fund. I swept that. The funding we appropriated out of general revenue for I70 and I44 that had been accumulating interest to that fund which isn’t wasn't needed… these things enable us to have the resources to move this budget forward.
· This obviously isn’t a sustainable way to fund state operations.
Graves Drops, Stigall Enters
Congressman Sam Graves officially withdrew from his re-election bid. A half hour later Chris Stigall filled out paperwork at the Secretary of State’s office to run for the seat.
Stigall is a popular podcaster and radio personality. The timing suggests that Stigall has the backing of “Graves Inc,” the powerful political alliance of Axiom founder Jeff Roe, Herzog Industries now headed by Brad Lager, and the Graves brothers, Sam and Todd.
· I think it’ll be a weekend of discernment for ambitious folks to decide if the possible ticket to DC is a big enough prize to take on the Axiom machine. We’ll see…
MOScout’s Hallway Index: Next Budget Chair
I asked lobbyists for their “Best guess at who will be the next House Budget Chair.” 16 replies…
RESULTS
1. Darin Chappell… 12.5%
2. Bishop Davidson… 25%
3. John Voss… 31.3%
4. Not sure… 31.3%
Sample of Comments
· Seems like JP chose Bishop as Vice-Chair so that he didn't have to choose between Voss, Chappell, or Hausman. Imagine Riley finds a different place for him and chooses between the more capable choices (Voss/Chappell).
· Can I pick none of the above?
· I am probably wrong, but hopefully none
Who Won the Week?
Mike Costlow – After multiple sessions where Republican legislators wobbled in fear of criticism from gun advocate Aaron Dorr, Costlow sinks the latest SAPA bill and calls out Dorr for “defaming those that they can't profit off of.”
Dirk Deaton and Betsy Fogle – Even their losses contain seeds of progress. Deaton’s FTE model is DOA in the Senate, but he altered the conversation around the funding formula. Fogle wasn’t able to keep the gov’s childcare promise in the budget, but aligning Dems with accessible childcare is a potent message.
Joe Miller – Named the Director of the Rural Health Transformation Office. That program will bring Missouri hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming years.
Republican consultants – What looked like a sleepy election cycle a year ago has turned into a pretty good year. Two unforeseen twists – a Trump-backed redistricting for a new CD-5, and a retirement in CD-6 – have launched two big new primaries.
Find a downloadable version here.
Gubby Appts
Governor Mike Kehoe announced several new gubernatorial appointments…
· Nick Kasik and Suzanne Kmet were appointed to the Missouri Workforce Development Board.
· Christopher Dumm was appointed to the Missouri Southern State University Board of Governors.
· Rodney Southard was appointed as Maries County Eastern District Commissioner.
· Laura Collins, Matt Lambert, and Jim Sherrell were appointed to the State Soil and Water Districts Commission.
· Doug Miller was appointed as Moniteau County Associate Commissioner, District 1.
· Bobby Sandage was appointed to the Drug Utilization Review Board.
· Amber Henry was appointed to the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
$5K+ Contributions
Citizens for Sean Pouche - $130,000 from Sean Pouche.
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $23,000 from Matthew Swanson (Turlock, CA).
Friends of Bill Ellis - $25,000 from William Ellis.
MO Leadership Committee - $10,000 from Thomas R. Burcham III.
Vote Jill Hamilton Hollabaugh For Presiding Commissioner - $9,000 from Jill and Pete Hollabaugh.
Committee to Elect Walter Hayes - $25,000 from Walter Hayes.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Scott Lipke, Joe Fallert, and Marty Oetting.
Sunday: Reps. Marty Joe Murray and Kemp Strickler, Will Scharf, Sean Grove, Zach Brunnert, Ellen Brandom and Neal St. Onge.