MOScout Daily Update: Rayner Adds $500K - New JP Sub - Lentz in Senate 28 - McDowell Goes Antisemitic and more…
Rayner Adds $500K to PAC
Mike Rayner, the newest uber-donor to emerge on the Missouri political scene, added $500,000 to his MCR PAC yesterday.
MCR’s statement to MOScout: “MCR PAC intends to deploy significant resources this cycle in the St. Charles County Executive’s race, the State Auditor’s race, and targeted State Senate and State Representative contests throughout Missouri this cycle. The PAC’s focus is clear: elect leaders who champion strong public safety policies to make Missouri a national leader in supporting law enforcement and will stand strongly for conservative principles.”
· Rayner’s preferred candidate in the St. Charles County Executive race is Jason Law.
Combining HJR 173 & 174?
A new committee substitute for the House resolution which would serve as the first step for Governor Mike Kehoe’s income tax phase-out is circulating. See it here.
It would combine Speaker Jon Patterson’s HJR 174 with Rep. Bishop Davidson’s HJR 173, raising the prospect that Davidson might take the lead in shepherding the Kehoe priority.
Yesterday, I published a polling memo which asserted that JP’s association with the plan could hurt him in his upcoming Senate race.
The new draft’s ballot language specifically mentions “protecting schools.”
"Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to: Phase-out the individual income tax based on revenue growth; Reduce personal property tax and other local tax rates; Modernize the sales and use tax for the purpose of eliminating income tax and reducing local tax rates; and Protect local funding for public schools?"
Meanwhile
Playing up the angle that schools will be hit by the Kehoe plan, the Missouri Budget Project has produced an interactive map so folks can see the impact of a “$5 billion budget hole” on their districts. See the map here.
Lentz Hops Into Senate 28
Chuck Lentz filed to run in Senate 28 yesterday. He’s the third Republican in that race to succeed termed Sen. Sandy Crawford, joining Rep. Brad Pollitt and Sam Alexander. Lentz has spent his career at Southwest Baptist University as a professor.
1 Big Thing: The Weighing Scale
With the tight budget constricting spending, we’re starting to see the folks weigh one priority against another, an exercise that’s been missing during the recent abundant budget years.
In yesterday’s Senate floor debate over the supplemental budget this “weighing” was employed to pull back expenditures for new office furniture for the Attorney General, as well as money for a trip to Washington DC. The argument being, can we really justify spending money on XXX while we’re cutting services to YYY?
· A similar argument was raised in yesterday’s hearing over funding an Ibogaine study. One doctor testified: “My problem is that there's only so much funding and is this the place where we want to be putting it?... My hospital is really struggling and I think that maybe this is not the time for us to be putting that much money into something that's experimental.”
McCreery on Utility Increases
Also, during Senate debate on the supplemental, Sen. Tracy McCreery pointed out that department after department was asking for more money because of higher utility costs.
· “Under the Office of Administration Commissioner’s Office, the governor recommends $2,040,460 for utility rate increases for state facilities. That’s just one recommendation.”
· “Under Department of Public Safety, the governor’s asking for another $2,200,000 for increased utility and fuel costs at highway patrol facilities.”
· “For elementary and secondary education leasing, the governor is asking for another $235,000 for utility rate increases.”
· “Keep going down that page… another $29,105 for utility rate increases… another $19,000… another $17,842.”
· “Social services is asking for $276,000… to pay their utility rate increases.”
McCreery blames the utility legislation that the legislature has passed for these increases: “This body continues to pass legislation that makes things more expensive for the taxpayer… millions and millions of dollars just to keep the lights on in all these departments.”
Transportation Nuggets
In yesterday’s Senate Appropriations Committee, MoDOT Director Ed Hassinger offered some interesting nuggets…
· Less prison labor: “We still have a partnership with the Department of Corrections, but the amount of inmates that are made available to us has been reduced by, I'm going to say, 70%... So, for instance, in our Springfield district, we used to run like eight crews a day out of some of the facilities down there. Now we run one… that has hurt us because that was really good, cheap labor…”
· Transit Funding Cuts Not Limited to Cities: “Think about the smallest transit agency that might get $100,000. They're not going to get any. So $100,000 to that transit agency… they match federal funds, and that turns into $500,000. So what may seem like a $100,000 reduction turns into a $500,000 reduction in their budget… Right now, we're probably pretty rare in the country that every county in Missouri has some form of public transit… I would say that some of these counties will not have public transit. They won't have any after this.”
· Extremely High Turnover in New Hirees: Discussing maintenance workforce vacancies, Hassinger said, “Last year, we hired 700 people and we lost 650. So we had to hire 700 people to get a net gain of 50. That's just the world we live in.”
McDowell Goes Antisemitic
On Facebook, former Republican auditor candidate Saundra McDowell shares an antisemitic trope about Jews controlling the media with the commentary: Ask yourself why so many elites are "Jewish" and then why Israel would be running our country? Kind of makes sense! #restoreamerica #truth
McGaugh Retires from Bench
Joe Don McGaugh, recently the subject of an order from the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline, posted on social media: It has truly been the honor of my life to serve the citizens of Carroll County — first in the legislature and later as judge. I will always be grateful for the trust you placed in me.
Over the last couple years my mental health was in a difficult place. It had disastrous effects on my personal and professional life. I spent the last year fighting hard to make a comeback. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond my control put me in a position where I had to make a choice — and I chose my family over the fight…
As for me, my next step is reopening my law practice and getting back to what I do best — advocating for those going through their own legal issues and helping clients. I’m ready to work and ready to serve in this new capacity. More details will be coming soon…
New Candidate Filings
· Senate 28 – Chuck Lentz (R).
· House 36 – Anthony T. Ealy Jr. (D)
$5K+ Contributions
MCR PAC - $500,000 from Mike Rayner.
Yes on Prop E - $100,000 from Andrew Taylor.
Put Missouri First - $17,354 from Republican National Committee (Washington DC).
KC Forward Progress - $30,000 from BVH, Inc.
KC Forward Progress - $10,000 from Populous Event, Inc.
KC Forward Progress - $15,000 from Health Forward Foundation.
Lobbyist Registrations
Gamble & Schlemeier added Major League Baseball.
Gunnar See added RHA Health Services.
Nicole Luckey added Invenergy LLC.
Will Blaylock added Missouri National Guard Association.
Connie Jorstad added Viiv Healthcare.
Brian Norman added Barry Goldwater Institute for Public Policy Research.
Thomas Robbins, Chris Schoeman, and Caleb Rowden added Ceres; and deleted Ceres Inc.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthdays to Dan Hegeman, and Bill Ray.