MOScout Daily Update: Beck Roars Against Rushed SB 888 - Senate Perfects Budget - No Action on Page Complaint and more…
Budget Takeaways
The Senate worked through the budget yesterday, perfecting it.
No changes on the floor. As usual all amendments were turned aside by the Republican majority which traditionally in deference to the huge amount of time that the Appropriations Committee spends – and the ability of senators to make their case to the chairman during the process – doesn’t mess with it once it’s on the floor.
· As one lobbyist explained: if you start taking amendments, you’d never finish a budget on time in the Senate.
· Another lobbyist was impressed with the new Appropriations Chair Rusty Black, his unflappable demeanor an excellent fit for the task: The predictions that Cindy [O’Laughlin] would get hammered during the appropriations process for removing Lincoln [Hough] haven’t aged well. Instead, the outcome speaks for itself. Rusty guided the process with discipline and control, delivering one of the smoothest and most effective appropriations efforts in recent memory.
One-time monies. A major subtext of the day was one-time patching line items. Black described using capital commission money to plug holes in school funding, transportation, and VOCA.
· Hough wondered if the governor would go along with those swaps: I know how important that money is to this administration… I don't like where this is going. I don't like that we're saying we're putting $118 million into it, and I don't really feel good about that ultimately ending up there.
House’s higher-ed plan denounced. Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern was emphatic that the House’s Higher Ed plan was not just “wrong,” but it was “reckless” and damaging to even float it.
· It was reckless. For those institutions to have to go to their students and the students who are applying to go to their institution and have to answer the question, ‘are you gonna be open next year?’ ‘Are you gonna be open two years from now?’ ‘If I send my kid to your institution, are you still gonna be there in the future?’ What the house did was wrong and it was reckless.
Beck: Rushed SB 888 Requires Cleanup
Before the budget kicked off, Minority Leader Doug Beck shook his fist as Sen. Nick Schroer brought HBs 2637 and 3155 before the body. It included “fixes” to the previously passed and signed SB 888.
“So I think it needs to be said… SB 888 was rushed through earlier in session. They're here late into the night, till 4AM. And before it left his side of the chamber, they knew there is at least 4 errors…
It was rushed over to the House and sent to the governor and signed. And all because they wanted to shut down the voice of one of our senators who wasn't here, the senator from the 5th [Senator Steven Roberts], who had wanted to have a discussion on keeping guns out of the hands of kids, of 12 year olds…
And the effects of that are that after 888 was signed and apparently all parties knew this, what happened is rape in the first degree when a victim is less than 12 years old wouldn't have had a sentence from 08/28/2026 through 01/01/2028… It would not have been illegal. That's what happens here when… things were rushed through…
Closely Divided Senate on Livestreaming
Also before the budget discussion, Sen. Mike Moon pushed for SR 668 which would implement video livestreaming of Senate floor debate.
Floor Leader Tony Luetkemeyer suggested it would be a long debate and should occur on another day when the body’s agenda wasn’t already full.
· Interestingly, the vote to table the resolution was very close (12-11) indicating perhaps that the body is warming to the idea of livestreaming.
Rule 98 Invoked Again – and Again
There were a couple of points of order in the House yesterday as members called each other out for not meeting the House dress code.
Rule 98. At all times when the House is seated, proper attire for gentlemen shall be business attire, including coat, tie, dress trousers, and dress shoes or boots. Proper attire for women shall be business attire, including jackets worn with dresses, skirts, or slacks, and dress shoes or boots. For the purposes of this rule, "jacket" shall include blazers, cardigans, and knit blazers. This rule shall apply to all members and staff on the floor of the House and lower gallery.
One reader snapped this picture as Rep. Brian Seitz started to remove his offending tennis shoes…
Medicaid Work Amendment Stalls
Rep. Darin Chappell’s HJR 154 went down 0-4 in the Senate Families Committee yesterday. In the hearing earlier this month, concerns were raised by witnesses that the resolution was inelegant, and changed a number of provisions of the constitution that touched more than just work requirements.
Page Complaint
The Missouri Ethics Commission, without a working quorum, took no action on a complaint filed against St. Louis County Executive Sam Page. Apparently, the complaint was related to a “conflict of interest.”
Help Wanted
Missouri State Public Defender seeks Communications Strategist. This role strengthens and elevates the narratives that shape how our community views our clients and the importance of public defense, helping ensure that the public fully sees the value, professionalism, and impact of the work we do every day. The Strategist helps enhance our department’s public image—making our work more visible, better understood, and more compelling to those who may be inspired to support or join our efforts. See the posting here.
$5K+ Contributions
Stop the Ban - $100,000 from Wendy Jo Roemer (Seattle, WA).
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $10,000 from Jeff Layman.
American Dream PAC - $10,000 from Steve Ehrhardt.
Chris Benjamin for Judge - $50,000 from Christopher Benjamin.
Physician Led Anesthesia Care PAC - $25,000 from Western Anesthesiology Associates, Inc.
Professional Fire Fighters of Eastern Missouri 2665 PAC Fund - $17,312 from Professional Firefighters of Eastern Missouri.
MO Society of Anesthesiologists Political Action Committee - $15,000 from Western Anesthesiology Associates, Inc.
Lobbyist Registrations
Dustin Backes added Honest Elections Project Action, Consumers' Defense, Alliance for Consumers Action Fund, and International Legal Finance Association.
Heath Clarkston, Doug Nelson, and Michael Henderson added Missouri Cancer Associates.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthdays to Gina Walsh, Hampton Williams, and Jeff Pogue.