MOScout Daily Update: Hough and Carter Tussle - Moon on ‘Ungodly’ Provision - WSJ on Rural MO - SCOMO Hears Redistricting Cases and more…
The Senate’s Starts and Stops
The first day of the final week of session in the Senate rolled out about as expected. A couple of bills got derailed when senators expressed displeasure at a provision (or lack of a provision). Then when a bill that looked like it might make it across the finish line came to the floor, folks jumped on with their amendments. Among the action…
Rep. Peggy McGaugh’s HB 1871, an elections bill, was approved after amendments were added:
· Allowing campaign funds to be used for childcare, and personal security.
· To restore voting rights for some people on probation/parole.
· Loosening restrictions on lobbyists having committees.
Sen. Curtis Trent’s SB 973 faced pushback from Sens. Mike Moon and Joe Nicola and had to be laid over. They were aghast at a provision allowing foreclosure on properties with delinquent unpaid taxes.
· In the words of Moon: “This is not godly. No. This is stealing from people who work hard… we can’t let C-R-A-P like this go out of this chamber.”
Sen. Jill Carter’s SB 1062 was laid over after Sen. Lincoln Hough was upset that a provision of his was stripped out in conference committee. It was a pretty contentious exchange.
· Hough argued that the Senate needed to stand up more: “This is my frustration in this body right now, is that we have bill sponsors who come back out here and say, ‘well, the House didn’t like it.’”
· Carter said, it’s your provision, you go talk to the House: “Were you expecting or anticipating that I would make sure that 163, 164 representatives [were] all good with your language?”
SB 999 Brings Out Personal Stories
In yesterday’s House Families Committee hearing on Sen. Brad Hudson’s SB 999, some touching personal stories emerged…
· Rep. Connie Steinmetz: “I have two children of my own, and I also helped raise a daughter that was born from my husband's affair. I'm still very close to her, so I obviously care about children.”
· Rep. Jamie Gragg: “I was a product of an attempted abortion myself. Luckily my mom's body did not take the pill and my mom carried me to term. But had my mom's body actually reacted, I could have been one of those on the table.”
Robotaxis Coming – Not Yet to MO
Goldman Sachs published a new research report forecasting that robotaxis will become a $50 billion market in the U.S. in the next ten years. Additionally, “autonomous trucking is expected to become cheaper per mile than human-driven trucks in 2028 in the US, with the global AV trucking market potentially reaching $560 billion in 2035.”
Meanwhile, Missouri dawdles. Rep. Brandon Phelps’ HB 2069 passed the House and was voted out of the Senate Transportation committee last month, but has since stalled and never made it to the floor calendar.
SCOMO to Hear Redistricting Cases
The Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on three cases involving the constitutionality of congressional redistricting that the legislature passed last year.
· Elizabeth Healey, et al. v. State of Missouri
· Terrence Wise, et al. v. State of Missouri
· Jake Maggard, et al. v. State of Missouri
The docket starts at 9AM. The court website notes that “because the first two cases involve similar facts and questions of law, they have been consolidated for purposes of oral argument.”
WSJ on rootEd Alliance
The Wall Street Journal highlights rural Missouri as it looks at rootEd Alliance.
· For much of high school, Savannah Gannaway figured she would work after graduation at the gas station five doors down from her house in Fair Play, a town of 600 in southwest Missouri… This month, though, the 20-year-old will receive an associate degree in early childhood education, a credential that will bump her from hourly to salaried employee, at higher pay, at the preschool where she works. She’s considering a bachelor’s degree next.
· A big reason she’s on a sturdier path is her career adviser, who was installed at Fair Play High School through a program started by billionaire investment banker Byron Trott… Trott’s initiative, called rootEd Alliance, has placed advisers in schools across seven states to fill a gaping void: 17- and 18-year-olds are expected to navigate an astoundingly complex labor market, often with little or no explicit guidance. Across rural America, that challenge is compounded by a dearth of opportunities and professional role models.
· Trott—a former star Goldman Sachs banker who rose to dealmaking fame advising the Pritzkers, Wrigleys and other wealthy families—also grew up in rural Missouri, in the small town of Union…
· The model is “so simple it’s almost embarrassing we didn’t think of it ourselves,” said Hal Higdon, the chancellor of Ozarks Technical Community College System, rootEd’s primary partner in Missouri.
Lobbyist Registrations
Rachel Gonzalez added Institute For Justice.
Michael Lodewegen added ModivCare Solutions, LLC.
Jay Hahn added EDF Power Solutions Development, Inc.
Bradley Meyers added DWS Investment Management Americas Inc.
$5K+ Contributions
Real Action PAC (pro-Christ) - $10,000 from Douglas Albrecht.
Quad County Emergency Services PAC - $11,870 from Professional Firefighters of W. St Louis County.
Quad County Emergency Services PAC - $5,236 from High Ridge Fire Fighters Local 2665.
Missouri Promise PAC - $16,000 from Missouri Promise Inc.
Happy Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Leann Chilton, and Peter Kinder.