MOScout Daily Update: Beck Calls Deaton a ‘Liar’ - $80M for Royals? - VLTers: ‘We’ll Be Back’ - Why MEC Voted Against Pro-Life Bill and more…
Budget Passed Amid Accusations
It was a long day in the Senate, but the legislature successfully passed next year’s budget with days to spare before the constitutional deadline.
However, there was acrimony from fallout over the conference committee sleight of hand concerning foundation formula funding.
· Sen. Doug Beck, on the Senate floor, said House Budget Chair Dirk Deaton is a liar: “This building is filled with people that tell you the truth. This building is filled with people that are liars… I would never question [Sen. Rusty Black’s] morals… he’s never lied to me once in his life. I’ve asked him hard questions, he’s given me hard answers… Now that would not be my same impression of the representative on the other side of the building there, Representative Deaton, because I’ve had conversations with him before where he just literally lied right to my face.”
· Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern was softer but hit the same point: “I’m also going to say that I think the House budget chairman, it’s not the first that he’s been disingenuous… I know we can do better and I hope again moving forward there will be a different person at the helm of the House Budget and I hope that next person will lead with more integrity.”
Folks weren’t buying that it was some kind of mistake.
· In an inquiry, Sen. Mike Henderson confirmed Deaton’s silence as folks were misled about the source of funds: “The chair of the House in that committee in that meeting said nothing. Said zero.”
· Sen. Lincoln Hough advising Black: “I would not take someone's word for it that's on the other side of the chamber, that is your counterpart, who I believe willingly and knowingly did exactly what you're now attempting to fix in House Bill 2020, I would not take him at his word again.”
· Beck again: “That was not a mistake. It was actually deliberately done just like HB 19 last year when he deliberately pulled his park out. [His park appropriations] was not in 19 [when he] killed 19.”
· Even classy Sen. Black while taking the blame admitted it was sketchy: “It all falls upon me… I feel like maybe I was taken advantage of.”
Meanwhile
Over on the House side, in an inquiry with Rep. Betsy Fogle, Deaton seemed to shift responsibility away from himself and onto the nonpartisan staff. See it here.
$80M to Royals?
Sen. Lincoln Hough made repeated appearances on the floor to poke, prod and press Appropriations Chair Rusty Black. Black, characteristically, took it all in stride. One lobbyist said Hough reminded him of Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm: coming out, complaining while making jokes, and then throwing his hands in the air and leaving.
One interesting insight from Hough was to point out an $80,000,000 line as likely Royals-related. It was among the capital improvements projects in House Bill 2019 under the Department of Economic Development, funded from the I-70 highway interest fund, apparently for infrastructure around the new stadium.
“So let's just call this $80 million what it is. This is an additional incentive to the Kansas City Royals, is it not?”
VLT Bill Dead – For This Session
The Senate-Select Committee on Gaming held a quick meeting yesterday in which they gaveled in, voted down Rep. Bill Hardwick’s “video lottery” bill, and then gaveled out. All in about four minutes. The vote was 0-5. Senate Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin has telegraphed earlier in session that she wasn’t a fan of bill’s legalization of VLTs.
But…
· The Post-Dispatch quoted J&J Ventures lobbyist Andy Arnold saying they’d be back next session to try again.
· And later on the Senate floor Sen. Jason Bean referenced the potential windfall that legalized VLTs could bring to the state: “Nobody likes to be in a shortfall in a budget, but we are. I did have a bill. Actually, it was my number one priority. That would bring potentially about $5 to 6 hundred million to the state.”
Senate Passes Hudson Pro-Life Bill
After finishing the budget, the Senate third read Sen. Brad Hudson’s SB 999, the Born Alive Bill. It was a tight vote with only 18 Yes votes. Two Republicans senators were absent. And four Republicans – Sens. Ben Brown, Mary Elizabeth Coleman, Mike Moon, and Joe Nicola – joined Democrats.
MEC, an extreme pro-lifer, explained her No vote: “I think… we have a subject problem. And I think that the non-severability clause that was purposely added is designed to throw the entire bill out. And so I'm reluctantly voting against a pro-life bill, which I would never have thought I would be in. But I think that this is a bill that is going to waste resources in the attorney general's office and is going to distract from the pro-life work that needs to be done…”
· Though it’s late in session, the House is expected to pick it up and pass it next week.
Crazy Load Ahead?
The House Utilities Committee held an informational hearing yesterday about data centers. One crazy statistic came from Ameren’s Rob Dixon: “As of today, we have 2.2 gigawatts of signed contracts with large load customers, but none of them are operating on our system yet at this point, and they will be ramping up, as you heard, during the construction period that lasts several years.”
I asked ChatGPT to give me some context of what 2.2 gigawatts means. Its response: It is roughly 1.8 times the size of Missouri’s Callaway nuclear plant. Callaway is listed by EIA at about 1,190 megawatts of summer capacity.
In other words, Ameren says it already has signed data center contracts equal to nearly two Callaway nuclear plants’ worth of electricity demand. And that’s not on the grid now; it’s coming.
Kehoe Signs More Bills
Governor Kehoe signed eight bills into law yesterday…
· SB 907, sponsored by Senator Brad Hudson and Representative Brian Seitz, establishes the "Act Against Abusive Website Access Litigation."
· SB 914, sponsored by Senator Kurtis Gregory and Representative Bill Falkner, modifies provisions relating to sewage regulation.
· SB 982, sponsored by Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman and Representative Jeff Myers, modifies provisions relating to the sex offender registry.
· SB 1142, sponsored by Senator Brad Hudson and Representative Chris Brown, modifies provisions relating to series limited liability companies.
· HB 1786, sponsored by Representative John Voss and Senator Kurtis Gregory, modifies provisions relating to highway patrol purchases of motor vehicles, watercraft, watercraft motors, and trailers.
· HB 1866, sponsored by Representative Lane Roberts and Senator David Gregory, modifies provisions relating to peace officer training and licensure.
· HB 1870, sponsored by Representative Lane Roberts and Senator Sandy Crawford, modifies provisions relating to garnishments.
· HB 2180, sponsored by Representative Dave Griffith and Senator Mike Bernskoetter, modifies provisions relating to mail sent by state agencies.
Diehl in Prison
Former Speaker John Diehl is now in prison, serving his time at Federal Prison Camp Montgomery, a minimum-security federal prison camp in Montgomery, Alabama.
New PACs
· Missouri Promise PAC was formed. It’s in support of the Kehoe tax plan. Its treasurer is Marc Ellinger; its deputy treasurer is Stephanie Bell. See the paperwork here.
· Northwest Values PAC was formed. It’s in support of Rep. Jeff Farnan. See the paperwork here.
· Sharon Jones for Columbia was formed. It’s in support of Jones’ campaign for Columbia City Council. It’s a PAC because Jones is a lobbyist, and can’t have a candidate committee. See the paperwork here.
$5K+ Contributions
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $10,000 from Gordon Kinne.
Tarwater for Executive - $10,000 from Michael Smith.
Happy Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Brenda Shields, Adam Rapert, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Scott Sifton, Stuart Murray, and Don Phillips.