MOScout Daily Update: Another VLT Lawsuit Against Hanaway - Carpenters Back Proudie - Budget Week Ahead - Harbison Hits Romine, Fitzwater - Zimmerman Ad and more…
VLTers File Another Lawsuit Against Hanaway
A new lawsuit asking for an injunction to stop Attorney General Catherine Hanaway from enforcing the ban on video lottery terminals was filed on Friday. See it here.
The question is not whether Missouri may prohibit such machines. Missouri may prohibit them if the General Assembly chooses to do so. The question is whether the Attorney General may declare by enforcement what the General Assembly has not clearly declared by statute. The State may investigate specific conduct, but it may not convert legislative uncertainty into executive certainty and then use that certainty to allege criminal conduct or pressure liquor licensees, operators, retailers, and small businesses.
· The attorney on the suit is Travis Noble, representing MOLAG, Missouri Licensing Advocacy Group.
Big Checks (So Far) in Senate Primaries
The fundraising quarter ends tomorrow. Expect to see a flurry of checks in the coming days. Here’s a quick look at large contributions recorded so far this quarter in Senate primaries…
· Senate 4 – Steve Butz’ Butz PAC has received $20,000. No large contributions have been recorded by Gina Mitten.
· Senate 6 – Rudy Veit contributed $10,000 to his candidate committee. Jake Vogel contributed $300,000 to his candidate committee, and his Lead the Way PAC received $18,183. Lisa Thomas contributed $60,000 to Missourians for Ethical & Transparent Government PAC. No large contributions have been recorded by Derrick Spicer or Ik Skelton.
· Senate 8 - $10,000 was recorded by JP’s Missouri Alliance Fund. No large contributions have been recorded by Dan Stacy.
· Senate 10 - Tricia Byrnes recorded $31,501 into her Values First PAC while Mike Deering’s Cut the Bull PAC received $27,500.
· Senate 14 – Raychel Proudie’s Proud PAC has received $25,000. No large contributions have been recorded by John Bowman, Shante Duncan, or Joe Palm.
· Senate 16 – Bill Hardwick has been a standout fundraiser. His PAC, Missouri Enterprise Fund, has received $128,183. No large contributions have been recorded by Hannah Kelly, Philip Lohmann, or Don Mayhew.
· Senate 18 – Ed Lewis contributed $50,000 to his candidate committee, and his Rural Missouri Values PAC received $25,000. No large contributions have been recorded by Dusty Blue or Greg Sharpe.
· Senate 20 – Curtis Trent has kept his foot on the gas pedal. His 417 PAC has received $205,000 while no large contributions have been received by Lori Rook.
· Senate 28 – Brad Pollitt’s Rocker P Brand PAC has received $45,000. No large contributions have been recorded by Sam Alexander or Chuck Lentz.
· Senate 32 – Jill Carter’s Show Me Values has received $97,000 while Ellen Nichols’ Stand for Truth has received $31,000.
· Senate 34 – Sean Pouche contributed $100,000 to his candidate committee. Mike Jones’ Beverly PAC recorded $119,500 in contributions. No large contributions have been recorded by Ryan Gerster.
Budget Week
Governor Mike Kehoe’s media advisory: This week, Governor Mike Kehoe will attend several events and meetings across the state and take action on the FY27 state operating budget bills. A press release will be sent out following budget signing.
· The new fiscal year begins on Wednesday (July 1). It appears we’re finishing the fiscal year a little light on revenue compared to the consensus revenue estimate. That estimate was $13.15 billion. As of Thursday, we were at $12.9 billion.
Zimmerman Ad
St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman, running for county executive, released his first TV commercial. It’s a truncated version of his introductory video in which he plays up his nerdiness but promises competence. See “Not Flashy” here.
Look, this isn’t a slick commercial because St. Louis County has had enough slick politicians. I’m Jake Zimmerman. I'm not flashy, not cool, but I get things done. I stopped casinos taking money from our schools and cracked down on wealthy developers dodging taxes. As county executive, I’ll make your life more affordable and stand up to MAGA attacks on our rights. I’m Jake Zimmerman. I’m not slick, but I get results and I’ve got your back.
· Team Zimmerman is going with the quirky style, hoping it’s more memorable and “less political” in an environment where there may be some fatigue with politics.
Money Watch
Over the weekend…
· Sen. Brian Williams’ STLCO PAC took in $75,000, mostly, but not entirely, from “Tilley PACs.” Williams is running for St. Louis County Executive.
· Rep. Raychel Proudie’s PROUD PAC received $25,000 from the Carpenters’ union. Proudie is in a 4-way race in the Senate 14 (Willams) Democratic primary.
House 144: Harbison Hits Romine, Fitzwater
Rep. Tony Harbison lashed out at former Sen. Gary Romine and former Rep. Paul Fitzwater. Fitzwater serves as treasurer for Chris Dinkins’ campaign committee. Dinkins is challenging Harbison. It’s unclear why Romine is in his line of fire. See the video here.
We want to address one issue this week that’s been something that’s on my mind… and that’s the issue of the gubernatorial appointments that put people in positions where they leave office early… One of the conflicts of interest I’ve seen is the previous senator that serves as chairman of the State Tax Commission. There was a ruling with Reynolds County with Doe Run v Reynolds County where he actually voted on that and sided with Doe Run. And that was a conflict. He had taken money from Doe Run in previous campaigns.
We have another one more recently that used to be a [state representative] here. Served eight years with Probation and Parole, was a school teacher and didn’t have no experience there, but also collected well over $100,000 a year – in eight years over $1 million in taxpayers’ money...
I pledge and promise to the people if elected I would not and will not ever accept one of these jobs and leave office early for something that is like $140,000 a year job…
MEC Fines
The Missouri Ethics Commission fined Progress St. Louis Action Fund $236,399 for multiple serious violations back in 2020 and 2021 when they were involved the St. Louis Public School board race. See the order here.
· In a related case, J.P. Johnson, who was the registered agent for Progress St. Louis Action Fund, had his case dismissed. See that order here.
Non-Committee Reports
In the non-committee expenditures, the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City files a report for its support of Amendment 3. See it here.
Lobbyist Registrations
Jay Reichard added Two Story.
$5K+ Contributions
Proud PAC (pro-Proudie) - $25,000 from Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council MO-KS
Missouri Leadership Fund (pro-Riley) - $50,000 from Accel Entertainment Gaming LLC (Bollingbrook, IL).
Missouri Leadership Fund - $10,000 from Rex Sinquefield.
Missouri Leadership Fund - $10,000 from Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council MO-KS Area PAC.
Real Conservatives for St. Charles County PAC (pro-Ehlmann) - $25,000 from BUILD St. Louis PAC, Inc.
Heartland Action PAC - $6,000 from City Wireless LLC.
Heartland Action PAC - $10,000 from David Schneider (Washington, DC).
Heartland Action PAC - $17,400 from Missouri Leadership Forum.
Friends of Bryan Feemster - $6,000 from Bryan Feemster.
Area PAC.
GOPAC Election Fund - Federal PAC - $17,680 from GoPAC Election Fund (Arlington, VA).
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Philip Oehlerking, and Tim Green.