Internet Taxation Subcommittee Created

Speaker Elijah Haahr created a subcommittee on Internet Taxation.  Rep. J. Eggleston will chair the new committee.  Haahr also appointed Reps. Phil Christofanelli and Jeffery Justus.  Minority Leader Crystal Quade hasn’t made her appointment yet.  It will report to Ways and Means (Rep. Chrissy Sommer, chair). 

Developing…

Elad Gross emails… Last night, the Cole County Circuit Court issued a subpoena at my request to require Senator Josh Hawley to answer questions under oath about his involvement in violating Missouri's public records law during his time as the state's Attorney General. The case is also connected to my investigation into dark money's influence on Missouri. A press release explaining the subpoena and background is attached. I have also attached a redacted copy of the subpoena. I redacted only Senator Hawley's home address to protect his privacy. I intend to have Senator Hawley served with the subpoena shortly….

Senate Sunshine Revision

Finally, we have discovered that the best way to focus the attention of the state legislature on a particular are of law is to make it applicable to the legislators themselves.  They’ve suddenly found some vim to “reform” the state’s Sunshine law. 

On Tuesday, Sen. Ed Emery’s SB 162 will receive a hearing in his committee to add some excepts for legislators (but not for other governmental bodies).

House Ethics’ Temporary Member

Yesterday I wrote that “Minority Leader Crystal Quade appointed Rep. Richard Brown ‘as a temporary member of the Committee on Ethics for the sole purpose of considering Case Number 19-001.’”  It’s an intriguing item that has created questions and speculation.  Here’s some additional information to suss out what’s going on…

·         First, the Ethics Committee is considering a complaint against a member of the House. 

·         Second, one can speculate given the Case Number, “19-001,” that this is the first case they’ve considered this year.

Third, one member of the current Ethics Committee is thought to be unable to be unbiased in considering the complaint.And that committee member is a Democrat.

Dogan’s “CLEANer” Passes House

Rep. Shamed Dogan’s bill to apply the CLEAN Missouri reforms to local governments passed the House 103-47. 

Critics are aghast at the provision added by Rep. Nick Schroer to exempt any documents “received or prepared by or on behalf of a member of a public governmental body consisting of advice, opinions and recommendations in connection with the deliberative decision-making process of said body.” 

A Tale of Two Chambers

The House mimicked the Senate yesterday with a day-long debate about Rep. Holly Rehder’s prescription drug monitoring program bill.

House leadership let the debate go on and on.  One insider says “[Speaker Elijah Haahr and Floor Leader Rob Vescovo] showed some real leadership, no strong arming… [they] let the debate flow and still came out with big vote in favor of it.”

Rehder was never ruffled. Hour after hour, she remained diplomatic, but resolute in turning away amendment after amendment.  The bill was perfected by a 110-43 vote. 

Meanwhile

The PDMP proposal in the Senate, carried by Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, stalled in Sen. David Sater’s Seniors, Families and Children Committee.

Evans’ Resignation

Mr. Speaker,

I have accepted the opportunity to serve as the Executive Director with the Missouri Republican Party and therefore, I am submitting my resignation effective February 5th at midnight as State Representative of the 99th District.

It has been an honor to serve my constituents of the 99th District and with my colleagues in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Sincerely,

Jean Evans

Driving the Day: Video Lottery/Gaming

I think the hottest committee today will be the Senate’s Progress and Development Committee, chaired by Democrat Gina Walsh. (1PM, SCR1).  That where Sen. Denny Hoskins’ SB 43 will get a hearing. This is the Missouri Video Lottery Control Act.  See it here. “This act allows the State Lottery Commission to implement a system of video lottery game terminals and to issue licenses to video lottery game manufacturers, distributors, operators, handlers, and retailers, as defined in the act…”

Mr. 2020 Wildcard: Jay Ashcroft

What’s in the mind of Jay Ashcroft?

Ashcroftologists have been trying to discern the motivations of the Secretary of State.There’s been some buzz since he enlisted Democratic State Auditor Nicole Galloway to help investigate the allegations that Republican US Senator Josh Hawley inappropriately used state resources when he was attorney general….

January Revenues Plummet

As of the close of business January 31, the state revenues were negative 6.96% compared to the year earlier.  That translates to 382 million fewer dollars in the state coffers.

Overall January’s net revenue collection was 24% below January of 2018.

In the coming months, budget officials expect the numbers to become more buoyant as Missourians start to file their 2018 returns and make up the difference. However it will be a couple of nerve-wracking months, because they’re expecting most of the ground to be made up in April.

Rumorville: Ballot Candy for Anti-CLEAN?
Republicans are strategizing to overturn the redistricting proposal passed as part of CLEAN Missouri last year. They’re considering various "ballot candy" provisions which could be added to their counter-measure to entice voters to support it.
One idea gaining currency would be a simple lobbyist gift ban.  CLEAN created a $5 cap on gifts, so going to a ban would have little practical impact on legislators at this point.  But “ban” does sound like a strong reform to voters.

2020 Talk

Sifton for Gov

Last weekend the Post-Dispatch ran an article looking at Sen. Scott Sifton’s gubernatorial ambitions.  See it here.  Sifton, later, linked to the article in a fundraising email to supporters.  So far, Sifton is the only Democrat actively pounding the pavement to run for governor.  As result the clock is ticking for other Dems to decide.  There’s probably a four to five-month window, from here until early summer, for the other Dem names – most notably Auditor Nicole Galloway - to decide whether to enter the race.  At some point – say by July 4 – if no one else has stepped up, Sifton will be the presumptive Dem nominee.

Justice for Senate 25

Eddy Justice will soon be filing a committee to run for Senate 25 (Libla termed).  He’ll have Axiom Strategies in his corner.

Justice is a grassroots leader in Southeast Missouri who came on the scene during the Tea Party movement. He has since served as the Treasurer of the Missouri House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC).

Justice would likely be another member of the Senate Conservative Caucus.

Driving the Day

Senate Committee get busy…

·         8AM tort reform issues will be heard in Sen. Ed Emery’s Governor Reform Committee.

·         8AM Sen. Andrew Koenig’s educational saving account proposal will be heard in his Ways and Means Committee.

·         After Morning Session, Sen. Dan Hegeman’s bill lowering the cap on LIHTC will get a hearing.

Now Comes St. Louis Consolidation

This morning a years-long effort called Better Together will unveil their blueprint recommendations to reconfigure the St. Louis region’s governance structure. 

Leaks over the past few weeks have opponents of the consolidation plan already swinging punches.  (Sen. Jamilah Nasheed filed a constitutional amendment to derail the plan).

The big picture: merge St. Louis City and St. Louis County while stripping most authority away from the scores of small municipalities in the County.  Aside from the policy benefits like rationalizing operations, creating taxpayer cost-savings, and bringing sanity back to TIF policy, there’s a big psychological sell: it would be a big boost for St. Louis on the national scene creating apples to apples comparisons with other metropolitan areas.  (In other words, drop thirty or forty places immediately on “Most Dangerous Places to Live lists etc).

MOScout’s Hallway Index: Senate Seat to Flip?

I asked the hallway walkers which state senate district they thought was most vulnerable to flipping parties in 2020. 27 replies…

RESULTS

1. Senate 1 Sifton (termed)… 29.6%

2. Senate 3 Romine (termed)… 0%

3. Senate 15 Koenig… 25.9%

4. Senate 17 Arthur… 14.8%

5. Senate 19 Rowden… 29.6%

UM Nervous About Budget

Columbia Daily Tribune reports that the University of Missouri is eyeing the state tax revenue numbers nervously.  Despite the reassurances from the Department of Revenue this week that the state revenue shortfall would be made up in April when Missourians get their tax bill, the university is making plans for possible cuts.  See it here.

One concern about the bonding proposal was that it’s light on projects in the major metropolitan areas.  Sen. Bill Eigel said this “imbalance” needed to be addressed before he could support it.

And both Sens. Jamilah Nasheed and Kiki Curls voiced the concern that St. Louis and Kansas City have little to gain from the list of projects that the bonding would accomplish.

Haefner for Parson

Former Rep. Marsha Haefner will be going to work for Governor Mike Parson.  She’ll be in the St. Louis office doing liaison work.

Haefner has been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for state senate in 2020.  She’d be a strong candidate as Republicans try to wrestle Senate 1 from Dems.  Sen. Scott Sifton will be termed.  Rep. Doug Beck is expected to be the Democratic nominee.

Ross for Senate

The race for Senate 33 may have already started… Rep. Robert Ross has amended his committee to run for the seat.  Ross is a firebrand conservative and budget hawk in the House.  The current incumbent Sen. Mike Cunningham, is termed.  In addition to making the change to his committee, Ross is taking other steps as well.

He’s met with Axiom about the race – though it’s unclear if the relationship has been formalized.  However, the biggest hint of what’s to come is in the formation of a PAC, Team Robert PAC a third-party.