Alisa Nelson, Author at Missourinet

AAA rep: Missouri gas tax proposal’s ‘bait and switch’ language might have led to its demise

December 13, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

The language could have led to the failure of November’s proposed fuel tax increase, according to AAA spokesman Mike Right. He tells Missourinet affiliate KWIX in Moberly that Proposition D would have boosted the fuel tax by two and a half cents annually over four years.

Photo courtesy of MODOT

“A lot of people that I spoke with that actually voted no were concerned about the way the proposition was worded,” Right says. “Otherwise, they had no problem with the gas tax increase in terms of their additional spend or the need to have additional revenue. Their concern was a bait and switch.”

The measure asked voters if Olympic medals should be tax exempt for Missourians who win them and it would also have helped to fund State Patrol enforcement efforts.

He thinks the Legislature will make highway funding a key issue in the upcoming legislative session.

“We lost the election to increase the motor fuel tax at the November election, but that doesn’t solve the problem. We still have hundreds of millions of dollars of unmet needs in our Missouri highway system and they have to be addressed,” he says. “The Legislature can do some incremental things, but it’s not likely to have any dramatic impact on the overwhelming needs of the highway system.”

He says lawmakers could also choose to reword the ballot language and put the issue back before Missouri voters.

The session begins January 9 in Jefferson City.

Former Missouri U.S. Senator among bipartisan group urging Senate to defend democracy – again

December 12, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

The Washington Post has released an opinion piece with 44 former U.S. Senators, including Missouri Republican Jack Danforth, saying the U.S is entering a dangerous period. Danforth tells MSNBC the bipartisan group’s comments are in response to Robert Mueller’s investigation of President Trump and Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

Photo courtesy of Dowd Bennett law firm

“The concern that we have is that things are terribly divided now, but that it’s going to get much worse or at least it has the potential to get much worse, as the Trump problems continue to unfold,” says Danforth. “Our appeal is to the Senate to try to be more bipartisan. The country has become terribly polarized. This is not new for me. A lot of people have commented on it. Everybody seems to be mad all the time.”

The opinion column is titled “We are former senators. The Senate has long stood in defense of democracy – and must again”.

The group urges current Senators to work together to place the country, democracy and national interest above all else. They say America is headed toward a crisis if current Senators are not working in a bipartisan way and being “steadfast zealous guardians of our democracy”.

“It means the two parties communicating with each other and not just voting as they do say in the British Parliament – right along party lines. It means getting back to what’s known as the regular order, which means that the committee system works,” says Danforth.

He goes on to say that social interaction between lawmakers of opposite parties is also important.

“It’s important for people to know each other, know their families and to live in Washington,” he says.

Danforth says the Senate began to become very partisan after the 1992 election.

“A number of Republicans came over to the Senate from the House. In the House, they had not been treated well. So, they came over with a very hard edge to them. I believe it started there and I think it’s increased over the years,” Danforth says.

He cites the increasing divide is in part due to social media and the cable news networks.
“It’s not that politics in the old days was just as pure as the driven snow. It certainly wasn’t that, but you were able to have the legislative system work. It did work reasonably well. I don’t think it works at all now.”

Danforth served as U.S. Senator in Missouri from 1976 to 1995. He also served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush.

Missouri Representative to bring back bill to ban texting while driving

December 12, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

State Rep. Jim Hansen speaks to Missourinet in his Capitol office on January 25, 2017 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

State Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Frankford, wants to join most U.S. states by enforcing a total ban on texting while driving. Hansen tells Missourinet affiliate KWIX in Moberly hopes his proposed ban on texting while driving will get some traction in the next legislative session.

“There’s been a few bills last year along that line,” he says. “I’m going to still try to be involved in that process on my bill or somebody else’s bill to maybe elevate the texting while driving safety issue that we have.”

Hansen says he wants to put a game plan together with other legislators to push the issue forward. He mentions possible media coverage to get the word out and “put some pressure” on House and Senate leadership.

The session begins January 9 in Jefferson City.

Missouri prisons roll out electronic tablets for offenders to use

December 11, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

Electronic tablets have been given to most of Missouri’s prison population of 30,500. State Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe tells Missourinet a company the department already does business with, JPay, is providing the tablets for free and will recoup its costs through offenders buying content with their own money.

Missouri prisons roll out electronic tablets for offenders to use

“No general revenue money is being used at all. No taxpayer dollars,” Precythe says.

Offenders must pay for access to things like educational materials, music, movies, and games. A daily newspaper-style feed is also available at a cost.

A FM radio tuner and a couple of games are included for free. Each prisoner receives four free digital credits per month to purchase content for the device.

The tablets do not come with cameras or outside internet access, but offenders can email, for a fee, through a closely-monitored system. The Department says the devices run on a secure wireless system accessible at designated secure hot spots.

Restrictive housing offenders will have access to pre-loaded tablets as allowed by the Department or governed by policy and procedure. These prisoners will not have the same services available to them as those in general population.

Precythe says the tablets will be used as an incentive and a consequence.

“It’s going to be tied to behavior,” she says. “You do well – more features will unlock on the tablet – features they (offenders) have to pay for just like they would now out of the canteen. Your behavior is not good – we’ll either lock down some of those features or take the tablet away.”

Offenders with good behavior status will eventually be able to make phone calls via the tablets at the same cost as a normal phone call.

Offenders will not be able to contact each other through the devices.

The Missouri prison system has been dealing with a possible record 800 correctional officer vacancies – leading to safety issues within the prison walls. Precythe says the tablets are being used as an officer safety tool.

“What we’re seeing and hearing from other states is the tablets dramatically reduces offender-on-offender assaults and offender-on-staff assaults,” says Precythe.

The department cites Pima County, Arizona reporting that staff assaults decreased by 60% after tablet installation and offender-on-offender assaults are down 40%.

In addition to providing access to education and entertainment content, the tablets streamline the process through which offenders request appointments with their case managers or with medical staff. They can also email their attorneys.

The department is working on a pilot tablet-based college program with Ashland University in Ohio.

Hawley’s office calls funding allegations ‘frivolous act of political harassment’

December 10, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri Republican Senator-elect Josh Hawley speaks to supporters in Winchester, Missouri (file photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI)

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley’s office has responded to allegations that Hawley illegally used public resources to help his U.S. Senate campaign. The allegations have been leveraged by the Democratic-leaning group American Democracy Legal Fund (ADLF).

The Kansas City Star first reported that outside political consultants directed and “gave guidance” to Hawley’s taxpayer-funded staff in the Attorney General’s Office. The newspaper said those consultants, who went on to run Hawley’s Senate campaign, continued to meet with the attorney general’s staff during business hours in his official offices in the state Supreme Court building in Jefferson City.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has launched an investigation into the accusations against the fellow Republican Hawley. Ashcroft is charged as secretary of state to investigate election violations.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (2017 photo)

In a letter to Ashcroft’s office, Solicitor General D. John Sauer says the ADLF’s complaint is a “frivolous act of political harassment”. Sauer goes on to say that Brad Woodhouse, who leads the ADLF, is a well-known Democratic operative for a leftist political organization.

He says the group regularly attacked Hawley during Hawley’s recent successful campaign for the U.S. Senate and has filed multiple legal complaints against the attorney general in various forums. Sauer says Woodhouse filed this particular complaint seven days before the General Election—well within the ordinary blackout period for campaign-related complaints under Missouri’s ethics laws.

Ashcroft has asked State Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat, to work together to investigate the case. In a letter to Galloway today, Ashcroft cites Galloway having subpoena power, unlike Ashcroft.

Nicole Galloway (D)

Galloway is scheduled to do a closeout audit of Hawley’s administration, since Hawley successfully defeated Democrat Claire McCaskill in last month’s election. Ashcroft is asking Galloway for records during her that are relative to the allegations against Hawley. He also wants his office to sit in on any interviews and depositions that Galloway’s office would conduct.

Galloway is reviewing Ashcroft’s request.

Another round of winter weather hits Missouri

December 6, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

Another round of winter weather hits Missouri

Watch out for slick roadways, bridges and overpasses today in Missouri. A mixture and snow and rain could make a challenging commute.

Some schools, especially in mid-Missouri, have also ended classes early today because of freezing rain and possibly 1 to 2 inches of snow. The St. Louis area is expected to get 1-2 inches of snow, along with a rain and snow mixture. Freezing rain and snow are also possible today across southwest Missouri. Northeast Missouri is expected to get less than one inch of snow. Western and northwest Missouri had a bout of light snow and sleet this morning that is anticipated to taper off by noon.

A winter storm watch is in effect for southern Missouri from Friday night through Saturday night. Three to six inches of snow is possible, along with a glaze of ice.

Southeast Missouri could also get accumulating snow Friday through Sunday, mainly south of Cape Girardeau.

For the latest information on weather and Missouri road conditions, click here.

Blunt ‘very concerned’ about America’s trade strategy

December 6, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, says he’s been “very concerned” about America’s trade strategy. During the Missouri Farm Bureau Convention this week at the Lake of the Ozarks, the Republican says he’s glad the U.S. did not escalate its trade fight with China.

Senator Roy Blunt addresses the Missouri House on April 4, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

He cites U.S. soybean exports have gone to virtually zero since the trade war began.

“Our opportunities in beef, pork, chicken and other commodity crops are not what they would be,” Blunt tells Brownfield Ag News. “At the same time, the Chinese are the worst offenders in the world of the normal understood practices of how you do business.”

He says China steals America’s technology and does not fulfill its World Trade Organization agreements. He goes on to say that China does not let U.S. companies invest in China the same way China likes to see their companies invest in other countries.

“I think if you’re going to have a trade fight, that would be the one to have,” Blunt says.

He says he hopes a Trump Administration priority will be to “clear the decks” of trading partners in Mexico, Canada, Japan, the European Union.

Blunt thinks getting enough Democratic support in the House is going to be “a fairly big challenge” for the new North American Free Trade Agreement often called NAFTA. Blunt goes on to say that he’s encouraged to see the deal signed between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

One argument voiced is that the agreement does not go far enough to protect American workers from low-wage Mexican competition. The new deal does not lift the tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum.

“I wish we could have gotten this done this year,” Blunt says. “The president’s intention, which I have some concerns about, is to go ahead and give notice that the old agreement is going to end, which does put maximum pressure on people who understand the importance of this North American agreement to our whole economy. But our friends on the other side have not voted for trade deals in any significant number in a long time.”

Meanwhile, Blunt thinks the federal Farm Bill will pass in Congress this year. He says the bill does not move dramatically in a new direction, but it considers the dramatic changes made in the last Farm Bill.

“It tries to make the corrections in cotton, dairy and other areas that it became pretty obvious during that Farm Bill that we hadn’t quite anticipated as a country some of the special needs,” he says.

The compromise bill would keep food stamp benefit requirements the same, legalize hemp for ag production and expand a program for taking environmentally- sensitive land out of production for several years, among other things.

The Farm Bureau Convention wrapped up on Tuesday.

Blunt on Bush’s Missouri family connections

December 5, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt says President George H.W. Bush treated Missouri like it was one of the states he was connected to. Funeral services are underway for Bush, who died Friday at the age of 94.

On the Senate floor, Blunt says Bush was in Missouri a lot because of its political importance as a bellwether state and for personal reasons.

George H.W. Bush

“Certainly, in Missouri, we claim part of the Bush family. His mother grew up in Missouri. The Walkers were from Missouri, and he treated Missouri like it was one of the states that he was connected to by relationship. The impact of his mother is pretty great,” says Blunt.

He says from 1904 to 2004, the bellwether state of Missouri voted for the winner of the presidential election every time but one.

“That last 20 years of that time period very much is the time period where President Bush 41 and Bush 43, for that matter, were part of national politics. So, Missouri would have been a significant place for him anyway, but his brother lived there, his younger brother Bucky, who passed away in the last few years. Future Ambassador Burt Walker was there. Lots of sort of interrelated and connected family members,” he says.

The only presidential election Missouri did not vote for the winner was in 1956 when Dwight Eisenhower won the race. Missouri voted for a former Illinois governor, Adlai Stevenson.

Blunt goes on to say the Missouri connection goes a little bit further.

“Not only did Missouri vote for President Bush in 1988… But after Desert Storm, President Bush looked around to find a place to do the first 4th of July parade after Desert Storm and he came to Marshfield, Missouri, in the county where I was born, in Webster County,” Blunt says.

Blunt recalls being picked as the grand marshal of the parade that year. When he learned the president wanted to come to be in the parade, Blunt says he was more than willing to step aside to let Bush lead. Blunt instead walked closely behind.

He says the first campaign kickoff was in Branson in 1992. Blunt and Bush went to a country music show at the Moe Bandy Theater. Loretta Lynn was sitting with the president and Mrs. Bush.

“Their good friend from Texas Moe Bandy was performing and that was a part of America and a part of our music that the president loved,” says Blunt.

Historic riverboat can get back to business in Missouri

December 5, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

President Donald Trump has signed into law legislation that will let the 1920s-era Delta Queen steamboat carry passengers if certain safety improvements are made. The vessel has not sailed down the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers since a federal exemption lapsed in 2008.

Photo courtesy of Delta Queen Steamboat Co.

Missouri U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt sponsored the measure that is expected to create more than 170 jobs in eastern Missouri and will make the boat’s new home port in Kimmswick. According to Blunt’s office, the Delta Queen is anticipated to begin and end several cruises each year in Kimmswick and will visit up to 80 other U.S. ports.

“The return of the historic Delta Queen is great news for our state and the St. Louis region,” Blunt says. “This important part of our nation’s history will create jobs and strengthen our state’s growing tourism industry. I thank our House colleagues, local officials, and community leaders who have been great partners in our effort to bring this one-of-a-kind riverboat back to Missouri.”

McCaskill says she’s thrilled the Delta Queen can once again sail down the Mississippi.

“This historic landmark will highlight the rich history of the state I love, supporting local communities up and down the river. Working with Senator Blunt and my colleagues in the House to make this a reality has been a privilege,” she says.

The Delta Queen is a wooden American steamboat that carried dignitaries, including three U.S. Presidents, and thousands of other passengers. It also served as a naval ship during World War Two and has been designated as a national historic landmark.

Despite voters opposing Right-to-Work ballot measure, bill returns to Missouri Legislature in 2019

December 5, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

The state legislature will be asked next year whether to bar Missouri businesses from requiring workers to pay mandatory union fees. The bill is being sponsored by Republican Senator-Elect Eric Burlison of Springfield, who has sponsored similar legislation while previously serving in the Missouri House.

Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications

State Representative Holly Rehder, a Republican of southeast Missouri’s Sikeston, sponsored a Right-to-Work bill in the last session. It raced through the General Assembly and was signed into law by former Gov. Eric Greitens.

Rushing the legislation through allowed labor groups more time to gather enough signatures for a public vote. In August, voters overwhelmingly opposed a ballot measure that asked whether Missouri should be a Right-to-Work state. It lost by a landslide 67-to-32 percent margin.

Opponents of the measure had a major financial advantage in the primary election. Labor organizations from inside and outside Missouri poured money into the effort to prevent Missouri from becoming a Right-to-Work state. The lead group behind the opposition, We are Missouri, spent $15.3 million, according to its filings with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

By comparison, the organization Freedom to Work spent roughly $1.9 million to support the measure, known as Proposition A, while Missourians For Freedom to Work spent just over $1.3 million to back the proposal.