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Missouri Senator: Parson defying Trump by continuing to accept refugees

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Sen. Bob Onder, R-Lake St. Louis

State Senator Bob Onder, R-Lake St. Louis, says Gov. Mike Parson and other Republican governors have been “guilted into” continuing to welcome international refugees to their states. Last September, President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring states and local governments to submit written consent if they want to continue letting refugees resettle in their communities.

Onder, a member of the Senate Conservative Caucus, says Parson and the other governors have issued “a big rebuke” to Trump.

“President Trump expended considerable political capital to give governors the opportunity to choose whether or not the refugee resettlement program is right for their states,” he says. “By governors saying ‘No, we’re going to side with the status quo over our president, I think in many cases they did not do what’s best for their states.”

Onder says accepting additional refugees costs too much social welfare money and the state has more pressing needs.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks to the Capitol Press Corps after being sworn-in as governor on June 1, 2018 in Jefferson City (file photo by Tim Bommel/UPI)

“Refugee resettlement programs – they’re very lucrative for the social service agencies that participate in them,” says Onder. “But they impose big costs on the taxpayers of those states – social welfare costs, costs of multi-lingual education when the refugees don’t speak English. We know we’re at a time when we have teachers who are very poorly paid and we’d like to pay them more. The governor talks all the time about needing more money for transportation infrastructure and workforce development. And law enforcement needs our support – we have record high murder rates in St. Louis and Kansas City.”

Onder, in his final Missouri Senate term, says Trump is committed to revamping the federal immigration system.

“We have a backlog of 330,000 asylum seekers that aren’t processed. They’re approximately one million people around the world waiting to immigrate in an orderly way,” says Onder. “Between chain migration, the visa lottery, birthright citizenship, now mass waves of so-called refugees and asylum seekers, we have really disturbed the traditional orderly immigration process, where immigrants who play by the rules have a chance to come and become Americans.”

Parson says refugees boost the state’s workforce and add value and diversity to Missouri’s cities.

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Deadly Kansas City bar shooting not believed to be gang-related

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A man opened fire overnight outside of a Kansas City night club – killing a 25-year-old woman and wounding 15 others. The shooting happened at 9ine Ultra Lounge near I-70 between Lee’s Summit and Independence. Three of the victims have critical injuries and police think a security guard shot and killed the suspected shooter. KMBC-TV reports hundreds of people were at the club at the time of the shooting and many of them quickly bolted from the scene.

Deadly Kansas City bar shooting not believed to be gang-related

During a press conference today, Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith says there’s no indication the shooting was gang related.

“We know that there were multiple firearms involved,” says Smith. “So we think the security guard’s actions definitely saved lives.”

Smith says Raven Parks, 25, was killed at the scene.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says he won’t tolerate violent crime.

“This type of person who would shoot up a bunch of people outside of a bar is a menace,” says Lucas. “And we want to make sure we’re catching menaces like those and we’re able to prosecute them, we’re able to get them off the streets before they offend once again.”

KMBC reports the night club is owned by former Kansas City Chiefs player Alfonso Hodge.

What you need to know about Parson’s proposed K-12 schools budget

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Gov. Mike Parson is proposing $3.56 billion in base funding for Missouri’s K-12 public schools – a $10 million increase compared to the current fiscal year. Under Parson’s requested state budget that begins in July, the amount would fully fund the formula used to finance the state’s 518 public school districts.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks to Missourinet on September 23, 2019 at Jefferson City’s Memorial Park (Brian Hauswirth file photo)

Parson’s budget outline calls for $117 million to bus kids to and from school. The requested amount is $10 million more than the current year’s school transportation budget. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is about $185 million short of full transportation funding and it has been trying to close the gap by asking for an increase over a multi-year period.

During last week’s State of the State address, Parson said he also wants the state to expand access to virtual education for high school students and those who are home schooled. He wants to pump an extra $500,000 into the Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Programs next fiscal year for the statewide expansion of an online learning platform.

Parson’s budget outline gives about $281,000 more to the Missouri Charter Public School Commission, along with the addition of two new positions.

Under the governor’s fiscal plan, it calls for $21 million for Parents As Teachers – the same level of funding as the current budget year. The organization provides services to high-need families seeking help with the successful educational outcomes of their children. The request would help 538 high-need families on a wait list for services.

Under Parson’s plan, early childhood special education would get $206.5 million. The requested amount is a $12 million boost. DESE’s Division of Learning Services would also get a roughly $3.8 million boost to its Early Childhood Program. The Division’s other special education efforts would get about a $1.5 million reduction.

STEM Awareness and Computer Science Education Programs would get the same level of funding as the current year. An extra $200,000 would go towards recruiting teachers in urban areas. Parson wants to give the Division’s Dyslexia Programs $400,000 and Federal Refugees program $300,000 – the same level of funding as the current budget year. About $696,000 – a nearly $300,000 increase – would go to high school equivalency testing fees for first-time test takers.

Parson is proposing that $750,000 goes to certify about 12,000 new high school students as work-ready. Parson says the effort could open doors to students not sure if college is in their immediate plans, but still put them on a path to greater opportunities.

“We need to ensure our students understand the many opportunities out there, whether it be going into the workforce, the military, a community college, a technical school, or a four-year degree,” said Parson.

Parson says about 30% of Missouri’s population has a four-year degree from a college or university.

Now that Parson has sketched his fiscal desires, Missouri House and Senate members will roll up their sleeves this week and get to work on the state budget.

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Ameren workers fixing power problems caused by ice and snow

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Ameren Missouri employees are hard at work during the winter storm system hitting the Show-Me State. Mike Lewis, superintendent of reliability and support services for Ameren, says workers have been preparing for the ice and snow for the past few days.

Ameren workers fixing power problems caused by ice and snow

“We’ve had a fair amount of experience at this lately,” he says. “So our preparation protocol is getting a lot of practice this year. We just had a very similar situation last Friday, I believe it was.”

Lewis says the electric company is ramping up staffing levels for this storm.

“This does not look like this event particularly is going to cause us a lot of problems,” says Lewis. “But there will be likely some scattered issues – up to a quarter of an inch of ice plus wind on top of that – will cause a few outages. They won’t be widespread. They probably won’t be all that numerous, but we want to be ready to respond with people and property when that happens. The weight of the conductors – once they get laden down with ice and then the weight of tree limbs on top of conductors – can be a real problem for us to be able to put those back in the air. So, I would say an overall ice event does add some time to the restoration process just because it slows travel and it makes it more difficult to get the lines back up.”

Lewis reminds Missourians to be careful.

“First and foremost is, do not approach a downed power line, especially one that’s covered with ice,” says Lewis. “That ice can actually work as an insulator and keep an energized line energized, even though it’s laying down on the ground.”

He says employees will be working in some rough conditions.

“Imagine trying to wear enough clothes to stay warm when the temperatures drop down to single digits or below zero and then doing all that physical work that has to be done to clear trees, set poles, string lines,” he says. “Plus the additional hazards of things falling from trees, tree limbs breaking off due to the weight of the ice.”

Ameren serves 1.2 million customers in 64 Missouri counties and spans the St. Louis metro area and parts of northeast, northwest, southeast and central Missouri.

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MoDOT activates full response for winter storm

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Missouri Transportation Department crews will be out in full force today statewide to battle road conditions from a winter storm system. Todd Miller with MoDOT says plow drivers have been preparing for bad weather and will be working hard during the winter front.

A Missouri Department of Transportation snow plow (2018 file photo courtesy of MoDOT)

“We have over 1,500 plow trucks and we have almost 3,400 operators to operate those plow trucks. We can operate them in 12 hours shifts for a 24 hour response to this event,” he says.

Miller says the weather event will be challenging for road crews and drivers need to travel very carefully.

“It is going to switch from snow to freezing rain. Some chemicals we have down may not last,” he says. “You can’t be everywhere at once. We have 77,000 lane miles of roads that we take care of.”

The system is expected to move from southwest to northeast Missouri, bringing snow and ice to northern, west-central, western and southwest Missouri.

Check out MoDOT’s traveler information map for the latest road conditions.

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Ashcroft: Battle is not over on Missouri’s voter ID law

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Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft wants the Legislature to fight a Supreme Court ruling this week about the state’s voter ID law. Missouri’s high court has ruled that language used in a sworn statement is misleading and unconstitutional. Voters without an ID at the polls were required to sign the statement to confirm to their identity.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (2017 photo)

“I think that we are going to have to ask the Legislature to move forward on this,” says Ashcroft. “It looks to me like the Supreme Court is setting up a confrontation between the Supreme Court on one side, the Legislature, the Executive branch, and the Constitution as approved by the people on the other hand. And that really concerns me.”

In 2016, voters passed a constitutional amendment, Amendment 6, by a 63% margin which allowed the state to make a law requiring voters to identify themselves with IDs that “may” include valid government-issued photo identification.

“It is no longer unconstitutional in the state of Missouri to present photo ID to vote and yet our court is saying that it is,” says Ashcroft. “Anytime we have a government entity that ignores the will of the people properly expressed through the Constitution of the state, we have a problem. The role of the judiciary is not to say what the law should be. If you’re a judge and you want to spend your time saying what the law should be, run for the Legislature.”

Voter advocacy organization Priorities USA sued the state and said expert testimony in the trial has confirmed that voters would need a graduate level degree to understand the statement language.

The 5-2 judgement also bars the Secretary of State’s office from distributing information saying a photo ID is required to vote. Judges Brent Powell and Zel Fischer were the dissenting votes.

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Governor addresses Missourians: ‘State of our state is strong’

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Gov. Mike Parson delivered today his State of the State address to the Missouri Legislature. Parson outlined themes at the forefront of his administration – jobs, workforce development, infrastructure, and making a brighter future for Missouri’s young people.

Gov. Mike Parson (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications)

He touted the state’s low unemployment rate and some of his accomplishments while in office, including job expansions at Bayer, General Motors, Nucor Steel, Bunge, Briggs & Stratton, Dollar Tree, Aurora Organic Dairy and the USDA offices in Kansas City.

“That is why I am confident telling you today that the state of our state is strong and by working together, we will be ready for an even better future,” says Parson.

Let’s cut to the chase for the lowest paid state workers in the nation – Parson is proposing another pay increase for most of them. The Missouri Transportation and Conservation Departments are not included in the proposed 2% pay bump because those departments work under a different pay boost system.

Parson unveiled today his $30 billion state budget proposal for the fiscal year beginning in July. It includes the elimination of 325 full time equivalent state worker vacancies – no layoffs. The Labor and Industrial Relations Department would get rid of 124 positions and Department of Corrections would slash 137. The other vacancies being tossed are from other state agencies.

The governor says Missouri is “creating a new horizon of opportunity for infrastructure.” He says funding to fix or replace 250 Missouri bridges has led to some of the most exciting infrastructure investments. Parson rolled out the plan during last year’s State of the State address and the Legislature signed off on it.

“By combining our bridge proposal with federal funding secured by Congressman Graves, Missouri is now on track to significantly reduce the number of deficient bridges in the 6th Congressional District, which encompasses nearly half of our entire state,” says Parson.

According to Graves’ website, his northern Missouri district covers more square miles than nine states and includes St. Joseph and Hannibal.

Parson’s FY21 outline includes $50 million to keep a cost share infrastructure program going, another $4 million to continue repairing about 60 state levees and a $5 million boost to expand broadband internet access.

Missouri’s four largest cities – St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia and Springfield – have all made rankings for their violent crime rates. With the mayors and police chiefs of these cities in the audience, Parson said he wants Missouri’s laws strengthened that target violent criminals, like gun ownership restrictions for minors and domestic abusers.

“I have never waivered in my support for the Second Amendment. But we all have to understand the very real issue of violent crime affecting our neighborhoods and the potential consequence of doing nothing,” he said.

Some state lawmakers are not on board with the idea and say such measures would violate the Second Amendment.

The governor’s budget plan includes adding four more Highway Patrol troopers to work on St. Louis highways and $1 million to protect crime victims and witnesses during investigations.

He also wants $22 million owed to counties for transporting jail inmates and holding offenders who end up going to state prison. Another $824 million would go to the Missouri Department of Corrections to fund the state’s 21 prisons, overtime pay for correctional officers, treatment programs and efforts to retain workers and keep prisoners from reoffending, etc.

The Public Defender System’s budget faces about $8 million reduction compared to the current fiscal year. Most of the cut would be to services provided to Missourians who can’t afford their own legal representation. The office handles roughly 80,000 legal cases per year.

As for making a brighter future for Missouri’s young people, Parson wants $3.56 billion in base funding for K-12 public schools – a $10 million increase compared to the current fiscal year. He’s proposing to boost school transportation spending by $10 million to an overall $117 million.

According to Parson, about 30% of Missourians have a four-year degree from a college or university. The governor says society needs to move away from the stigma that not having a college degree is a failure. He’s seeking $750,000 to certify about 12,000 new high school students as work-ready.

“This is a major step that could open doors to students not sure if college is in their immediate plans, but still put them on a path to greater opportunities,” says Parson.

Parson says about 30% of Missouri’s population has a four-year degree from a college or university. He wants the state to work to expand access to virtual education for high school students and those who are home schooled.

Meanwhile, the governor’s budget blueprint would give the same level of funding as the current fiscal year for Missouri’s colleges and universities – about $927 million.

Parson is asking lawmakers for a $4.4 million boost to fund his signature Fast Track workforce incentive grant. The additional funding would open the door for applicants attending Missouri’s private colleges and universities.

Fast Track is designed to fill Missouri’s greatest workforce needs by covering the full cost of schooling for adults 25 or older pursuing a certificate, credential or bachelors in a high demand field. The program is primarily for adults 25 years or older, but some provisions allow Missourians younger than 25 to get grants if they have been out of school for at least two years.

The governor is also requesting an extra $4.8 million to fund the A+ scholarship program.

Now that Parson has sketched his financial wishes, the Legislature can get to work on crunching the numbers. Budget hearings could begin as early as next week.

State Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat running for governor, issued a response to Governor Parson’s address.

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Missouri Supreme Court upholds lower court’s ruling about voter ID law

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In a 5-2 ruling today, the Missouri Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s ruling about the state requiring a photo ID at the polls. The high court says a Cole County Court was right to strike down a state requirement making voters without a photo ID sign a statement swearing they are who they say they are.

The Missouri Supreme Court

In 2016, voters passed a constitutional amendment, Amendment 6, by a 63 percent margin which allowed the state to make a law requiring voters to identify themselves with IDs that “may” include valid government-issued photo identification. Left-leaning group Priorities USA sued the state arguing the statement language is confusing.

In 2018, Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan called the affidavit language contradictory and misleading and ruled to get rid of it. Today, the Supreme Court agreed.

The judgement also bars the Secretary of State’s office from distributing information saying a photo ID is required to vote.

Senator Jill Schupp, a Democrat from the St. Louis suburb of Creve Coeur, hopes the ruling will put the longtime Republican voter ID effort to rest.

“I’m delighted that the people’s votes will be protected and that this law was shot down by the Supreme Court. We move forward and we try to protect our elections and try to make sure everybody’s vote counts,” says Schupp. “We have three co-equal branches of government and each of them need to be respected. So, I’m hopefully that the Legislature will understand the Supreme Court’s basis for their judgement and we’ll move forward and allow people to take advantage of their right to vote.”

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, also responded to the court ruling.

Judges Brent Powell and Zel Fischer were the dissenting votes.

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Missouri law enforcement group and state on different pages about release of prisoners

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The State Department of Corrections and Missouri Sheriffs Association have very different accounts about the release of convicted felons from prison. Kevin Merritt, executive director of the Missouri Sheriffs Association, says many convicted felons are getting out of the state’s prisons too soon. He says changes in state law and Department of Corrections policies are making Missouri’s communities more dangerous.

According to Merritt, some prisoners are eligible for parole after serving 15% of their sentence.

Missouri law enforcement group and state on different pages about release of prisoners

“Right now the rule of thumb is, when an individual goes to the Department of Corrections as a convicted felon, they’re serving approximately a month to a month and a half for every year that they were sentenced to prison,” says Merritt.

Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe tells Missourinet the average stay varies upon the crime but says the average length each prisoner serves has increased over the past five years to 53%.

“The courts, who sentence offenders, they’re the ones who determine the length of the sentence within statutory requirements and then the Parole Board is making those informed, evidence-based decisions about whether someone is allowed to be released to the community,” she says.

Last year, the Legislature passed a measure scrapping mandatory minimum sentences for some nonviolent crimes. It also recently overhauled the state’s criminal code and added a Class E felony. Both efforts affect Missouri’s overall prison population.

The changes followed lengthy work in 2017 by stakeholders within the criminal justice system to find ways to trim the state’s increasing levels of incarceration. The process included judges, legislators, law enforcement, prosecutors, public defenders, corrections and mental health officials and others. In July 2017, Missouri’s total prison population was about 34,000, compared to the current count of roughly 26,000.

“We were facing a crisis,” says Precythe. “We were looking at having to build two new prisons. That would have cost the state about $500 million that we don’t have. But we are still pursuing good criminal justice reform practices. We’re not doing anything crazy within the department. Really, the goal of criminal justice reform is, is to get the low-risk, non-violent people out of prison and save that space and those monies for the violent, repeat offenders.”

Merritt tells Missourinet the state agency is not penalizing parole violators enough after testing positive for drugs.

“DOC and the Probation and Parole Division and the Parole Board, they are releasing convicted felons like they’re giving out get out of jail free cards,” Merritt says. “Not violating parole offenders for testing positive for drugs – that’s a policy decision out of Department of Corrections. We don’t want new laws. We just want the laws that are on the books to be enforced and we want bad policy decisions to be addressed.”

Precythe says probation and parole practices have not changed.

“They are being carried out, as they always have been, in accordance with the Missouri Constitution and state law. Just like law enforcement affords people due process when they’re arrested for a crime, the Parole Board is affording people due process when they’re out of compliance with their terms of supervision,” says Precythe.

Merritt points to two recent criminal cases as examples – one in northwest Missouri’s Nodaway County and the other in southwest Missouri’s Stone County.

Merritt goes on to say the state refuses to take parole violators back to prison after they are captured for a parole arrest warrant.

“They will require the sheriff to hold that person in the local jail and they will send a probation officer to the local jail to interview the person on the parole warrant to determine if they’re going to follow through on the arrest warrant and actually seek revocation of that person’s parole. So, they’ll come to the jail whenever they get time,” he says.

Once a report is written up, it gets sent to the Parole Board for action.

Precythe says a warrant kicks in for those failing to report an address change, going to treatment or testing positive on a drug test.

“I think that’s where folks want to confuse them and think that all people who violate probation or parole supervision are bad people and deserve to go back to prison when that is not in fact the case. There are some and those people are returned to prison,” says Precythe.

Merritt is working with the Governor’s Office about department policies because he says he wasn’t getting anywhere with the department. He says the agency has an agenda and is sticking to it – to reduce Missouri’s prison population.

Precythe says they are in different philosophical places when it comes to criminal justice and it’s difficult for others to understand the department’s unique role.

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