Alisa Nelson, Author at Missourinet

Missouri Legislature asked to tax, restrict vaping

January 13, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

State Senator Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, wants to tax vaping products like tobacco merchandise. Missouri’s current tobacco tax is 17 cents per package of 20 – ranking it the lowest in the nation.

Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield

Hough is proposing to make it a misdemeanor for anyone who sells vaping products with THC, a chemical in marijuana, or any other controlled substances in them.

The measure follows a nationwide outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses, including some deaths. About 36 cases, including two deaths, have been reported in Missouri.

At a November press conference, Governor Mike Parson said he wants the Legislature to consider potential measures to address vaping. Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams said he hopes all vaping-related options are on the table during the session.

“One of those would be looking specifically looking at Vitamin E, which we now think is the ideological agent. In the meantime, let me make sure I’m very clear on this – we think it is very dangerous to put Vitamin E in vaping products,” says Williams.

Hough’s bill would also ban vaping statewide in public places, public schools, daycares and other designated areas.

Some Missouri cities have already put restrictions on electronic cigarettes.

Hough’s bill is SB 829.

Missouri Senate Democrats expected to lose two members this week

January 13, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Senator Jason Holsman (D-Kansas City)

State Senator Cindy O’Laughlin of northeast Missouri’s Shelbina says the makeup of the Senate will be changing soon. She says the governor is appointing two Kansas City members – Jason Holsman to the Missouri Public Service Commission and Kiki Curls to the State Labor Commission.

“They will both be leaving probably toward the end of week,” she says. “So that kind of changes the dynamics a little bit because there are only ten total in the Senate that are Democrat. So now they’re down to eight.”

The chamber has 24 Republicans.

O’Laughlin, a Republican, tells Missourinet affiliate KWIX in Moberly the changes will present some unique challenges.

Senator Kiki Curls (D-Kansas City)

“Those positions won’t be filled until the election,” says O’Laughlin. “This then means that we have a lot of different committees addressing a lot of different topics and it’s going to be very hard for them to make all of those hearings. So, we’ll see how that plays out.”

The state commission jobs pay about $109,000 annually, compared to the nearly $36,000 annual salaries for term-limited work as a Missouri Senator.

Bob Ehle of Missourinet affiliate KWIX in Moberly contributed to this story

Missouri issues licenses for medical marijuana-infused product manufacturers

January 10, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri issues licenses for medical marijuana-infused product manufacturers

The state has issued 86 licenses today for medical marijuana-infused product manufacturers. These items would be used by means other than smoking, including, edibles, ointments, tinctures and concentrated liquids.

The companies chosen are the top-scoring sites that meet all eligibility requirements.

The list of sites chosen and denied could be released by the end of the day. The information will be listed here.

In 2018, Missouri voters approved the sale of medical marijuana. Medical marijuana sales are expected to begin in the spring.

HUD Secretary Carson says proposed changes will not rollback fair housing regulations

January 10, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is proposing changes that he says will not scale back fair housing enforcement, unlike what critics say. Carson, who was the keynote speaker at Thursday’s Governor’s Prayer Breakfast in Jefferson City, says the current system is too complicated. He says the Obama-era regulations led to 63% of HUD submissions getting rejected or having major changes.

From left: Gov. Mike Parson and U.S. HUD Secretary Ben Carson

“It wasn’t solving anything,” says Carson. “So we had to go and say ‘What is the real cause of segregation?’ It’s economic. People cannot afford to live anywhere else. So we have economic segregation.”

He says the proposed rule would reduce the burden on local governments to meet current regulations.

“They have to demonstrate what are the three things what are precluding the development of affordable housing and then give us a reasonable plan for how they are going to address that. Future funding obviously will be influenced by what they’re able to do. It doesn’t roll back anything,” he says.

Carson says the Fair Housing Equal Opportunity Office is more active than it’s ever been.

“All you have to do is go and look at the cases. We’re not rolling back anything,” he says. “But we’re talking about doing things in a logical and an effective way. I know that ruffles a lot of feathers. People like to do stuff the way that it’s been done. But coming from a scientific background, I’m for looking at evidence – not for looking at how things actually work.”

Fair housing advocates tell the Washington Post the changes would reduce the financial pressure on municipalities to end residential segregation, as required by federal law. Diane Yentel with the National Low Income Housing Coalition tells the Washington Post the proposed rule entirely ignores the racial desegregation requirements of the 1968 Fair Housing Act.

Meanwhile, Carson says there will be consequences against a Kansas City property company under federal investigation. He would not elaborate about the situation involving TEH Realty, which has failed to meet federal guidelines for 81 residences. KMBC-TV reports the properties have major safety and health concerns and the company problems could end up forcing residents to move.

Missouri voters could decide if they want riverboat gambling along Osage River

January 9, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri voters could weigh in at the ballot box about whether to have a riverboat casino along the Osage River. State Representative Rocky Miller, R- Lake Ozark, is proposing a change to the Constitution that would allow people to place their bets along the Osage River. Current law allows riverboat gambling along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

Rep. Rocky Miller (R-Lake Ozark)

Miller says he’s had this idea on his mind for quite some time.

“When the first riverboat gambling came out in the 90s, I thought ‘Well gosh, why isn’t the Osage River part of the Missouri and Mississippi riverboat gaming license?’ I have no idea why it wasn’t, but I thought we really should be,” he says.

Miller has his eye on the Lake of the Ozarks in mid Missouri.

“I’ve never thought that Lake of the Ozarks is really really a family-friendly destination. There are things that families can do and I love having them there,” he says. “There are great things you can do there – there’s water parks, there’s skee ball. But honestly, compared to Branson, we’ve always been an adult entertainment area.”

Miller says the Netflix show Ozark did not inspire his decision to file the bill, but he says the measure has been referred to as “The Ozark bill”. During the latest season of the hit show, a riverboat casino set sail along the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri.

Miller tells Missourinet he does not want to expand gambling.

“I think that right now, we just need to right the wrong. I truly would like to see a casino in Lake of the Ozarks, but I think the problems that we have, if we open those flood gates up, we’d have every casino fighting and I think we would end up getting nothing done. This is just a pragmatic, sort of level-headed way of doing it. Let’s add the Osage River. In the future, if a license becomes available, then we’re there to make a pitch for it,” says Miller.

The State Gaming Commission has already licensed 13 casinos – the maximum allowed in Missouri. If passed by the Legislature and people, the measure would let a potential riverboat casino pursue a license along the Osage, if one becomes available.

Miller says he’s “doing battle” against initiative petitions he’s heard might come along to expand gambling.

“This is so that we could kind of head that off at the pass and actually have input,” he says. “Only some rich guy that does the initiative petition and gets the signatures has input into how that’s read. I don’t. You don’t,” he says. “Through the process that we’re going through with my bill, you’re going to have public hearings. You’re going to have input. There’s probably going to be some changes to it.”

As for the economic impact of gambling on the Lake of the Ozarks?

“Cape Girardeau had a benefit of $55 million additional taxes and 726 new jobs,” Miller says. “I don’t know what the magnitude greater Lake of the Ozarks would be but you’ve got to think it would be a much greater magnitude.”

Century Casino operates boats in Cape Girardeau and nearby Caruthersville.

The legislation is HJR 87.

(AUDIO) Missourinet 5 p.m. Newscast for 1-8-2020

January 8, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Heavy rainfall could pound Missouri starting Thursday

January 8, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Heavy rainfall could pound Missouri starting Thursday

Heavy rainfall could be in store for the Show-Me State starting Thursday and ending early Saturday. The National Weather Service says the heaviest rainfall is expected from Friday night into Saturday morning.

Western and northwest Missouri could also be facing colder temps and some ice, possibly making road travel somewhat tricky.

Rain predictions include 2-3 inches in Rolla, Columbia and Jefferson City, 3-4 inches in St. Louis, and 4-6 inches possible in Cape Girardeau and southeast Missouri. River flooding in some areas could also occur.

Missouri House or Senate coffee? The longtime discussion brews again

January 8, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg

The coffee will be flowing for brew addicts during this opening day of the Missouri legislative session. When the chambers are in session and sometimes burning the midnight oil, a good cup of java can make the world go round, especially when debate is not so riveting.

A longtime discussion among those who frequent the Missouri Capitol surrounds which chamber has better coffee. According to an unscientific poll of three lawmakers who have served in both the House and the Senate, there’s no question.

“The Senate’s coffee is a lot better than the House,” says Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg. “It’s just a lot more bold and spicy, I believe, in the Senate. In fact, I see a lot of State Representatives come down here to get their coffee versus the coffee that they have in the House. I have yet to see one State Senator head down to the House of Representatives to get coffee down there.”

Sen. Eric Burlison, R-Springfield, says he consumes a lot of coffee – without the doctoring of cream and sugar additives.

“For me, the best coffee is the most readily accessible,” Burlison says. “I’m not picky. I think the grounds are the same whether it’s on the House side or Senate side. I can’t tell a difference.”

Sen. Eric Burlison, R-Springfield

Burlison might also give you a lesson about coffee. Last year, he and his wife visited Costa Rica and toured some coffee plantations.

“When you are looking for coffee beans, you want to look for ones that say peaberry. It’s got more flavor and it roasts a little bit better. Most stores sell them at the same price, but you’re getting a lot better quality of a coffee bean. I don’t think either the House or the Senate is buying peaberry coffee nor are they grinding the coffee beans,” he says.

Burlison, a member of the Senate Conservative Caucus, says the state-funded java gets the job done in an efficient and affordable way.

Sen. Bill White, R-Joplin, has a system for his coffee needs.

“The Senate side definitely has coffee that is better than the House. Although my own coffee is a lot better than either of them,” says White. “I drink the coffee on the Senate side when it’s really late at night and I’ve already run up and down the stairs twenty times or something is going on and I just need a quick refill before something happens on the floor, I’ll drink out here. But generally I’ll go upstairs and use my Keurig machine. I have not since I’ve been in the Senate gone back to the House for coffee. No.”

Sen. Bill White, R-Joplin

He has a worthy theory behind what could make the Senate coffee an easier drink to swallow.

“My impression is that they brew it more often, because a lot of times I’ll run into somebody in there firing up one of the pots,” he says. “There’s five or six of them in there. Whereas the House has the great big huge machines that I think they make once or twice a day and it just sits there and kind of gets a little burnt flavor.”

Senate coffee – 2. House coffee – 0. Whatever coffee I can get my hands on first – 1.

Missouri Legislature gets down to business today

January 8, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The General Assembly gets to work today for the legislative session’s opening day at the state Capitol in Jefferson City. Both chambers gavel in at noon.

Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications

Today’s work will be largely ceremonial with six new House members being sworn in. It will be a couple of weeks before lawmakers really start getting into the swing of things.

So far, more than 800 bills have been filed in the House and 300 in the Senate. Some of the priorities of the Republican-controlled Legislature include:

*Additional funding for Missouri’s roads, bridges and internet broadband in rural areas
*Sports wagering
*Overturning a legislative redistricting ballot measure
*Changes to liability lawsuits
*Expanding charter schools
*Workforce development
*Curbing Missouri’s violent crime problem
*Property tax relief

Missourinet will be covering today’s events and will be there throughout the session with the latest state political information.

Missouri legislator wants riverboat gambling along Lake of the Ozarks

January 7, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Rep. Rocky Miller (R-Lake Ozark)

State Representative Rocky Miller wants to allow riverboat gambling along the Lake of the Ozarks in mid Missouri. The Republican from Lake Ozark is proposing to let Missouri voters decide whether to change the Constitution to include the Osage River on the short list of waterways where casinos are allowed.

Current law allows riverboat gambling on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers only and the licensing of 13 casinos. The State Gaming Commission, which decides about casino licensing, has already licensed 13 Missouri casinos. Even if the Legislature and voters pass the measure, HJR 87, a riverboat casino along the Lake of the Ozarks might not set sail for a while.

Miller prefiled the bill on Friday. Opening day of the next legislative session is Wednesday.

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