Brian Hauswirth

Missouri House Speaker: “I’m not going to put any artificial deadline on this committee”

April 19, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House Speaker says leaders in his chamber have begun the process of calling themselves into a special session in Jefferson City, to make recommendations about Republican Governor Eric Greitens.

House Speaker Todd Richardson (right) briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on April 19, 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, tells the Capitol Press Corps the signatures have come from Republicans thus far.

“I haven’t seen the updated proclamation, but a substantial number of the members of our (Republican) caucus and we’ll begin working with members of the minority (Democratic) caucus next week for their signatures,” Richardson says.

It would take a three-fourths majority of both the Missouri House and Senate to call themselves into a special session.

Richardson tells reporters he doesn’t have the three-fourths yet.

While Republicans control the House 115-47, they’ll need Democratic votes to get to three-fourths.

It would take 123 votes of the 163-member Missouri House and 26 in the 34-member Senate to get to that mark.

Missouri House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty and Assistant Minority Leader Gina Mitten (right) brief the Capitol Press Corps on April 19, 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, also briefed Capitol reporters on Thursday, at a separate news conference.

Beatty says it’s premature for House members to sign a petition to call themselves into a special session regarding the governor’s future. She wants lawmakers to focus on this issue, before the 2018 session ends on May 18.

“That we need to make sure we give the investigative committee adequate time to meet,” says Beatty. “And should we need a special session, then we should do so. But we are still four weeks out from the end of session.”

Speaker Richardson indicated again on Thursday that the House committee investigating the governor’s indictment will likely be unable to make recommendations to the Legislature before the session ends.

“I’m not going to put any artificial deadline on this committee,” Richardson says. “When the committee is finished with their work and makes their recommendations, the House will be in a position to take it up.”

As for Beatty, she issued a statement earlier this week, saying, in part, that Greitens “is unfit to serve as governor.” She also called for his resignation.

Governor Greitens has blasted the House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight’s 24-page report, describing it as “one-sided tabloid trash gossip.”

Greitens also notes the committee has held its meetings behind closed doors, where his representatives and news reporters could not attend.

Richardson said last week that the House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight’s report does not pass judgment on Greitens’ guilt or innocence in the St. Louis case, adding that’s for the courts and a jury to decide.

Speaker Richardson also says a St. Louis judge’s decision Thursday in Greitens’ criminal case does not impact the work of the bipartisan House committee investigating the governor’s indictment.

“As I said last week, the Missouri Legislature is a separate and co-equal branch of government and no matter how that case, that decision, had gone today (Thursday), the House and the Senate would continue to go through our process,” says Richardson.

Richardson says the House committee’s role and responsibilities are different than the court.

A St. Louis grand jury has indicted Greitens for one felony count of invasion of privacy, for an alleged March 2015 incident. Greitens has admitted to an affair, but has denied any criminal wrongdoing.

On Thursday, St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison rejected the governor’s request to dismiss the charge against him.

Greitens’ jury trial is scheduled to begin May 14.

Greitens’ lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Ed Dowd, has said that the release of any House report before the May trial date in St. Louis would impact Greitens’ ability to obtain a fair trial.

St. Louis Lambert International Airport checkpoint expansion highlights growth (AUDIO)

April 19, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) officials have announced that they’ve finished a checkpoint expansion project that creates a seventh security screening lane that will be used during peak hours in terminal two.

This is terminal two at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (photo courtesy of St. Louis Lambert International Airport)

Lambert spokesman Jeff Lea says the airport has been coordinating the project with the TSA.

“We’ve gone from six to seven (lanes),” Lea says. “This was crucial because we’ve seen just an expansion of flights out of terminal two from Southwest and thus passenger growth.”

Lea notes the TSA conducted more than 2.8 million passenger screenings in 2017 in terminal two, a 5.5 percent increase. He says the new checkpoint expansion in that terminal will help accommodate that growth.

“And we’ve partnered with the TSA to really achieve an opportunity to reduce the waiting times and get a faster throughpoint for our passengers so they can make it to the secure side and get to their gates and onto their flights on time,” says Lea.

Terminal two mainly houses gates for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines. Lea says Southwest added new service from St. Louis to San Jose and Sacramento earlier this month.

Meantime, you’ll soon be able to fly nonstop from St. Louis to Iceland. Lea tells Missourinet the additional lane will also accommodate the new international service on WOW air between St. Louis and Iceland.

“The service begins four days a week but it begins May 17th and in June it will expand to five days a week, adding a Sunday flight,” Lea says.

Lea says he’s hearing “nothing but positive news” about ticket sales.

He says Lambert officials are currently working with WOW air to get terminal two set up for them to operate.

Lea says WOW air will take over counter space adjacent to the Southwest counters, and will operate from gate E-29.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and St. Louis Lambert International Airport spokesman Jeff Lea, which was recorded on April 18, 2018:

Munzlinger, Houghton hopeful Missouri working animal bill will pass (AUDIO)

April 18, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Compromise legislation that would prohibit Missouri cities and towns from banning the use of a working animal was heard Tuesday afternoon by a House committee in Jefferson City.

State Sen. Brian Munzlinger (R-Williamstown)

Missouri Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee Chairman Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, testifies efforts to ban carriage rides in St. Louis prompted this bill.

Munzlinger emphasizes he’s worked with all parties on the bill’s language.

“This bill does not take away local control and the ability of the cities to make rules about working animals on public streets, especially when it comes to the health and welfare of the animals or the citizens,” Munzlinger testifies.

Munzlinger’s bill defines “working animal” as the use of any animal for the purpose of performing a specific duty in entertainment, transportation or educational exhibits.

Munzlinger notes the bill creates a definition that lawmakers have never had before. Livestock animals are not included in the definition.

During his testimony, Munzlinger emphasized multiple times that his legislation to prohibit cities and towns from banning the use of working animals still protects local control.

“So if the city of St. Louis feels that they need to say there should not be any horse-drawn carriages out in rush-hour traffic, that’s okay, as long as the rules and regulations are not intended to ban the whole industry,” says Munzlinger.

Munzlinger testified before the Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee, which is chaired by veteran State Rep. Jay Houghton, R-Martinsburg.

Chairman Houghton hopes the compromise legislation will be approved by the end of session, which is May 18.

Houghton’s committee heard about 45 minutes of testimony Tuesday, including Missouri Farm Bureau’s testimony expressing concern with some of the bill’s language.

“The concerns that I’ve heard deals with a city or municipality imposing fees upon these folks that own working animals that could possibly keep them from doing business in a town,” Houghton says.

Munzlinger responded to Farm Bureau’s language concerns during the hearing, saying that the bill has been “out there” for four months.

Houghton tells Missourinet his policy is for the committee to hear a bill one week and vote on it the following week, indicating the committee will likely vote next week.

The Senate has already passed the bill, and Munzlinger and Houghton are both hopeful the House can pass the same version by the end of session.

Houghton admits time is a factor, with the session’s end one month away.

This is the eighth version of Munzlinger’s bill.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and House Ag Policy Committee Chairman Jay Houghton, R-Martinsburg, which was recorded on April 17, 2018 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Curls: farmers’ market bill will help Missouri agriculture and low-income seniors

April 16, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation that would establish a Missouri senior farmers’ market nutrition program is expected to head to the House floor in Jefferson City.

State Sen. Kiki Curls (D-Kansas City)

The House Agriculture Policy Committee voted last week to approve the bill, which is sponsored by State Sen. Kiki Curls, D-Kansas City.

“It will increase the availability of more nutritious food for our seniors, increase the profitability of our local farmers and help to strengthen our local economies,” Curls testified Tuesday.

Curls’ legislation would require the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) to apply for a federal grant to provide low-income seniors with vouchers that could be exchanged for eligible food at farmers’ markets and roadside stands.

A diverse coalition ranging from the Missouri Soybean Association to Empower Missouri testified for Curls’ bill last week.

The Missouri State Alliance of YMCAs and the American Heart Association also testified for it.

“Missouri is one of only seven states that do not participate in this worthwhile program,” Curls testifies. “All of Missouri’s neighboring states participate, putting Missouri farmers at a competitive disadvantage.”

Curls says investing in Missouri agriculture is always a great way to support economic development and to provide nutrition for low-income seniors.

The Missouri Senate has already approved Curls’ bill, which now heads to the House Rules Committee. It would then go to the House floor.

Senator Curls testifies that under the bill, a couple over the age of 60 with an annual household income less than or equal to $20,826 would be eligible.

The Silver Haired Legislature said in January that about 330,000 Missouri seniors would qualify for the legislation.

Beatty wants Missouri House to impeach Greitens; Governor’s lawyers want criminal case dismissed

April 13, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House Minority Leader says Democrats in her chamber won’t support a special session regarding the future of Governor Eric Greitens (R), until regular session options are exhausted.

Missouri House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty speaks to Capitol reporters on April 11, 2018 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight issued a 24-page report Wednesday in Jefferson City.

House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, told the Capitol Press Corps on Wednesday evening that the committee will be unable to make recommendations to the Legislature before the 2018 session ends on May 18.

“With the limited time left for the General Assembly to complete the work Missourians sent us to Jefferson City to do, Chairman (Jay) Barnes and members of the committee have work remaining,” Richardson said Wednesday.

The Speaker also said that he and Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, support a special session, regarding recommendations.

House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, is calling on the House to impeach Greitens “without delay.”

“During the five weeks remaining in the legislative session, the House must dedicate itself and its resources to pursuing the impeachment process to its conclusion. Aside from passing the state budget- the General Assembly’s only constitutionally required duty- all other matters can wait,” Beatty’s statement reads, in part.

Beatty’s announcement is significant, because it takes a three-fourths majority of both chambers to call themselves into a special session.

While Democrats are outnumbered 114-47, Republicans will need Democratic votes to get to the three-fourths mark.

It would take 123 votes of votes of the 163-member Missouri House and 26 in the 34-member State Senate to get three-fourths.

Meantime, lawyers for Governor Greitens are asking a St. Louis judge to dismiss the criminal case against their client.

A St. Louis grand jury has indicted Greitens on one felony count of invasion of privacy.

The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” was in the courtroom on Friday morning, and the newspaper reports St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison said he would not rule Friday or this weekend.

Greitens’ lawyers have accused St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, a former Democratic state lawmaker, of misconduct.

Greitens spoke to reporters in Jefferson City on Wednesday, describing the House committee’s report as “one-sided tabloid trash gossip.”

The governor notes the committee met behind closed doors, where his representatives and news reporters could not attend.

Beatty calls the governor’s comments Wednesday “an absolute disgrace”, and her Friday statement describes Greitens as “unfit to hold any position of public trust.”

Missouri House members are back home in their districts for an extended weekend. They’ll return to Jefferson City on Tuesday morning.

Both sides in Missouri right-to-work debate focus on jobs/wages (AUDIO)

April 13, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

A Democratic state lawmaker from St. Louis is urging Missourians to vote against a right-to-work referendum, saying right-to-work is “wrong for Missouri.”

The sponsor of the right-to-work bill, however, says it would increase union jobs in Missouri.

State Rep. Bruce Franks speaks on the Missouri House floor on May 24, 2017 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at Missouri House Communications}

State Rep. Bruce Franks Jr., D-St. Louis, who opposes right-to-work, notes his father was a longtime union member.

“Right-to-work states usually have more unsafe workplaces as well as lower wages,” Franks says.

Right-to-work says a person cannot be required to join or refrain from joining a labor organization, as a condition of employment.

Franks rallied against right-to-work in late March outside the Statehouse in Jefferson City, with a few thousand labor union members.

“Unions have fought to get us 40-hour workweeks and overtime and all of the benefits that we now benefit from in our workforce,” says Franks.

Missourians will cast ballots on a right-to-work referendum in November, unless the Legislature designates a different date for Proposition A.

State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, the right-to-work bill sponsor, has filed legislation to move the election to August 7.

During a recent interview with Missourinet, House Economic Development Committee Chair Rehder says she’s looked at right-to-work states.

“Those states are the ones increasing in jobs and those states have union membership increasing, while Missouri has had union membership decreasing every single year for the last, what, 30 years,” Rehder said.

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens (R) campaigned in 2016 for right-to-work, and signed Rehder’s bill into law in February 2017.

During the 2017 bill-signing ceremony, Greitens said that from 1995-2015, the five fastest states for job growth were all right-to-work states.

Union members and their supporters gathered enough signatures to place the referendum on the statewide ballot, so Rehder’s bill is essentially on-hold until the ballot measure.

As for Representative Franks, his large district includes downtown St. Louis, along with large sections of both the north and south sides.

“I got strong union folks throughout the 78th (House) district. My dad was a 20-year Teamster, Local 688,” Franks says.

Franks’ district includes Anheuser-Busch.

About 60 percent of Missourians rejected a right-to-work ballot measure in 1978.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Rep. Bruce Franks Jr., which was recorded outside the Statehouse in Jefferson City on March 28, 2018:

Missouri Senator McCaskill to tour Clinton-Peabody on Saturday

April 12, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

A key state senator has announced that Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill (D) will tour the Clinton-Peabody public housing complex in St. Louis on Saturday.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, has raised concerns about allegations of mice and roaches at the sprawling 358-unit complex, which is south of downtown. It’s at 14th and Chouteau.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed speaks at the Missouri Capitol on January 23, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Missouri Senate photographer Harrison Sweazea]

Nasheed has announced that McCaskill will meet Saturday at noon with senior management of McCormack Baron Management, Inc.

Senator Nasheed says she and State Rep. Bruce Franks Jr., D-St. Louis, will also tour the facility and will participate in the meeting.

The complex, which was built in 1942, has a new property manager.

Allegations of mice, roaches and backed up sewage have prompted Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) to launch an investigation into the conditions at Clinton-Peabody.

Hawley told Missourinet last week that he wants details about complaints that have been made.

“How many residents have complained over the relevant timeframe and what has the public housing authority done in response to those complaints,” Hawley said in that interview. “Has there been any real action taken?”

Hawley has issued a civil subpoena to the St. Louis Housing Authority to determine whether conditions at the complex are livable.

Senator McCaskill wrote a March 19th letter to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, asking HUD and him to implement a plan that offers “an effective and lasting solution to this complex’s infestation problem.”

She notes many of the residents at Clinton-Peabody are children and seniors.

Missourinet spoke Thursday afternoon to St. Louis Housing Authority Executive Director Cheryl Lovell, who reiterates that they’ve spent more than $250,000 on improvements at the complex since November.

Lovell says the St. Louis Health Department conducted an inspection in late March. She tells Missourinet there’s been a 75 percent reduction in units with mice, since December.

Lovell says an exterminator is at the complex weekly, adding that they’re working closely with the health department.

Missouri House leaders Richardson and Beatty react to Greitens report

April 12, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House Speaker is praising the bipartisan seven-member House committee that’s investigating Governor Eric Greitens’ indictment. The House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight issued a 24-page report late Wednesday afternoon in Jefferson City.

Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson (at podium) briefs the Capitol Press Corps on April 11, 2018 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

All seven members of the committee, five Republicans and two Democrats, signed the report.

Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, tells the Capitol Press Corps the committee’s job was not to make their own conclusions, but to hear testimony and judge the credibility of witnesses.

“Let me be very clear about this: this is not a witch hunt, and the committee had no political agenda,” Richardson says.

Speaker Richardson says the committee “repeatedly” gave Greitens an opportunity to testify, adding that the invitation remains open.

“The committee’s task, and its only task, was to conduct the fairest, the most thorough and timely investigation possible,” says Richardson.

The Speaker says the committee will be unable to make recommendations to the Legislature before the 2018 session ends on May 18.

“With the limited time left for the General Assembly to complete the work Missourians sent us to Jefferson City to do, Chairman (Jay) Barnes and the members of the committee have work remaining,” Richardson says.

Richardson says he and Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, support a special session, regarding recommendations.

It would take a three-fourths majority of both the Missouri House and Senate to call themselves into a special session.

Richardson says the testimony “outlined in the report is beyond disturbing.”

As for Greitens, he held a Wednesday afternoon press conference in Jefferson City, describing the report as “one-sided tabloid trash gossip.”

Greitens notes the committee held its meetings behind closed doors, where his representatives and the news media could not attend.

Missouri House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty (at podium) briefs Capitol reporters on April 11, 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, is blasting the comments Greitens made to the Capitol Press Corps.

She calls the governor’s comments “an absolute disgrace.”

“After taking a little time to process the initial committee report and then listening to the governor’s comments, it is clear to me that this governor must resign and if he fails to do so, I believe we should begin impeachment proceedings,” says Beatty.

Speaker Richardson says the report does not pass judgment on Greitens’ guilt or innocence in the St. Louis case, adding that’s for the courts and a jury to decide.

A St. Louis City grand jury has indicted Greitens for one felony count of invasion of privacy, and his jury trial is scheduled to begin on May 14th in downtown St. Louis.

Greitens’ lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Edward Dowd, has said that the release of any report before the May trial date in St. Louis would impact Greitens’ ability to obtain a fair trial.

The committee was appointed in late February.

Missouri Senate Ag Committee Chair optimistic about industrial hemp bill (AUDIO)

April 11, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee voted Tuesday in Jefferson City to approve legislation that would create an industrial hemp pilot program in Missouri.

State Sen. Brian Munzlinger (R-Williamstown)

The bipartisan vote was 11-2.

Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee Chairman Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, the bill sponsor, tells Missourinet he’s optimistic it will pass.

“I think it would be a new agricultural product that Missouri can raise and one that they used to raise here in Missouri, you know, to help the war effort,” Munzlinger says.

He’s referring to World War II.

Both chambers have already approved industrial hemp bills, but only the House version contained language that the Missouri Highway Patrol “may perform aerial surveillance” to ensure that marijuana plants are not being cultivated near industrial hemp.

The House Ag Policy Committee, chaired by State Rep. Jay Houghton, R-Martinsburg, approved an amendment adding that provision on Tuesday, a provision that Munzlinger supports.

Munzlinger’s bill now heads to the House Rules Committee, before heading to the House floor.

Munzlinger says State Rep. Paul Curtman’s industrial hemp bill should be ready to go to the Missouri Senate floor soon.

Proponents and opponents of the legislation testified on Tuesday.

A southern Missouri food/health company called “Beyond Organics” supports the bill.

Lobbyist Brian Grace tells lawmakers that Chairman Munzlinger’s bill allows Missouri to capitalize on the ag component of hemp.

“I can go down the street right now to a grocery store and I can buy granola bars or protein powders or lotions that contain hemp,” Grace testifies. “None of that hemp is being grown in Missouri so Missouri farmers are missing out on that profit.”

While Grace testifies the bill is not a “steppingstone to legalizing marijuana,” retired Missouri state trooper Ed Moses tells the committee there have been shootings and “other criminal behavior” in Kentucky hemp fields.

Munzlinger’s bill would allow those licensed by the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) to grow, cultivate and market industrial hemp.

He tells State Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Kirkwood, that applicants would undergo a fingerprint criminal history background check, under the bill.

“With marijuana out there and other things, I don’t know,” Munzlinger tells Lavender.

“Yeah, and I’m ok for the checking and perhaps paying a fee to be able to grow it,” Lavender responds.

Representative Lavender says she’s still disappointed that background checks are required to grow what she calls an ag product.

Under Munzlinger’s bill, permits could not be issued to anyone found guilty of any state or federal felony offense involving a controlled substance in the past five years.

Curtman, R-Pacific, the House sponsor of industrial hemp, says the legislation aims to “keep Missouri economic development dollars in Missouri.”

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri Senate Ag Committee Chairman Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, which was recorded on April 10, 2018 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Missouri lawmakers to release Greitens report Wednesday; Richardson and Beatty plan press conferences

April 11, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The bipartisan Missouri House committee investigating Governor Eric Greitens’ indictment plans to release its report Wednesday at 5 p.m.

State Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, (left) and House Speaker Todd Richardson brief the Capitol Press Corps on February 26, 2018 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House officials issued a release on Tuesday evening, saying that the House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight’s findings will be posted on the House website at that time.

House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, Republican House leaders and members of the committee have called a press conference for Wednesday evening at 6, in the House chamber’s gallery in Jefferson City.

House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, and House Democratic leaders will hold their own press conference, after Richardson is finished.

A St. Louis City grand jury has indicted Greitens for one felony count of invasion of privacy, and his jury trial is scheduled for May 14 in downtown St. Louis.

Greitens’ lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Ed Dowd, has said that the release of any report before the May trial date in St. Louis will impact Greitens’ ability to obtain a fair trial.

When he was appointed in late February, House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight Chairman Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, told the Capitol Press Corps that the committee would focus “on the underlying facts of the indictment and the circumstances surrounding them.”