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Committee to try again for license fee office award details

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Representative Sue Allen (R-Town and Country)

A House Committee didn’t get the answers it wanted about how the state’s license offices are awarded, and it’s chairman isn’t happy about it.

Representative Sue Allen (R-Town and Country) says her committee asked the Department of Revenue to explain how it awards contracts for the 183 license offices in the state. She says the Department’s legislative director, Jay Atkins, who came to its hearing, wasn’t prepared to answer its questions.

“He was there to read a prepared statement. That’s not a hearing and that’s not the way I think we as legislators are able to exercise oversight.”

In a letter to the Department, Allen says she thinks it was trying to impede her committee’s work. She requested, and the department has accepted, that several of its staff members be at a hearing November 8.

Allen says at this point the committee simply wants to understand the point system that’s in place. “It wasn’t to mess anybody up. It was just to understand where there is subjectivity. Explain it and say it.”

For many years the state’s license offices were awarded by Governors, generally to political allies. A competitive bidding process has been phased in beginning with the administration of Governor Matt Blunt (R) and continuing with current Governor Jay Nixon (D). Allen says it’s time to see if that process has truly gotten away from the old practices.

“For a long time they were patronage, and if that’s what it is, fine. That’s what it is. But, if you’re saying it is more than patronage and that there’s a new process, then let’s clarify the process so it’s transparent.”

Former Blunt Administration attorney testifies on Sunshine Law

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Scott Eckersley talks to a reporter after testifying before a House committee

Scott Eckersley talks to a reporter after testifying before a House committee

A former attorney with the Blunt Administration who was fired for questioning whether the administration’s e-mail policy violated the state Sunshine Law returned to the Capitol, to testify in favor of a bill which would strengthen the law.

Lawyer Scott Eckersley says he returned to the Capitol to encourage lawmakers to strengthen the state Sunshine Law.

“I think just going through what I went through where this was really one of the essential issues in the lawsuit has given it a pretty soft place in my heart, I suppose,” Eckersley said in an interview after testifying before the House Standing Committee on General Laws.

Eckersley was fired as deputy general counsel to Governor Blunt in September of 2007. The governor’s office cited poor job performance. Eckersley claimed it was because he considered the administration’s routine deletion of e-mails a violation of Sunshine Law, which he says is important to the average Missourian.

“You start reading it, you start yawning,” Eckersley said. “But when you start looking at it as a law that really provides folks ownership in their own government, that’s kind of the way I see it.”

Eckersley settled a lawsuit against Blunt and his top aides for half a million dollars after a protracted legal battle, which he says didn’t sour him on state government.

“I think you go through something like I went through and had the ending not been victorious for me, in clearing my name and promoting principles that I thought were important, it might have soured me. This didn’t sour me,” Eckersley said.

The legal battles cost the taxpayers about $2 million and cast a shadow over the final months of the Blunt Administration. The governor and his aides never admitted any wrongdoing in the incident.

Eckersley testified in favor of HB 1444/1445 sponsored by Rep. Tim Jones (R-Eureka). Jones succeeded in getting the modifications to the Sunshine Law through the House last year and into a Senate committee, but it failed to pass the Senate. Eckersley said he primarily favors the increased penalties in the bill and hopes it will also strengthen protections for whistle-blowers, like him.

Eckersley left the state after leaving the Blunt Administration, going to California where he earned a MBA from the University of Southern California. He says he must complete some continuing legal education courses to be certified for the Missouri Bar. He has returned to Springfield and stated that he is in a period of transition.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [1:20]

AUDIO: Scott Eckersley testifies before a House committee on Sunshine Law [2:30]

Letter ends long-running Blunt Administration dispute

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A letter written by Attorney General Chris Koster ends a long-running dispute between the administration of former Governor Matt Blunt and one of his top attorneys. Koster has signed a letter clearing former Blunt Administration attorney Scott Eckersley of any wrongdoing. Eckersley’s defamation of character suit against Blunt and some of his former staff members was dismissed in May. Eckersley received a $500,000 settlement from the state.

Eckersley filed suit against the administration in 2008, claiming the administration wrongly fired him and maligned his character after he warned it that the governor’s e-mail policy violated the state Sunshine Law.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Koster withheld the letter from Eckersley until Eckersley promised to pay $200,000 to his attorneys, part of the Strong, Garner and Bauer law firm of Springfield. The law firm is closely tied to the Democratic Party. Koster is a Democrat. Koster’s office, though, denies his actions had anything to do with political considerations. The office says Koster merely wanted to make sure that the state wasn’t on the hook for any more legal fees.

Former Governor Hearnes praised during state funeral

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State funeral services for former Gov. Warren Hearnes have concluded at the Capitol, with Gov. Nixon praising Hearnes as a governor who provided a steady hand during the stormy times of the 1960s. Hearnes served as Missouri governor from 1965 to 1973. He was the first to serve consecutive terms as governor after the state constitution was changed to allow it.

flaghearnes.jpg Nixon stated that it was his honor to help commemorate the life and leadership of Missouri’s 46th governor. Nixon noted that Hearnes accomplished much during his time as governor, but also in her personal life, such as marrying his childhood sweetheart Betty. The two were married more than 60 years.

Nixon stated that though many years have passed since Hearnes served as governor, his legacy of compassion, action and enlightened leadership continues and endures.

The casket was closed, covered by a state flag Hearnes took with him to Charleston. He had told his wife, Betty, that he wanted that flag to drape over his coffin.

The state funeral attracted former Governors Blunt, Holden, Wilson and Ashcroft. Former Senator Jean Carnahan represented her late husband, Mel Carnahan.

Hearnes was a member of the Missouri House, where he became the Majority Floor Leader. He was elected Secretary of State prior to winning election as governor. His public service spanned almost 70 years.

After the service, the hearse carrying the former governor circled to the north side of the Capitol for military honors, including a 19-gun salute and helicopter flyover. Hearnes will be returned to Charleston, in southeast Missouri, for a visitation tomorrow evening at the First Baptist Church. His funeral will be held Friday morning at the church.

State funerals at the Capitol are rare. The first was held in April, 1918 for former Governor William Joel Stone who was governor 1893-97 and died while serving his third term in the U. S. Senate. The most recent was for Governor Mel Carnahan, held outdoors in October, 2000.

Download/listen Gov. Nixon eulogizes former Gov. Hearnes (12:30 MP3)

Settlement reached in Blunt e-mail case

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The lawsuit filed against former Governor Matt Blunt and five members of his staff over the termination of lawyer Scott Eckersley has been settled.

The official announcement from the Attorney General’s Office states the suit has been settled for $500,000 – with the various parties maintaining their positions. The AGs Office says more than $1.3-million has been paid to defense attorneys from the State Legal Expense Fund, and it was felt continuing the litigation would likely mean additional significant expenses to Missouri taxpayers.

Earlier, a source who declined to be named told the Missourinet about the settlement, complete with the dollar amount of the settlement.

The lawsuit was filed by Eckersley in January of 2008, when the lawyer claimed he was fired as retaliation against his raising concerns the administration’s handling of e-mails might have violated the state’s Sunshine Law.

Expert calls Blunt e-mail report "a frustrating read"

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A national expert on governmental openness says the investigation into the Blunt Administration’s handling of electronic correspondence is as frustrating as it is informative.

National Freedom of Information Coalition Executive Director Charles Davis has been poring over the 46-page report on the investigation of how the Blunt Administration handled e-mail correspondence.

He calls it "a frustrating read".

Davis says the document shows that clearly there were violations of both the state record retention law and the Sunshine Law, the open records law. It’s frustrating, according to Davis, because nothing can be done about it.

The report, according to Davis, demonstrates clearly that the actions of Blunt’s office were completely insufficient to comply with the law. He says it is clear that hundreds of e-mails subject to the Sunshine Law were not released to reporters who made requests of the office. They would not have been released if it weren’t for the investigation says Davis.

Davis, an assistant professor at the Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, says he gets the sense that the Blunt Administration considered the Sunshine Law a hassle, something to be deal with like the flu or the common cold. Davis suggests that state lawmakers consider the contents of the report, because it discloses weaknesses in state law that should be addressed. Ultimately, Davis hopes the investigation leads to better compliance with the Sunshine Law overall in state government.

The report was filed by special investigators Mel Fisher and Rick Wilhoit, appointed by former Attorney General Jay Nixon to investigate how the Blunt Administration handled e-mails. Nixon says he appointed the two to conduct an independent investigation after receiving complaints that the governor’s office failed to comply with the Sunshine Law. The investigation began when it appeared Nixon would challenge Matt Blunt’s re-election bid. Blunt, though, announced he would not seek re-election. Still, charges that the investigation was politically motivated never ceased. 

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (1:15 MP3)

Investigation into Gov. Blunt e-mail policy concludes

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An investigation into whether the Blunt Administration violated the state record retention and open records law ends with a whimper, not a bang, in Cole County Circuit Court.

Special investigators Mel Fisher and Richard Wilhoit have filed a 46-page report that contains eight findings as well as eight unresolved issues. The attorneys for former Governor Blunt have filed a 22-page response that rejects the conclusions of the investigation and claims the issue could have been resolved quickly if the scope of the investigation had been narrowed.

The crux of the case will never be resolved. The report filed by Fisher and Wilhoit admits that "The role of Governor Matt Blunt in the development and application of the Office of Governor’s policies and practices regarding the Sunshine Law and record retention is unknown, because Governor Blunt could not be deposed or interviewed during the course of the investigation."

Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan quashed a motion by Special Assistant Attorneys General Louis Leonatti and Joe Maxwell to depose Blunt. Fisher then sent a letter to Blunt, asking to meet with the governor "to discuss our findings". Blunt did not respond.

The investigation began after then-Attorney General Jay Nixon received complaints that the governor’s office had violated the state Sunshine Law in how it handle e-mail correspondence. Nixon appointed Fisher and Wilhoit to investigate. Lawyers for Governor Blunt, objected and, eventually Judge Callahan ruled that neither Fisher nor Wilhoit had authorization for the investigation, because the Attorney General’s office had not extended the proper authorization to a special assistant attorney general. Callahan himself appointed Leonatti, a Republican, and Maxwell, a Democrat and former Lt. Governor, as special assistant attorneys general. Current Attorney General Chris Koster authorized the team to continue its investigation when it lapsed over from one administration to the next.

The investigation concludes that it is unable to determine the extent of Governor Blunt’s involvement in how his office decided to handle electronic communication, because he refused requests for interviews.

"What has also not been determined is why Governor Blunt left office with no public accounting, or explanation to the public, of his administration’s failure to comply with these two laws (The records retention and the open records laws)," the report states.

The report did find that the Office of Governor had insufficient policies "to ensure proper compliance with the Sunshine Law and the record retention statutes." The inadequacy of the policies and practices limited its ability to comply with Sunshine Law requests made by various media outlets for e-mail correspondence.

An effort to discover whether the governor’s office purposely sought to destroy back-up tapes of e-mails failed to reach a conclusion. The report states, "Insufficient evidence was present to either prove or disprove the allegation that there was any endeavor by any individual or group of individuals to overwrite data contained on backup tapes in the possession of the Office of Administration."

Unresolved issues, according to the report, remain. The primary concern of the report is whether the Attorney General has authority to conduct a thorough investigation into whether a governor’s office has violated the records retention and open records laws.

A response filed by Governor Blunt’s attorneys rejects much of the report.  It states, "The findings and conclusions the report reaches, other than those specifically noted above, are rooted in no small part on legal assumptions and conclusions that are at odds with the text of the statutes on which they rely and unsupported by any caselaw. The report also contains flawed factual assumptions and conclusions."

Blunt’s legal team contend the governor’s office fully complied with state law and rejects the report’s conclusion that its policies were insufficient to comply with state law. The response notes that the court cleared Governor Blunt of any personal liability in the case. It also states that the claims against the governor’s staff were unsubstantiated, "More importantly, there was never any evidence that anyone, much less Gov. Blunt, committed any purposeful violation of the Sunshine law."

The response concludes that case could have been settled quickly if the scope of the requests for e-mails had been narrowed. It claims taxpayer money was wasted in the litigation.

With the investigation and response submitted to the court, Special Assistant Attorney General Louis Leonatti  filed a request to the court to dismiss the case.

Some MoHELA projects once suspended back on track

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Many college capital improvement projects put on hold have been given the go ahead by the Nixon Administration to move forward.

Five public universities were told by the Nixon Administration that planned capital improvements on their campuses had to be put on hold. Now, the governor’s office has given the green light to several of them.

"We would love to be able to say that we have the money in the MoHELA fund to complete projects. But unfortunately that’s not the case," says Scott Holste, a spokesman for the governor.

The Nixon Administration has completed a review of the MoHELA projects, formally known as the Lewis and Clark Initiative. Money from the sale of MoHELA assets has fallen more than $107 million short of expectations. Projects at Missouri State University in Springfield, the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg and Truman State University in Kirksville that had been suspended will now resume.

Other projects, most notably the proposed $31 million expansion of the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus, remain suspended.

Governor Nixon, as Attorney General, vocally opposed former Governor Blunt’s MoHELA program. Nixon stated the program diverted money away from MoHELA’s primary mission, providing low-interest student loans, and was based on uncertain funding. Still, as governor, Nixon is committed to seeing the Lewis and Clark Initiative projects through, according to Holste.

"But, the fact of the matter is, the previous administration had committed and proposed spending funds that just do not exist," says Holste.

 

Below is the news release from the governor’s office outlining the projects affected.

 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon announced today that his administration’s review of the MOHELA project list is complete. The review was needed because MOHELA has failed to make its payments to the state. The remaining balance on the MOHELA list proposed by the previous administration is $107,109,486 more than is currently in the MOHELA fund.

The projects which will be funded right away and the remaining balance on those projects are:

· Harris – Stowe State University – Child & Parent Education Center $9,252,803

· Linn State Technical College – Heavy Equipment Technology Building $4,393,526

· Lincoln University – Jason Hall $983,406

· Missouri Southern State University – Health Sciences Building $14,301,775

· Missouri State University – Jordon Valley Incubator $2,686,579

· Missouri Western State University – Agenstein Science & Math Halls, $25,112,770

· Northwest Missouri State University – Plant Biologics Center, $12,896,195

· Missouri University of Science & Technology – Engineering Building $1,138,249

· University of Missouri-Kansas City – Dental Equipment $249,075

· University of Missouri-Kansas City – Pharmacy and Nursing Building $9,487,485

· Community College Maintenance & Repair $790,171

· Missouri State University – Siceluff Hall $7,170,597

· University of Central Missouri – Morrow & Garrison Building $12,081,895

· Southeast Missouri State University – Autism Center $2,427,856

· University of Missouri-Hundley-Whaley Center $184,721

· University of Missouri – South Farms $2,395,651

· University of Missouri-Plant Science Building, Mexico (partial funding) $2,500,000

· Truman State University – Pershing Hall (partial funding) $10,000,000

The fund currently has a balance of $118,319,642 and is estimated to have a balance of $266,888 after the above projects are completed.

The projects that will be suspended until MOHELA makes additional payments or additional funding sources can be identified include:

· Southeast Missouri State University-Incubator · University of Missouri-St. Louis -Benton & Stadler Halls

 

· University of Missouri – Delta Research Center

· University of Missouri – Southwest Education & Outreach Center

· University of Missouri – Graves-Chapple Facility

· University of Missouri – Horticulture & Agroforestry Center

· University of Missouri – Wurdack Farm

· University of Missouri – Thompson Farm

· University of Missouri – Greenley Learning & Discovery Park

· University of Missouri – McCredie, Midwest Clayplan

· University of Missouri-Columbia- Ellis Fischel · Missouri State University – FREUP Phase 1

Download/listen Brent Martin interviews Scott Holste (10 min. MP3)

Nixon defends suspension of MoHELA projects

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Governor Nixon has defended his decision to cut off funding for capital improvement projects planned by five universities.

Nixon made the defense during a news conference in Columbia, which took a big hit with the suspension of a $31 million expansion of the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. The Office of Administration outlined a total of 13 projects within the University of Missouri system that have been suspended and are under review. Projects have also been suspended at Missouri State University in Springfield, The University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau and Truman State University in Kirksville.

Nixon told reporters that the projects were suspended, because the sale of Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MoHELA) assets hasn’t generated the money expected. Nixon said the money simply isn’t there to go through with the projects at this time. He said his administration attempted to target projects that weren’t under construction or, at least, were not that far along.

The decision caught state lawmakers off guard. Legislators with projects in their district were hand-delivered letters detailing the decision Wednesday morning.

It was well-known that Nixon didn’t favor the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative devised by former Governor Matt Blunt. The initiative relied on money generated by the sale of MoHELA assets. Nixon claimed the program hampered the ability of MoHELA to fulfill its primary role: providing low-interest loans to college students.

The letters sent to the five institutions warn them not to proceed with the capital improvement projects unless they receive written authorization to do so.

(Matt LaCasse of KFRU provided the audio from the Columbia news conference.)

Download/listen Gov Nixon defends MoHELA project suspension (:30 MP3)

Nixon Administration puts brakes on MoHELA projects

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Five public universities have been told by the Nixon Administration that planned capital improvements on their campuses likely will be scuttled.

Letters were sent by Commissioner of Administration, Kelvin Simmons, to the University of Missouri-Columbia, Missouri State University in Springfield, The University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau and Truman State University in Kirksville. Each letter informs the various campuses that expected funding from the sale of Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MoHELA) assets might not be forthcoming.  The letters state that MoHELA has not been able to make its scheduled payments into the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative Fund, through which the capital improvements were to be paid.

The Office of Administration sent the letters via overnight mail and hand-delivered copies to state representatives and senators with affected campuses in their districts.

Sen. David Pearce (R-Warrensburg) received a letter at mid-morning. He says the action comes as a surprise.

"This is the same governor that last Thursday said, ‘I won’t cut higher education. I won’t do any withholds.’ And yet, to me, this is a real disservice to higher education across the state," Pearce tells the Missourinet.

Pearce says the action will have a drastic impact on the University of Central Missouri, putting the skids on a project that now totals $20 million. Pearce says UCM was to receive $10 million in Lewis and had raised $2 million in private funding. Also, the university students had approved a fee increase to raise another $8 million to renovate the Morrow and Garrison buildings, turning the aging buildings into a health science center. Pearce says the project is well underway and that the buildings have already been gutted.

A letter sent to University of Missouri Vice President of Finance and Administration, Nikki Krawitz, informs Krawitz that a $31 million appropriation for the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia has been suspended indefinitely. Simmons writes that the project, and others, "will not be reinstated to active consideration unless and until you receive further written notice from my office."

Similar wording is used for separate letters to officials at the other campuses. The letters also warn the campuses that no expenditures will be reimbursed unless authorized in writing by the Office of Administration.

The Lewis and Clark Initiative was a pet project of former Governor Matt Blunt. Governor Nixon has been a harsh critic of the program from the beginning. He attempted to stop the sale of MoHELA assets as Attorney General and claimed Blunt was diverting MoHELA assets from their intended purpose:  financing low-interest college loans. Throughout the gubernatorial campaign, Nixon avoided directly answering what he would do with the MoHELA projects authorized during the Blunt Administration.