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Parson signs plan expanding absentee voting during the coronavirus outbreak

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Gov. Mike Parson has signed into law a bill expanding mail-in voting during this year’s August and November elections only. Under Senate Bill 631, an absentee ballot will only be allowed for voters who request one.

Governor Mike Parson (file photo courtesy of Governor Parson’s office)

Voters who have contracted or are at-risk of getting COVID-19 can cast an absentee ballot without notarization. All other voters can mail in their ballot without an excuse, but they must submit a notarized statement saying they are who they say they are.

“Any Missourian affected by COVID-19 should still be able to vote, including those who are sick or considered at-risk,” Parson says in a written statement. “I applaud Senator Dan Hegeman, Representative Dan Shaul, and the rest of the legislature for taking this important step, which provides Missourians with a safe and secure way to vote while still safeguarding our elections and ballot process.”

Other provisions of the legislation include modifications to the following:
• Investigative powers for the Secretary of State
• Candidate filing fees
• Political activities by state employees
• Financial interest statements
• Secretary of State’s Technology Trust Fund
Ballots must be returned and received in an envelope postmarked by U.S. Mail by 7 p.m. on election day.

The Missouri House of Representatives gave final approval to the legislation with less than one hour to go on the final day of this year’s regular session.

To view SB 631, click here.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Missouri Legislature sends “Clean Missouri” redistricting changes back to the ballot in November

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The Missouri Legislature has passed today a controversial resolution that would ask voters this November to overturn Clean Missouri’s redistricting process passed by voters in 2018. The plan would let a bipartisan commission redraw legislative districts, instead of a nonpartisan demographer. It would also ban lobbyist gifts, instead of Clean Missouri’s $5 limit, and put a $2,000 cap on Senate candidate political donations, instead of the current $2,500.

Rep. Dean Plocher (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications)

During Missouri House debate today, bill handler Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, says Clean Missouri prioritized the interests of billionaires in New York and Texas.

“It was all out of state money that funded Amendment One. Why? Where was the Missouri money? This is Missourians we’re voting on here. Our communities matter,” says Plocher.

Some Democrats say the proposed constitutional amendment could leave out certain segments of the population, including minors and noncitizens. Representative Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, says the measure would let politicians get back to manipulating the boundaries of their districts.

“I dare you to look at a map where one district wraps around another district, where one member of our body has to drive through three other people’s districts to get to his polling place from his house. I dare you to say that those are not gerrymandered maps,” says Merideth.

Rep. Phil Christofanelli (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications)

Represenative Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters, fired back.

“Which judge gerrymandered the maps?” asks Christofanelli.

“I don’t know, gentleman. But I can tell you they are gerrymandered,” replies Merideth.

“That’s right you don’t know because you made it up,” says Christofanelli. “The Democrats made this up and they have been lying about this from the beginning.”

“Gerrymandering doesn’t exist, gentleman? That’s a powerful statement,” says Merideth.

“The maps have not been gerrymandered. It was a scam,” says Christofanelli.

Rep. Peter Merideth (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications)

Earlier this week, Missouri House Rules Committee Chairman Rocky Miller, R- Lake Ozark, voted in favor of the resolution but made his own prediction.

“This is going to go down in flames if it makes it to the ballot. Flames. This will not pass at all,” said Miller. This will be as bad as right-to-work. This will be three strikes in a row against the GOP. So, if they want three strikes in a row – pass this. We’ll see how it goes.”

In 2017, the Missouri Legislature passed a right-to-work law, which would ban mandatory union fees in the workplace. The next year, Missouri voters overwhelmingly shot down the law.

Miller also said the Missouri GOP Party told him the proposal has errors that need correcting, but he did not elaborate.

Fourteen House Republicans voted with Democrats against the proposal.

The measure is Senate Joint Resolution 38.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Senior GOP lawmaker on redistricting plan: “This will go down in flames if it makes it to the ballot”

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The Missouri House Rules Committee has voted 6-3 in favor of a resolution that would repeal 2018 legislative redistricting changes. The plan, headed to the full House, opposes Clean Missouri’s efforts to change how legislative district maps are drawn.

Rep. Rocky Miller (R-Lake Ozark)

Many Democrats say Clean Missouri’s efforts will make legislative races more competitive and many Republicans says it will work in favor of Democrats.

Committee chairman Rocky Miller, a Republican from central Missouri’s Lake Ozark, voted in favor of the resolution intended to reverse the Clean Missouri measure.

“This is going to go down in flames if it makes it to the ballot. Flames. This will not pass at all,” said Miller. This will be as bad as right-to-work. This will be three strikes in a row against the GOP. So, if they want three strikes in a row – pass this. We’ll see how it goes.”

In 2017, the Missouri Legislature passed a right-to-work law, which would ban mandatory union fees in the workplace. The next year, Missouri voters overwhelmingly shot down the law.

He said the Missouri GOP Party told him the proposal has errors that need corrected. Miller, who is in his 8th and final year in House due to term limits, did not elaborate.

“That would then require it to go back over to the Senate, which I think at this late hour may be a death sentence,” said Miller. “So, I would hope that if people feel strongly on this bill, that they would either not allow it to come forward or come forward as is.”

The Senate has already passed the plan, but Democrats would likely use their filibuster power to stall a vote. The Legislature’s regular session ends Friday.

During Monday’s vote, Democrat Sarah Unsicker of Shrewsbury pointed out a contentious piece of the plan that would use eligible voters instead of total population – leaving out some voices.

“I believe that’s intended to count only citizens,” she said. “But I’m not sure what data would be used to count citizens as opposed to immigrants.”

In an earlier hearing, bill sponsor, State Senator Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, said he’s concerned Clean Missouri’s redistricting process would hurt communities.

“My biggest concern is that we will break up those voices and then Gladstone may be represented by three people and therefore represented by nobody,” said Hegeman.

Hegeman said Clean Missouri would lead to “greater gerrymandering” and he calls it a “partisan train wreck”.

Hegeman’s resolution would let a bipartisan commission redraw legislative districts, instead of a nonpartisan demographer. It would also ban lobbyist gifts, instead of Clean Missouri’s $5 limit, and put a $2,000 cap on Senate candidate political donations, instead of the current $2,500.

The measure is Senate Joint Resolution 38.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

What you need to know about the revised Missouri budget proposal

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The Missouri Legislature will have a big job now that lawmakers are back to work – dealing with a projected state budget shortfall of about $700 million. Members have been on break for about one month due to the coronavirus threatening the state.

The Missouri House and Senate convene on January 9, 2019 for a joint session to commemorate the 100th General Assembly (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Missouri House of Representatives is considering a revised state budget for the fiscal year beginning in July. The $34.9 billion budget outline is about a $4.5 billion increase over Gov. Mike Parson’s original fiscal plan released in January. It includes $10 billion in state general revenue, $14.5 billion in federal funding and $10.3 billion in other funds.

The blueprint includes two major differences from what Gov. Parson recommended in January. The latest version no longer includes a 2% pay raise that Parson recommended for most state workers and MoHealthnet is planning to use a savings plan in which the state moves to an outpatient fee schedule that is tied to Medicare. According to Chris Dunn with Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith’s office, upwards of $90 million would be saved in hospital and managed care reimbursements.

The revised budget plan includes about $10.4 billion to the Missouri Department of Social Services. Most of the Social Services budget goes to Medicaid costs.

About $3.5 billion in base funding would go to Missouri’s K-12 public schools – the same amount as in the current year’s budget. As for school bus transportation, $100 million is being proposed – a reduction of about $7 million compared to the current budget year.

Missouri Senate

About $1.5 billion would go to the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development – a roughly $200 million increase over the current year. The figure includes both the general revenue cuts that Representative Smith proposed and an increase of federal authority should federal funds be made available to support the state’s two-year and four-year colleges and universities. Under the plan, they would get a 10% reduction in funding compared to the current year.

The Department of Corrections budget proposal would be about $805 million – a $24 million increase over the current year. About $38.5 million would go to reimbursing county jails for transporting inmates and holding offenders who end up going to state prison – the same amount as the current year’s budget.

The Missouri Department of Transportation would get about $3 billion, compared to $2.93 billion in the current year’s budget.

Under the House plan, there would be some shuffling of the size of the state’s workforce. Missouri would have 53,935 state workers, a net increase of three full-time equivalent state employees.

Full-time equivalent, or FTE, refers to the number of hours worked by a single employee in a week. FTE is used to convert the hours worked by part-time employees into those worked by full-time staff.

The largest staff increase is 197.5 FTEs the governor requested to be added in the Department of Public Safety to help with the pandemic. The largest reduction would be 128 FTE workers in the Department of Corrections. As the offender population has declined, the agency plans to consolidate certain housing units so that some housing units can be closed. This is allowing the department to reduce vacant FTE positions.

The Missouri House is debating the budget bills and final approval is expected today. Then the Missouri Senate will go from there. Senate President Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, says the Senate Appropriations Committee is planning to take up the budget on Saturday and work through the weekend.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Missouri Senate gets back to work today

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The Missouri Senate plans to get back to business today. Senators have been on break for more than three weeks, as the number of coronavirus cases started picking up statewide. Senate President Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, says the upper chamber will consider the governor’s request for additional spending, often called a supplemental spending bill.

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) speaks to Capitol reporters on February 21, 2019 (photo courtesy of Senate Communications)

“We’ve got to find a way – it doesn’t probably get any easier at this point – but ultimately finding a way to get the supplemental passed and find a way to get potentially the budget work done. It’s still in our optimistic view that we’re going to be able to get that accomplished,” he says.”

Schatz says the Senate also plans to consider an annual hospital tax proposal, known as the Federal Reimbursement Allowance.

“It’s obviously critical funding,” he says. “I think it’s a couple hundred million dollars of funding. And so it’s a substantial amount of money that obviously in this environment they’re in – rural hospitals are going to be challenged because elective surgeries, their income stream obviously has been turned off. Like most other businesses as well, they’re facing the same challenges everybody else is in being able to fund and make payroll because their income stream being basically shut down. We’re going to have to make sure that we do the right thing when it comes to finding ways to make sure we don’t put any barriers in place and keeping our rural hospitals open.”

For safety reasons, Schatz says Senators’ offices will be closed to the public, there could be a slower roll call during votes and temperature checks at entrances.

“This is kind of a test run for us to see the process in which you know we put some protocols in place to make sure that we only have essential staff and legislators there in order to try to keep as much of the public. Obviously, there’s going to be access but you know limited access for the public and the press to come in,” says Schatz.

As for the Missouri House, it plans to gavel in Wednesday at 1.

During Monday’s daily press briefing, Gov. Mike Parson signaled plans to call a special session to get a state budget passed for the fiscal year that begins in July. Parson has said that his original budget proposal – about $30.5 billion – will have to be tweaked because of the hit the state is taking from the coronavirus.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

See letter to Missouri House members about colleague testing positive for COVID-19

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Representative Joe Runions, D-Kansas City, has tested positive for COVID-19. Here’s the letter House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, sent to members today regarding Runions’ case.

Dear Members,

We need to share with you important new developments concerning a confirmed case of the coronavirus within the Capitol. We were informed today that Rep. Joe Runions has tested positive for COVID-19.

At this time we are still gathering details, but we can share with you that Rep. Runions acted responsibly when he began to develop symptoms and made the appropriate decision not to come to the building this week. His last day in the building was Thursday, March 12, and while he did not exhibit symptoms at that time, he and his doctors believe he could have been a carrier during that time period. At this time, we are working diligently to trace his activities while he was in the building so that we can identify individuals he was in contact with and possibly could have exposed.

As we learn more details, it is vital that if you are exhibiting any symptoms of the coronavirus at this time, that you do not wait and immediately contact your health care provider for medical advice. While at this time we do not consider this case to be an outbreak within the Capitol, we are strongly urging all members and staff to avoid the building for the next 10 days. At this time we recommend you continue to follow all the CDC instructions on staying away from large bodies and closely monitor your health. Please do not hesitate to let a member of leadership know if you are being tested.

We will continue to update you as we know more or have more instructions for the body.

Please also keep Rep. Runions and his family in your prayers as he battles this virus.

Do not hesitate to contact anyone in leadership, their staff or Dana Miller if you have any questions.

Elijah

House Democrats submit recommendations for COVID-19 response

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In a press conference at the State Capitol Thursday, Missouri House Minority Leader Quade says Democrats would like to see the state take the following coronavirus actions. House Speaker Elliah Haahr tells Missourinet he has not had a chance to review them.

COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE

  • Request the governor call a state of emergency under Article IV, Section 27a, so that the General Assembly can access the Budget Reserve Fund for the emergency resources necessary to respond to this public health crisis.
  • Provide state funding to reimburse medical providers for treatment provided to non-insured individuals over the next month.
  • Provide additional funding to county health departments.
  • Authorize mandatory paid sick leave for companies with 50 or more employees, with a six-month sunset provision.
  • Provide additional funding for non-profit organizations that provide food to children in the event schools are closed.
  • Furlough non-violent prisoners from the Missouri Department of Corrections.
  • Implement an emergency rule authorizing the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance to require insurance providers to cover COVID-19 testing.
  • Provide economic protections to hourly state employees.
  • Implement an emergency rule authorizing the Department of Health and Senior Services to erect temporary hospitals and quarantine facilities.
  • Provide additional funding for mobile testing units.
  • Direct the Missouri Department of Social Services to refrain from implementing new SNAP rules that are set to take effect April 1 and will cost many families access to nutritional food.
  • Implement and emergency order suspending utility services from being shut off.
  • Implement an emergency order suspending home evictions.
  • Cancel plans to implement Medicaid rate cuts for hospitals and other health care providers.

Missouri House gives initial approval to proposed system to crackdown on drug problems

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The Missouri House has given preliminary approval to a bill that would require the creation of a statewide prescription drug monitoring program. Representatives voted 95-56 in favor of the legislation. The GOP House Speaker and the House Democratic Leader both voted in favor of the bill.

Representative Holly Rehder, R, Sikeston (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Missouri is the only state in the nation without a statewide system designed to help find cases of misuse and abuse. Bill sponsor Holly Rehder, a Republican from southeast Missouri’s Scott City, says the state needs to battle drug addiction problems on the front end.

“We cannot continue band-aiding this problem,” says Rehder. “All other states do not have it wrong and somehow Missouri’s the one state that has this figured out. Seriously?”

She got emotional when talking about her family’s addiction problems.

“As a grandmother who got my grandbaby out of a meth lab, who was living in one, there’s no way that I would have the passion for this bill if I did not know from researching the data that this gets to the underlying problem. A person doesn’t go to illicit drugs immediately.”

Representative Justin Hill, a fellow Republican and former police officer from the St. Louis suburb of Lake St. Louis, says the proposal will not stop illegal drug problems.

“I want to get somewhere where we can save lives,” says Hill. “But if we implement this bill as drafted, we are condemning people to death because fentanyl and heroin are right here and waiting.”

The legislation, House Bill 1693, requires one more favorable vote to move on to the Missouri Senate.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

New federal broadband funds can help rural Missouri — if utilities buy in (AUDIO)

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State Representative Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal, tells the story of a constituent who runs a major hog farm operation and has had to drive to a McDonald’s in another town to have the broadband to upload important veterinary records.

That constituent is Missouri’s Director of Agriculture, Chris Chinn.

Chinn lives in Shelby County in northeast Missouri, a spot that did not qualify for the most recent round of FCC outreach to underserved areas, the Connect America Fund, Phase II (CAFII)   Missouri telecommunications companies qualified for almost $255 million of CAFII money.

Rep. Louis Riggs in committee

Riggs represents eight of the most underserved counties in the state and applauds the most recent round of federal funding: $550 million in subsidies provided by the USDA Rural Utilities Service pilot program to help in underserved rural and Tribal areas with a population of 20,000 or less.

The FCC Broadband Progress Report shows that 1.25 million Missourians don’t have access to high-speed Internet (25mpbs/3mbps). The majority of those citizens live in rural communities. Between 50 and 60 percent of rural residents do not have broadband internet access, according to various sources.

Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks was in Kansas City last week to discuss these funds which were OK’d by Congress and President Trump on February 15 to avoid another government shutdown.

Riggs says Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, Rep. Jason Smith, Sen. Roy Blunt and all of the Missouri Congressional delegation have focused tirelessly on broadband. It’s now up to the utilities to buy in, including all of the rural electric cooperatives. Not all of the co-ops, governed by local boards, want to undertake this additional infrastructure.

“It is a substantial investment,” Riggs concedes.

“They are, to my mind, the major players across the state in terms of getting fiber to the homes, the gold standard,” Riggs says. “The folks who want to grow their tax base, get more money for our schools, rural roads and bridges, this is the ideal way. We don’t have to raise anybody’s taxes; we just increase the value of the property they own.”

He says his local research shows that property value can increase by $3,000 to $5,000 with high-speed fiber to the home.

Riggs also argues that this is the best way to keep or bring young farmers back to Missouri. “The FFA students who want to take over the family farm are not going to if they are kept in the dark.”

“The young folks who are coming online are using precision agriculture…it’s what’s being taught in the schools,” he says.

Along with the investment of utilities, Riggs insists it is up to Missouri legislators to “step up” and make it work, including approving the $5 million Gov. Mike Parson has requested to enable the work of the state Broadband Office.

Riggs has also introduced HB1162 to keep the awarded broadband funds in the state if a provider fails to perform.

In the first round of Connect America Funds auction, AT&T won $400 million, then declined to build out.

He says the state is in a much better position to find another provider.   Read Missourinet’s coverage of the Broadband Development Office.

“It’s to say, give us the benefit of the doubt here,” he says. “We’re light years ahead of where we were a year ago today.”

 

Family, colleagues of fallen St. Louis County policeman lobby for highway memorial

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The St. Louis County Police Department, Representative Doug Beck and the family of Officer Blake Snyder are working toward honoring the fallen police officer with a highway memorial. Nearly 20 people from the police department and several members of the Snyder family attended the House Committee on Transportation the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 21 to speak in favor of House bill 2330.

The bill would designate the section of Highway 30 in front of the Affton Precinct where Snyder served between Tesson Ferry Road and Mackenzie Road the “Officer Blake Snyder Memorial Highway.”

“To have this road renamed after Blake would be a further testament to the sacrifice that he made for his St. Louis community,” wife Elizabeth Snyder said. “He loved St. Louis, he loved his job and he did it proudly and he gave his life proudly and he’d do it again.

On October 6, 2016, Officer Snyder was killed when he responded to a disturbance call. The shooter, Trenton Forster, 18, was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

He was 33 years old and left behind a two-year-old son Malachi Snyder.

About 2,000 people attended his funeral, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“I’ve unfortunately attended several police funerals in my career but I’ve never seen anything to compare to what I saw that day,” Deputy Chief of Police Kenneth Cox said. “Blue ribbons as far as you can see, school children lined up in Missouri and Illinois, every overpass packed. All of this was to honor a police officer who made the ultimate sacrifice.”

During the Missouri House hearing, Elizabeth Snyder’s brother and fellow officer, and his mother Peggy Snyder spoke in favor of the bill, urging the committee to not only rename the highway but also to take more action for the safety of drivers.

“When I see that sign or when I see signs of Blake, I don’t want it only to be about a change in a name,” Peggy Snyder said. “As Blake often put on his badge, he wanted to make a difference. So I will ask of you today please don’t let this stop here with only the name change but as you consider things that you do throughout your careers make the laws and the rules of our highways, our railroads, our passing ways, our traffic restrictions fair and right.”

Reported by Waverly Colville