Weekly Wrap

Good:  Gov. Jay Nixon unveiled an ambitious initiative Wednesday to deliver high-speed Internet access to rural Missourians.

• Nixon announced a public-private partnership with Sho-Me Power to get $142.3 million in federal stimulus money to lay 2,500 miles of fiber- optic cable and build 200 new towers to improve rural broadband Internet connections.
• Twenty percent of Missourians live in areas not served by broadband.
• The state's $25.2 million in matching funds would help purchase the equipment to connect the new fiber across the state. While the equipment would serve the needs of both the state and Sho-Me Technologies, the state would actually own the equipment.
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Good: New state and federal programs were announced to increase funding for law enforcement.

• Missouri law enforcement agencies will receive "more than $19,697,636 in federal grants to fund the hiring and rehiring of 118 law enforcement officers in Missouri."
• Kansas City won $8.4 million in federal grant money Tuesday, saving the jobs of 28 police recruits and allowing the department to hire up to 22 more officers.
• The cash-strapped city St. Louis City Police Department was awarded federal funds Tuesday to save 50 officers from a planned cut of 100.
• Gov. Nixon announced that law enforcement agencies across the state will share more than $7.3 million in grants designed to combat drug-related crimes and strengthen law enforcement efforts.
• In total, $7,339,177 in federal Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) are being awarded to 28 drug task forces operated by counties, municipalities and the Missouri State Highway Patrol and to eight law enforcement agencies to strengthen their law enforcement programs.

Good: Gov. Jay Nixon announced his budget decisions this week, outlining a fiscally responsible plan to bring state spending into balance with its resources.

• Critical state investments in education, health care and public safety were preserved, and his budget actually increased K-12 investments.
• Nixon's signings include $105 million in vetoes and $325 million in spending freezes.

Bad: Cynthia Davis' cruel and misguided beliefs about child hunger garnered international attention.

Good: Individuals who had exhausted their unemployment insurance began receiving extended benefits under a law signed last week.

• The legislation extends benefits during times of high unemployment, and provides $65 million for out-of-work Missourians.
• "The effect of this bill to help Missouri families has been almost immediate," Gov. Nixon said.
• 272,000 Missourians were estimated to have been jobless during the month of May.

Bad: Roy Blunt's health care reform "plan" is just a 4 page outline of potential future plans.

Good: Resounding cheers for the state's small business loan program and small business tax cuts.

• The News-Press wrote that Gov. Jay Nixon's low-interest micro loan program "can make a big difference to small businesses."
• New tax cuts in the Governor's jobs bill are expected to create savings of about $875 for some 16,000 businesses.
• The new law provides funding for pre-employment activities under the state’s job-training program, raises the spending limit on state incentives for businesses that create higher-paying jobs with benefits, and removes the cap for jobs in the high impact and technology categories.

Bad: Peter Kinder and Allen Icet are still wiping egg off their face from Monday's press conference gossip session.

• On a conference call with the press, Kinder and Icet floated "rumors" and "third-hand reports" of colleges being forced to expand their programs for health care professionals.
• Kinder had absolutely no evidence to back up his claims. "Rather, he seemed to say, his role was to spread rumors in the media," wrote The Star.
• Allen Icet supported the program as the House Budget Chair.
• Kinder only became interested in the program on June 7, weeks after the budget was passed.

Good: Gov. Jay Nixon signed a new jobs bill into law.

• On Thursday, Nixon signed HB191 into law to to spur business growth and job creation.
• The bill increases funding for:
  • The Quality Jobs program, an initiative to expand high tech jobs
  • The BUILD program, to provide revenue for large scale business expansion
  • The New Markets Tax Credits for new businesses and
  • Career Center and community college re-training programs.

Bad: Republicans and conservative activists continue to be very concerned with Roy Blunt's lack of progress on health care reform.

• Blunt was appointed in February to be the House Republicans' point person on health care reform, but still hasn't put forward a plan as promised.
• A GOP aide says members are "very concerned" about the lack of an alternative to the President's and Senate's plan.
• A Heartland Institute health expert said Blunt and Republican colleagues have been “virtually useless" on health care reform.
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Good: The Caring for Missourians initiative launched this week. It will train more than 900 additional Missouri students to enter high-demand, critical-need health care fields.

• The program directs $40 million to the state universities, colleges and community colleges for more health-care classes, teachers and equipment.
• Each of Missouri's two- and four-year public colleges and universities will receive a specific grant as part of their appropriation for the next fiscal year.
• Gov. Nixon: "If we don't have the basic backbone of professional service and trained workers, we will never be able to move forward in health care. And making sure we have this base done now is vitally important."

Bad: Ron Richard finally got around to making a vague promise of action on autism insurance -- two weeks after the legislative session ended.

• Richard's commitment would have been a lot more impressive if he had made it before the end of session. You know, when he could have actually done something about it.
• The change of heart came after GOP Sen. Scott Rupp pointed the finger right at Richard for killing the autism coverage bill, which had overwhelming support in the House and Senate.
• Richard promised to kill the autism bill in April, and never let it come up for a vote.  Sadly, this was one promise the Speaker actually kept.

Good: Federal and state programs continue to pump money into the economy.

• The state is using $250 million of federal economic stimulus money to speed up the payment of hundreds of thousands of income tax refunds.
• Missouri will spend nearly $3 million of new federal stimulus money to help senior citizens get jobs .
• Missouri is to replace 554 bridges by the end of 2013  under a $487 million project awarded by the state transportation commission Thursday.
• The Neosho National Fish Hatchery will receive an additional $1.04 million in stimulus money to make its proposed visitors center more energy-efficient. 
• The U.S. Dept of Transportation is providing more than $9.6 million in federal grant funding for airport development projects  at “non-primary” airports throughout the state.
• Sen. McCaskill has created a Web site to help organizations and businesses apply for stimulus funds.
• The was a slight drop in the state’s jobless rate in April. A sign of good things to come? 

Good: Before adjourning on Friday, the legislature finally moved an economic development bill.

• During Friday's frenzy of votes, the legislature finally passed an economic development bill.
• "The No. 1 thing I wanted to get done, got done,'' Jay Nixon said, referring to the economic development bill.
• Education bills fully fund the state-aid formula for public elementary and secondary schools, and will provide more funding for state community colleges, four-year colleges and universities.
• The Senate killed an anti-abortion bill that would have created a new crime of coercing an abortion.
• The Senate killed a ballot proposal that would have asked Missouri voters in 2010 to make changes in the state's nonpartisan judicial-selection process.

(Really) Bad: The House succeeded in killing the plan to provide health care to 35,000 low-income, working people without using state tax dollars.

• The House succeeded in killing a plan pushed by Gov. Nixon, the Missouri Hospital Association, several business groups and state Senate leaders that would have expanded the state's Medicaid rolls to include another 35,000 low-income, working people without using state tax dollars.
• After several earlier House rejections, the Senate launched a last-ditch effort Friday that involved attaching the plan to another health-care bill. However, the House simply declined to take up the measure.

Good: The legislature has finished its work on the state budget.

• The legislature approved a $23.1 billion budget for the state’s upcoming fiscal year on Thursday.
• Highlights include $12 million for St. Louis' Metro, $111 million for a statewide interoperability system for law enforcement, $31.2 million for the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center.
• Ironically, the budget from the legislature's "fiscal conservatives" is larger and uses more federal stimulus money than the plan proposed by Gov. Nixon.
• Gov. Nixon's agreement to hold tuition steady for public college students was included in the budget.
• More than 1,200 positions have been trimmed from the state bureaucracy
• The budget includes money for an expansion of health care, with details set to be worked out next week.

Bad: House Republicans killed a win-win-win-win proposal to provide 35k parents with health care.

• It wouldn't cost the state a dime. Didn't matter.
• The hospitals volunteered to pay $50 million to make it happen. Didn't matter.
• The plan had broad bipartisan support (outside the Missouri House). Didn't matter.
• It was supported by the Republican Senate. Didn't matter.
• It was supported by the Associated Industries of Missouri. Didn't matter.
• It was supported by chambers of commerce. Didn't matter.
• We all pay more when the uninsured are forced to use emergency rooms for basic care. Didn't matter.
• Overall, "a classic example of ideology overwhelming facts.''

Good: The legislative session is almost finished!

• As we approach the May 8 constitutional deadline, House and Senate conferees continue to move forward on a compromise state budget.
• Proposed changes to the state's nonpartisan courts plan are dead.
• Sen. Jeff Smith's bills to improve the state's child-support laws were sent to the governor's desk.

Bad: Ron Richard’s favorite breakfast treat (the donut) was declared the official legislative road map for the GOP leadership.

• There is considerable speculation that GOP Legislators will need Governor Nixon to rescue them from their aimless wanderings with a Special Session. Bonus!
• The GOP bulldozed their new(est) stimulus plan through the Rules Committee on Monday.  Ironically, this was in complete violation of House Rules.
• Republicans cut Ellis Fischel from the stimulus spending package, then added it back in with much self-congratulation. And then voted it down again. It's only cancer, people.
• Thursday, the House "reversed course" again on spending federal recovery money.
• Epic Fail, indeed. 
• And then House leadership decided to permanently pass a permanent tax cut over objections in their own caucus -- without anything approximating a plan for dealing with the reduced revenues.
• Still, the Senate may right the ship, where leaders continue to express zero interest in the House's ideas.

Ugly: Accordingly, the GOP leadership in the House has devolved into chaos.

• Thursday, the House leadership was "stunned" by the resistance in their own caucus to the new(est) stimulus spending package.
• Speaker Ron Richard had a hard week.
  • He shut down his weekly donuts + press availability to retaliate against those meanie reporters who pointed out his lies on Fox News.
  • He became so angry during the stimulus spending bill debate that he refused to let Budget Chair Allen Icet speak on the floor.
  • He banned children from the floor.
  • He bickered openly with Abolitionist Rob Schaaf during House debates, even breaking House rules to shut Schaaf down.
• Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt may be having some problems of his own. A number of Republicans representing rural school districts are very concerned with Pratt's move to permanently cut the state's income tax -- their constituents would be hit hard by the huge cut in state revenues. Combine the disaffected rural Republicans, the allies of Rep. Bryan Yates (who'll be challenging Pratt in a 2010 Senate primary), plus the Democratic caucus -- and you've got yourself a majority that can give Pratt the heave-ho.

Good: Gov. Nixon continues to move the ball forward.

• Negotiations on the Governor's Quality Jobs program were productive this week.
• Nixon continues to build "bipartisan credibility."
• Entrepreneurs could get state loans of $25,000 apiece under a Nixon plan approved Tuesday.
• More than 150 employers have already signed up for the Governor's Next-Generation Jobs Team, which will create about 3,000 jobs this summer.
• Nixon is requiring all state agencies to reduce their energy use, saving money and greening things up at the same time.

Bad: The House completely reversed course (again) and has a new half-baked plan for spending the federal stimulus money.

• Speaker Ron Richard and Budget Czar Allen Icet performed another "about-face" on the state's stimulus money, choosing a tax cut as the flavor of the week.
• Gary Nodler and Senate Budget leaders are "having a cow.”
• Probably because it's a bad idea and because they had no idea what the House was planning to do.  Just a guess.
• The Budget Committee will not have time to debate the massive plan. Deliberation and oversight are for suckers.
• Fear grows by the day that Republicans will blow through the May 8 budget deadline.

Good: The Senate supported Gov. Nixon's Missouri Promise Initiative, which creates a pathway to debt-free, four-year college degrees for students from middle-class families.

• The initiative expands eligibility for the A+ Schools Program to students at every high school in the state.
• The initiative, sponsored by Senator Rob Mayer (R-Dexter) passed with virtually no opposition.
• About 5,000 students, or 36 percent of those eligible, receive A-plus scholarships to attend two-year community colleges.

Bad: The Chiefs lied to get a $25 million tax break with the blessing of Lt. Gov Peter Kinder.

• The Chiefs lied to taxpayers, lied to the press, lied to the Missouri Development Finance Board and lied to St. Joseph to get the $25 million.
• Peter "I Didn't Count Every Dollar" Kinder decided that the Chiefs' lies were okay. In Kinder's mind, taxpayers will be best served if they pay $25 million for half the benefit.
• The Chiefs said “there’s a difference between a statement on the record and a legal document.” True enough.
• The Chiefs said they didn't know that anyone expected them to honest. We don't anymore.  
• Kinder has not found the time to answer the many questions about the deal and his role in the entire debacle. He has, however, found the time to take long walks and not preside over the Senate.

Good: The Senate has started to undo the damage wrought by the House GOP.

• Senate Budget Chair Gary Nodler plans to use about $915 million in federal "budget stabilization" money, several hundred million more than was included in the House version.
• The Senate has given preliminary approval to a plan that would cover about 35k poor Missourians, along the lines of a proposal put forward by Gov. Nixon.
• Our fingers are crossed for more good news from the Upper Chamber.

Bad: The FBI is investigating legislators at the Capitol.

• You may have heard this already, but the FBI is looking into pay-to-play at the Capitol.
• Some lawmakers have been talking to investigators for months. At least one lawmaker said he had recorded private conversations.
• This was news to Speaker Richard, Floor Leader Tilley and Speaker Pro Tem Pratt.
• "We're not aware that a crime has occurred" may be my new favorite carefully crafted denial. Which may not actually be a denial of anything short of the bulletproof "awareness of a crime" that comes with a jury's conviction.

Ugly and Uglier: Crazy Eddie said that his lawsuit against the SOS, AG and Auditor is intended to be a "nuisance." And Crazy Eddie said that Robin Carnahan is under the spell of Satan.

• Ed Martin admitted to a crowd of supporters that he's abusing the court system to be a "nuisance" to Carnahan and the SOS office.
• It remains to be seen how things will shake out vis a vis Martin and some pretty clear ethical guidelines about frivolous lawsuits.
• It also remains to be seen how the anti-tax warriors are Eddie's team feel about Martin's wasting of taxpayer dollars.  All of those judges, lawyers and clerks who have to deal with his nonsense aren't free, you know.
• Robin Carnahan is "the devil," an agent of the devil or under the power of the devil.  Who knew?
• Crazy Eddie is also very excited about that whole Bernie Madoff fraud thing too.
• Classy guy, that Eddie.

Good: The state will track every dollar received under the federal recovery package.

• The legislature addressed concerns about transportation spending rules, and legislation to increase transparency and accountability was passed and signed.
• Check it out: http://transform.mo.gov/transparency/
• Missouri is expected to get at least $4 billion from the federal stimulus act signed by President Obama.
• H'ray, bipartisanship!
• Also good: a loan program for small businesses and entrepreneurs is moving forward.

Bad: The House passed its budget bills.

• They are ugly.
• We learned that providing health care to children is slavery.
• We learned that providing health care to children will cause hyperinflation not seen since 1923 Germany.
• We learned that it's okay to justify your draconian cuts with a rosy picture of what the world looked like before you make draconian cuts.
• We learned that the public wasn't shut out of the House budget process -- people were just too lazy to provide input.
• Oh, and nice work restoring the Meals on Wheels money that you cut two weeks before.  We're all very, very impressed.