Missouri Times - July 25, 2017

The Missouri Times

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How the robotically on-message Greitens administration shot themselves in the foot over tax credits...with a howitzer

ANATOMY OF A DUMPSTER FIRE

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Missouri Times

OPINION

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Scott Faughn, Publisher | scott@themissouritimes.com | @ScottFaughn Rachael Herndon Dunn, Editor | rachael@themissouritimes.com | @TheRachDunn Benjamin Peters, Reporter | benjamin@themissouritimes.com | @BenjaminDPeters Kaden Quinn, Intern | kaden@themissouritimes.com

Missouri’s budget should strengthen community provider system, not weaken it Greg Kramer MARF President The 2018 Missouri state budget, signed by Governor Greitens, officially went into effect on July 1, 2017. This budget includes a total of $250 million in additional funding cuts, from the suggested budget sent by the legislature, which presents serious repercussions for Missourians with disabilities and their community providers.The Missouri Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (MARF) represents 80+ community provider organizations that serve Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens. These organizations provide safe, quality care for more than 8,400 individuals with disabilities.

The Missouri Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (MARF) represents 80+ community provider organizations that serve Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens. These organizations provide safe, quality care for more than 8,400 individuals with disabilities.

Missouri’s parents and families who have loved ones with disabilities rely on state-wide community provider organizations for supports. They depend on us to provide a safe home for their adult/child; to provide quality care when they can no longer do so; to assist their loved one in living as independently as possible…in their own homes, in their own communities, and most importantly, out of institutional settings. Now is the time to strengthen the system, not weaken it.

One of the most overused and misused descriptors of citizen groupings is “Missouri’s Most Vulnerable Citizens.” However, this description does clearly define Missouri citizens with an Intellectual and/or Developmental Disability (I-DD). This is a critical designation because it focuses on the need for prioritization when funding decisions are made.

Funding reductions suggest that no priorities have been identified. That simply isn’t true when it pertains to I-DD. Community providers are the singular safety net system for Missouri. This is not an open-ended benefit package, but truly a framework of life supports for people, from birth to death, with significant functional, behavioral and medical developmental disabilities.

The fact is, the community-based provider

system is uniquely designed to achieve the outcomes for which the expenditure of Missouri tax dollars was intended. This system is efficient and effective, produces measurable outcomes, represents best practices, and ascribes to an actuarially sound rate structure (the Rate Rebasing initiative). Programs such as this should be rewarded for their efforts, not penalized by funding reductions.

Missouri’s 2018 budget puts community-based living programs at serious risk.

Deficits in funding can force these providers to close their doors. Consequently, access to group homes, semi-independent apartment programs, individualized supported living and community integration will decline.

It’s important to note that even a 3% cut to safety net providers for Missourians with developmental disabilities is significant. Reimbursement rates for community provider agencies have been significantly underfunded for decades, so reducing existing rates will impact wages and benefits for direct care staff and will result in higher turnover. Additionally, challenges with retaining and recruiting direct care professionals will clearly impact provider organization’s ability to deliver quality care.

Without proper funding to maintain quality care, we are failing Missourians with developmental disabilities who regularly endure the greatest barriers to everyday life.

Funding for developmental disability services is not political and should be the last resort when it comes to funding reductions.

The reality is the state cannot provide the services at a more affordable cost than contracted providers. Ignoring quality provider funding for organizations that serve Missourians with developmental disabilities will result in further budget complications when forced to deal with crisis care, emergency room visits, and potential improper incarceration.

MARF is comprised of devoted organizations across the state who work tirelessly to positively impact the quality of life for those in need. We understand how community providers are critical to support the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families. Please join us to help the most vulnerable people in your community by contacting Governor Greitens’ office to express your concern with the budget restrictions for people with developmental disabilities.

The Missouri Times

HOT LIST

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EXTRAORDINARY SESSION

The Senate returns this week with time alotted Monday through Wednesday to complete the revised call to session from the Governor.

The deadline for passing a bill nears.

SIGN DESTRUCTION With the special election for HD50 nearing, signs of Republican candidate Sara Walsh were spotted destroyed, causing fellow Republicans to rally around her with support.

HAWLEY

Four living Republican U.S. Senators have rallied around the AG for a #MOSEN bid.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Tim W. Jones @SpeakerTimJones Jul 22 Mountain top. @beavercreekmtn @Colorado I’ll be riding this beast into Jeff City 2 herald beginning of #MOLeg 2018

Tweets of the Week Highlights in 140 characters or less.

Will Schmitt @ws_missouri I want to tell you more about the PDMP, Springfield, but the governor’s office says it doesn’t have a copy it can send me. #moleg Benjamin D. Peters @BenjaminDPeters Be sure to WATCH the #MoLeg Podcast each week.

Hannah Beers @HannahBeers “If our politics cause us to view people that Jesus died for as the enemy, we have a problem.” Powerful message today at @TheCrossingCoMo.

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SUNDAY MORNINGS KANSAS CITY - 38 THE SPOT AT 10:00 A.M. ST. LOUIS - ABC 30 KDNL AT 11:00 A.M. SPRINGFIELD - MC22 AT 11:00 A.M. MID-MO - MC22 AT 11:00 A.M.

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ANATOMY OF A DUMPSTER FIRE

How the robotically on-message Greitens administration shot themselves in the foot over tax credits...with a howitzer Scott Faughn

scott@themissouritimes.com Team Greitens is on message 24/7/365, which is why when they are not it’s particularly interesting.

During the campaign, no matter what question was asked of Eric Greitens, the only answer he gave was that he was an “outsider” who also happened to be a “conservative.”

No matter what question you ask Gov. Greitens, the only answer you will get is about his “fighting” a legislature of “career politicians” who happen to be “corrupt” – and don’t forget, he is “fighting” them.

That’s why when the Governor got pushed into empaneling a blue ribbon committee on tax policy, you could see a self-inflicted wound coming a Missourah mile away.

We decided to take an in-depth look at how the issue got here, what happened to the commission, the impeccable draft report that commission produced, the watered down report that was ultimately submitted, and the bizarre behavior both staffers for the Governor and a state legislator engaged in to cover up the fact the draft report ever existed.

Part I: The Backstory Republicans begin turning on Reagan, Kemp, & Ashcroft - well, some of them anyway During the 1980s, it was morning in America, and for conservatives, it was morning in Missouri.

The economy was booming, and while President Ronald Reagan was cutting government, he was also moving programs from direct welfare state initiatives toward public-private partnerships.

One of the leading conservative members of his cabinet, former congressman, and future vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp devised a plan to move federal economic development programs away from the Pruitt-Igoe model and into a public-private partnership tax credit model that was ultimately called the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.

Upon the passage of the federal program, states quickly began creating state LIHTC programs to work alongside the federal program to entice more development and, especially, more development in rural areas, as the program was increasingly being concentrated in the fast growing suburban areas.

Governor John Ashcroft passed down Missouri’s tradition of moving state government into public-private partnerships to the next generation of Republican state leaders – like then-Senator Peter Kinder, who would emerge from the 1992 Democratic statewide sweep to take legislative majorities less than a decade later.

As the Democratic Party became increasingly more urban and the LIHTC program becoming increasingly more rural, Governor Jay Nixon, who had been a supporter of LIHTC projects for a large part of his career, even voting to approve several very successful rural LIHTC projects while serving on the MHDC board as attorney general, turned on the program after being criticized by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2010.

Placating urban media and an increasingly urban Democratic Party, he empaneled a commission

with the stated goal of abolishing these rural tax credits. While the commission was upfront and honest about their intentions, their out of the gate goal was to deal a crippling blow to rural Missourah.

The rural Republican-dominated legislature spiked the Post-Dispatch-Nixon Plan without much serious consideration. A former senior aide to the Governor remembered, “It was one of the only times I saw the Governor really care about unfounded media criticism. Sometimes when we were criticized, we deserved it and the Governor acknowledged it, other times when we didn’t, he shrugged it off. We made the mistake of reacting to an unfounded attack by the Post, and we got what we deserved on it.”

Greitens’ decision to emulate Governor Nixon’s tactics on economic policy was a considerable head scratcher to observers who watched then-candidate Greitens ruthlessly attack Nixon’s leadership style and Missouri’s lagging in economic growth.

As for Republicans, the issue began to split the caucus after the 2004 elections, culminating in a serious conflict after the 2012 cycle. As Governor Ashcroft had passed leadership on the issue to Dean of the Party then-Senator Peter Kinder, he was in-turn was passing leadership on the issue to a new generation of Senate conservatives in Senators Ron Richard, Eric Schmitt, and Mike Parson.

However, as the tax credit industry supported their longtime ally in then-Lt. Governor Kinder in 2012, they would make a very powerful enemy in the process in his opponent, Senator Brad Lager. Working alongside a friendly reporter with the Post-Dispatch, the die was cast for a lengthy fight.

One committee member who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “I had no clue that there was all of this personal drama attached to tax credits.

I just thought we were gonna go sign some pre-written report to abolish tax credits like Nixon’s committee did, but as I was driving to the first meeting I got a call from a former senator and realized this was going to be a blood-letting to settle some old scores….. and, of course, then sign a pre-written report to abolish tax credits like Nixon’s.”

Over the last five years, the issue of whether or not to abandon economic development programs in rural Missouri has deeply divided Republicans and many feel that animosity is directly responsible for the committee and its questionable legitimacy.

Part II: The Committee “Recommend comprehensive tax reform legislation to the Governor no later than June 30.” Translated from Central West End speak into Missourah dialect – “Fake a committee process to publish a report bashing rural Missouri tax credit programs” After the dumpster fire of its last week, there are several theories circling the Capitol about how the Governor’s Committee for Simple, Fair, and Low Taxes came to exist, and who is to blame for it. As one of his staff members commented at the time during a text exchange, “the more adjectives in the committee’s title the more likely that their report ends up Facebooked than TAFPed.” One theory some have pushed was that the committee was a consolation prize for former Senator John Lamping who they may have thought wanted

to join the administration. There may be some truth that those in the administration believed that, but that theory was pretty well debunked, as he has always had a very successful business career that has often kept him from other political endeavors.

Another was that this was a favor to a big donor.

Again, there may be something to that, but it’s pretty clear that the Governor has produced plenty for two of the state’s biggest donors that he didn’t need to do this to make them feel they had gotten a solid return on their money.

Whatever the reason the committee was formed, it started out as a multiple adjective poll-tested buzzword fest, announced with great fanfare from the Governor’s website and Facebook page. By the time the report was released, it was clear to anyone watching that the buzz had clearly subsided.

On January 25, in an announcement from the Governor’s website, complete with a staged photo op pasted to the Governor’s Facebook page, he announced his blue ribbon committee stating, “What our people want is a tax system that is simple, fair, and low. What we have instead is a tax system that is complex, corrupt, and high. So today, I signed an executive order to put an end to our broken tax system once and for all.”

It stated that he would put four members on the committee, the House would appoint three members, and the Senate three members. However, in the executive order if you read past the politician speak, he included as the last goal of the committee to “Recommend comprehensive tax reform legislation to the Governor no later than June 30.”

Six days after asking for six legislators to sit on his committee to revolutionize Missouri’s economy, he took to his Facebook page to attack the same legislature after it rejected a pay increase posting, “It was a pathetic display. Seven hours of taxpayer time could have been spent doing just about anything. Maybe they could have talked about how to grow jobs in our state, increase wages, improve our schools, or clean up our streets. Nope. Instead, they talked about the reasons why they deserved more money.”

It was surprising to see the Governor denounce the General Assembly at the same time he was asking members of that group to make up a majority of his committee.

A month later the appointments to the committee were made. A month seemed like a long time to make a few appointments, and that’s because the Governor knew all along who he was going to appoint to the committee – former senators and staunch tax credit opponents Jason Crowell and Lamping, as well as his Policy Director Will Scharf and Department of Revenue Director Joel Walters, but he wanted to appoint the other six as well.

To be fair, of all the people involved, Walters – who was tasked with being the chairman – deserves the least blame for the debacle. When asked to move to Missouri to enter the bureaucracy, he was a New York City lawyer working for Price Waterhouse.

While the Department of Revenue’s website states that he started his job on April 1st, and in what he had to assume was an April Fool’s prank, he was named the chairman of the committee on February

24th with the first meeting the next week. It was truly a no-win situation for Walters, who most everyone involved said was professional and, in a true team player move, made honest efforts to put as much lipstick on the pig as possible.

The real reason it took a month to name a ten person committee has more to do with the Governor not only wanting to pick his four committee members, but also intending to pick the Legislature’s six members as well.

The Governor’s staff clearly wanted Rep. Jay Barnes and Rep. Holly Rehder on the committee and got them. Rep. Elijah Haahr was also added by the Speaker. The Senate had proved to be a little different for the Governor to deal with.

When the Governor made his request to rubber stamp his appointments, he was fresh off of a handful of slights to the traditions of the state and Senator Richard, who at the time may have been the only person in the entire Capitol with the self-respect and concern for the state to directly stand up the Governor, shooting down Greitens ill-conceived plan of moving the inauguration to the University of Missouri in Columbia.

After a heated discussion and the invention of the nickname “The Georgia Peach,” Senator Richard told the Governor that he could go up to the college but the Senate and the rest of the state would be on the steps of the Capitol as Missourians had always done….Senator Richard won. Eric Greitens was sworn in on the steps of the Capitol, just as Governor Bond, Hearnes, Ashcroft, Blunt, Nixon and each of his predecessors were.

While initially Senator Richard was vocal in his opposition, quickly a bipartisan group of senators that would become known as the courage caucus would equal and seemingly even surpass Senator Richard in defense of the institution of the senate.

They recently even went so far as to demand Senator Richard empanel an interim committee to investigate the Governor’s ethics violation.

Weeks later, Senator Richard checked the Governor for threatening Senators in his office over the vote on pay raises…by end of the week, the Governor was lifting weights with Senator Denny Hoskins.

In the meantime, the Governor unilaterally offered paid leave to state workers without informing the legislature…resulting in Senator Richard after being pressed by the courage caucus held up of the Governor’s first round of nominees for his cabinet.

With such a contentious relationship, it’s a wonder that the Governor got two of the three senators he wanted, Senators Will Kraus and Andrew Koenig, on the committee. Senator Richard appointed Senator Dan Hegeman who, while being geographically well-positioned for the anti-tax credit crowd, is known to be a statesman and would at least offer substantive ideas to what was already considered by most a preconceived report.

It does seem odd that a committee whose announcement included Facebook slams of “lobbyists,” “special interests,” “insiders,” and the “well-connected” ended up including a New York City accountant, a half-dozen politicians, two former senators, a Harvard educated attorney, and a former lobbyist.

By this time, people were getting accustomed

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6 www.themissouritimes.com CONTINUED FROM LAST PAGE to the Facebook style rhetoric, and many legislators simply lacked the self-respect, courage, or reverence for their offices to stand up for themselves when repeatedly personally attacked and belittled.

It was already clear to longtime observers of Missouri government as one vocal state senator put it that, “Recommend comprehensive tax reform legislation to the Governor no later than June 30,” when translated from Central West End speak to Missourah dialect meant, “Fake a committee process to publish a report bashing rural Missouri tax credit programs.”

Keep in mind for later that not everyone on this committee is a longtime observer of Missouri government.

Part III: The Real Report “It’s our fault we didn’t let the new guys in on the joke before they did all that extra work.”

As everyone knows, ultimately the committee would release a report that would be a predictable rehash of bashing tax credits that read like an urban media editorial.

However, The Missouri Times published an earlier draft of the report that many have called “the best document they have ever seen produced by state government.”

It was 83-pages of near brilliant writing that included literally hundreds of footnotes. While many would debate the conclusions, they were a series of serious policy solutions offered to address the serious policy issues in the Governor’s executive order.

To understand how the 83-page report that actually was a “recommendation of comprehensive tax reform legislation” was neutered into the 30-some page rehash of Governor Nixon’s economic strategy, you have to look at how the committee was administered.

The first meeting on March 10 was a harbinger of things to come. They started off with a short public meeting in the Truman Building, the temple of Missouri bureaucracy, only to dive off into closed session for really no clear reason.

It would be the first in a pattern of affronts to the Sunshine Law. At times, the committee would comply with the Sunshine Law, such as give public notice of the meetings, and having a quorum to approve the minutes, other times simply ignore that the Sunshine Law existed.

Notably, there were several lengthy closed sessions, and it’s challenging to see any reason a committee on taxes would be dealing with litigation, or personnel issues, or bid processes – all of which are legally appropriate reasons for a closed session within Missouri’s bureaucracy. It seems they just wanted to have some discussions which the public wasn’t privy.

Several members of the committee confirmed that during the closed sessions they really just sat around and argued over how much they were going to cut tax credits and strategize on how to pass a bill.

Other times they debated how far they could stretch executive branch authority to putatively harm the programs relegating the General Assembly irrelevant to the process.

Attorney General Josh Hawley’s website states that, “Section 610.022, RSMo, also states that no public governmental body can move from an open meeting into a closed meeting without a roll call vote, and that the vote and the specific section of § 610.021, RSMo, shall be publicly announced and entered into the minutes.” It is basic practice not to share what section of 610.021 they were using when going into closed session.

When asked why they periodically ignored the Sunshine Law one legislator was very candid, “I’m not an expert on the Sunshine Law because we are exempt to it in Senate hearings. I wouldn’t have cared if we never went into closed session. We probably

didn’t follow the right procedure because, as legislators, we weren’t all that familiar with it and no one was really taking this all that seriously, save for the chair and vice chair.”

Outside of the bizarre and possibly illegal obsession with closed sessions, it was obvious that Chairman Walters, and committee Vice Chairman Scharf were taking the committee more seriously and going to professionally study all of Missouri’s taxation and incentive programs as their boss, the Governor, had charged them with.

However, it was also just as clear that literally no one else on the panel was taking the “Recommended comprehensive tax reform legislation to the Governor” part seriously. Even while doing the work of a comprehensive report, according to two sources, the committee’s Vice Chairman Will Scharf indicated during one of the closed session discussions that cutting tax credits was the Governor’s top priority.

Most knew there was no point in showing up that the final document would bash tax credits and that would be it, and a couple of others were very clear about their intentions and didn’t need any political cover or platitudes.

Former Senator Crowell, never one to lie about his intentions or mince words, stated at the first meeting referenced Rowdy Roddy Piper in saying, “I have come to sunset tax credits and chew bubble gum, and I’m all out of bubble gum.”

One of the leading commission members commented privately, “We should have just said we’re here to cut tax credits, period. Instead, we did this whole comprehensive committee process and dragged in MoDOT and a bunch of others, wasting their time, when those issues were never going to be addressed in our report. We really should have just let the new guys in on the joke before they did all that extra work.”

The committee also created three subcommittees: tax incentives, tax policy, and sales tax to help provide the comprehensive report the Governor had requested.

In what might have been a tell to a more seasoned Missouri political observer, none of the subcommittees amounted to anything because the other 8 members of the committee were not going to waste their time in subcommittees on a report which was always only going to attack tax credits.

More telling was that the elected officials just didn’t show up to the committee meetings.

Like seriously, they just didn’t attend the thing.

One commission member, who feels he has a good relationship with the Governor, commented, “I like Will and the DOR director, and I’m all for killing tax credits, my district doesn’t need them anyway, but I’m not gonna show up for meetings with every state department for no reason. I have a family that I don’t see enough during session anyway.”

Whatever spin the administration attempted to put on the committee, the reality of how seriously the members were taking the it was clearly evidenced in their attendance, which was anemic throughout.

In one meeting, even counting the committee members calling in without having to actually show up, they had to wait until the end of the meeting to achieve a quorum of attendance to approve the minutes from the prior meeting because they didn’t have a quorum.

At the May 23 meeting where the topic was the state’s income tax, a key reason most people are Republicans in the first place, not only did the committee not have a quorum, they had only one person show up, and one call into the meeting.

After that, media reports began to lampoon the committee’s attendance and suspecting there was more side-show than policy-making going on.

At that point, others on the Governor’s staff began calling committee members and politely, but firmly, “encouraging” their attendance at the next meeting.

It worked, at the May 30 committee meeting, 9 of the 10 members were either there or called in.

They discussed MoDOT and the state’s transporta-

tion funding deficit. Of course, as most anticipated none of the ideas developed at that hearing on transportation funding were included in the last report submitted.

“Most of us sat there texting ourselves the entire time. We all knew there was no way this Governor who spends his day on Facebook was going to get involved in finding a real solution for transportation funding. We got our knuckles racked to come to this thing and we basically have a House Transportation committee meeting 2.0 that at least 7 of us knew would never ever be in a report from this Governor’s office,” said one legislator whose attendance was “politely but firmly encouraged.”

After that, attendance would dwindle again as the committee slumped to its conclusion. By June 12, attendance had slumped back to only half of the committee to discuss a gross receipts tax, another hearing the committee held on an idea that they completely ignored in the final report.

At their last meeting on June 19, they turned it over to the chairman to draft a report. In putting breaking the Sunshine Law into an official motion, they voted to have Chairman Walters draft a report and email it to the committee members to make revisions. Those revisions were seemingly intended to be made and approved secret.

“It was my understanding that we would get the draft copy and then we would prepare our suggestions and have a public meeting where we decide what we would present to the Governor. When I figured out that wasn’t happening, I didn’t like it, but by then I was just ready for this to be over,” one committee member said.

With Walters running the Department of Revenue, the main work was led by Scharf. Conclusions on the tax credit portions of the report were made prior to the committee being empaneled so that only consisted of codifying them and drafting other portions of the report.

The first 50 pages that were eliminated were written based off of the material from the hearings and looking at other states that were experiencing positive economic development.

Besides gutting tax credits, they report included well-articulated plans to: • Eliminate the corporate income tax • Raise the gas tax • Tax online purchases • Put all economic development programs under the Governor’s sole discretion • Raises taxes on federal tax payments • Impose a gross receipts tax • Change the current income tax to a less regressive formula While compiling the report, both Scharf and Walters did have conversations with several cabinet members to discuss the impacts of many of the ideas and provided almost an overwhelming number of citations for their research and conclusions.

The incumbent elected officials had little input, after all, they had attended few of the meetings, and were not really all that engaged in a long-form study. The Governor’s other two appointees, Senators Lamping and Crowell, were openly and solely focused on gutting tax credits, so the report was left to the two government employees to compile.

Together they produced what might have been the most competently written and well-argued government document to ever come out of Missouri government providing well thought out policy proposals to problems Missouri had struggled with for decades…suckers.

Part IV: The Watered Down Report “By the time The Missouri Times published the draft report there had already been commands from the highest levels of the Greitens administration, that the report was never to ever see the light of day.”

As the report was emailed to committee members, a reasonable person who had moved here from the east coast and had never been involved in poli-

tics would expect to see congratulatory replies and accolades for the hard work put into it – and even gratitude that their name would be affixed to such a well-written report that they really didn’t do any work on.

Well, if you have spent much time working in politics, especially politics in the social media era, you know a document that proposes tax increases and real solutions isn’t coming out of a “Facebook-obsessed” politician’s office.

The reaction by the committee was one of silence to the chair and vice-chair while calling other members of the Governor’s staff in a panic. Oh, and, of course, leaking the damn thing all over the Capitol, but we will get into that much more later.

The legislators with political aspirations weren’t gonna sign a report advocating a tax increase, those who were just out to eliminate tax credits knew that it would be hard enough to do just that, much less adding all these other things to the agenda, and a couple are currently beholden to the Governor at this point so they were already resigned to their fate and would have to begrudgingly sign whatever Scharf emailed them anyway. All the while, the June 30 deadline was looming.

The minute the draft report hit the committee member’s inboxes, the thought of a well-staged Facebook post with the Governor submitting the plan to him was out the window.

The Missouri Times began seeing draft reports early in the week sent by those in the political community, and from committee members themselves.

However, each draft report was shared on the condition that it not be published.

The first member of the committee to share the draft report with The Missouri Times stated, “There was literally no way in hell I was gonna sign that thing, but you know he did do a damn good job.”

It wasn’t until Wednesday morning that a draft was shared along with the permission to publish it.

By the time The Missouri Times published the draft, there was already commands from the highest levels of the Greitens administration, those both on the government payroll, and their bosses who are not on the government payroll that the report was never to see the light of day.

It was clear that eliminating the targeted tax cuts for housing developments was an acceptable tax increase while raising other taxes would not pass other’s litmus tests.

The decision was taken out of the hands of anyone on the committee and the order was given by the Governor’s top staff to include the forgivable loan scheme that would ultimately kill the program, and get it out the door on the take out the trash day the Friday before the 4th of July weekend.

The forgivable loan concept was designed by Brian Bear who is now the General Counsel for the Department of Economic Development. For those looking to kill tax credits the forgivable loan program would eliminate the use of the LIHTC program for private developers due to the tax liability resulting in only the non-profit developers remaining who would be easy to get rid of down the road. The idea also had the added benefit of convincing legislators from rural Missouri that they wouldn’t technically be killing the program, just reforming it, after all, what about forgivable loans doesn’t sound great?

Baer dictated the idea to Stifel Nicolaus who showed up one at of the hearings and repeated the plan as instructed. At the hearing, Peter Czajkowski and Gina Martin represented Stifel Nicolaus to advocate for the loan scheme.

With the ideas on tax increases made public, a committee – who began with a press release on the Governor’s website complete with laudatory quotes and a personal Facebook post that included a serious looking photo of the Governor signing official looking documents – ended without a word from him.

The report wasn’t even released on his website, it was hidden on the much less visible Department of Revenue’s website – without even a Snapchat post

about it.

There was a buzzword filled video that accompanied it. However, it wasn’t a well-produced Facebook video from the telegenic Governor in his beautiful office on the second floor of the capitol.

Far from it, the director of the Department of Revenue, who has been the good soldier all along held a written script and recorded an unproduced YouTube clip where he gave a college try at explaining that the committee chose to ignore the wide ranging grandiose call that the Governor had asked them to serve under, and held multiple hearings over, and produced an amazingly detailed draft report about, that had now been neutered into a rehash of Governor Nixon’s attack on tax credits.

No mention of transportation funding, or the gross receipts tax, or changing the income tax, or anything but the cold political settling of scores that was predicted by the committee’s critics the day it was announced.

Also of note by many observers were that the MDFB and developer Steve Stogel were treated kindly. Mr. Stogel’s group was very involved in the committee, and of note were the kid gloves applied to the Renaissance Grand and Old Post Office projects.

Some would quickly question if those projects were in Ste. Genevieve County and not the City of St. Louis would be considered “picking winners and losers.”

Perhaps most coldly, the final report was sent out on the ultimate take out the trash day of Friday afternoon before a four-day holiday weekend…with no comment from the Governor while most of the top staff was two time zones away at a luxury Republican Governors Association staff retreat in Los Angeles, California.

Part V: The Cover Up “Using House staff time and the Highway Patrol to stamp out leakers is nothing more than an Ed Martin-esque complete abuse of power.”

Perhaps the most interesting part of story is what happened after the draft report was published leading up to June 30 deadline.

It began when a copy of the outline – of what would become the draft report – was initially leaked to The Missouri Times from a source inside the executive branch. It was leaked on the condition that it could not be published or quoted, but used for background. A column based on the leaked outline was published confirming to those who predicted the committee was only ruse designed to attack tax credits they were right all along. Included in the forthcoming draft report. In the meantime, the outline and several of its concepts would begin to be pitched to administration officials and large Republican donors.

Early in the week before the June 30 deadline, drafts of the committee’s report were circulated to commission members and select Republican donors.

It would come as a shock to no one in Missouri politics that shortly after sending out a report from a committee whose legitimacy was questionable at best that it would be leaked all over the state. Tuesday alone, 4 copies of the draft report had been provided to the Missouri Times, two copies directly from committee members themselves.

However, each copy provided was given on the agreement that it was off the record with no permission to publish it. That would change Wednesday morning.

Wednesday morning another copy was provided to The Missouri Times, this time with permission to publish. Verification was quick due to the fact that it mirrored the previous copies provided directly from committee members.

The story was published Wednesday morning at 11:30 a.m. The report full of well-developed ideas and backed up scrupulously with details was taken as nails on a chalkboard by an administration who is always on message, consistently offering few broad ideas and scarce details.

The 83-pages of well-documented fiscal policy included tax increases to offset the tax cuts in the document. Those tax increases, coming from an administration always on message about being “conservative outsiders,” were certain to be obsessively scrutinized.

As the report raced around the Missouri political community, it had something in it for every group of Missourians to quarrel with. Committee members began making it clear they would not be associated with the tax increases, all while the Governor’s top staff was itching to get on a plane to travel to a Republican Governor’s Association top staff retreat in Los Angeles.

The decision was swiftly made by the true top decision makers in the administration, the ones who are not on the state payroll, to cut out all of the ideas on economic policy and just give the anti-tax credit donors whatever they wanted to get it signed.

None of the radical changes to the draft report were made in a public meeting before presenting it.

There was no public vote taken to officially adopt the report only the shell of the draft report with a page attached to the back with 10 signatures on it.

“Look, I’m not saying we did it the right way, but

by Thursday, I was so pissed at how they had screwed this up at every turn, I just wanted out of this,” commented another committee member on the secrecy of the final week.

At this point, even the members of the committee who wanted to reform tax credits, instead of completely eliminating them, threw up their hands and capitulated on the agreement that they just try and hide the report on the Friday afternoon before the 4th.

Then, as is always the case, the cover up is where the real drama begins.

The first idea floated inside the administration was to completely change the logo and layout of the final report, delete the substantive ideas and claim the draft report had been faked in a “fake news” defense.

However, it was the quality of the document and the specificity of the details that many felt made the “fake news” defense unbelievable.

When they realized they couldn’t completely distance themselves from the draft report, the question then turned to who leaked the report. When the leaked information is damaging, focusing on the leaker is the next best defense. Since many committee members had expressed reservations about the tax increases, and the due to the Governor’s contentious relationship with the legislature, there were several possible suspects. In reality, the same reason attendance was so sparse was likely the same reason there were so many leaks.

Finding out who the leaked document they were staring at on their computer screens turned out to be relatively easy. The document was prepared by lawyers who used Bates stamping to identify and track different drafts of documents. It showed the Governor’s staff ’s skepticism of the legislators on their hand picked committee that they needed to Bates stamp them, but that skepticism proved well founded.

The Bates stamp in the published copy numbered, WA 68877112 was quickly traced to the copy sent to Rep. Holly Rehder.

Being outed as the leaker would put any legislator in a compromising position, but particularly so for Rep. Rehder. Her largest supporter in the donor community has the largest personal vendetta for the tax credit community.

Her largest supporter period is Governor Eric Greitens who has personally facilitated fundraising meetings on her behalf and whose staff has lobbied House members to support her for Speaker of the House.

When initially contacted by the Governor’s office, Rep. Rehder denied she had leaked the report, as every other member of the commission who had CONTINUED AT MISSOURITIMES.COM

The Missouri Times

7

REHDER FILES FALSE HACKING COMPLAINT House Attorney implies “criminal investigation” underway Rachael Dunn

rachael@themissouritimes.com First, it was Democrats claiming that the Rus- from Rehder. sians had hacked their computers releasing embar“While we received several copies of the draft rassing emails, but now Rep. Holly Rehder, a Repub- report, including copies directly from committee lican legislator, has claimed her email was hacked, members when I heard what was being alleged we releasing a report detailing massive tax increases the confirmed with our source a digital trail directly Governor’s office was deliberating. back to the Representative,” said Missouri Times At 11:34 a.m. on Wednesday, June 28, The Mis- Publisher Scott Faughn. “The report we published souri Times published a report including a draft ver- was not as a result of hacking, and any inference othsion of the Governor’s Committee on Simple, Fair, erwise is untrue.” and Low Taxes. The report proved explosive inside The complaint resulted in staff time being dedithe executive branch, as the final version of the re- cated to it, and in response to our Sunshine Law report filed two days later gutted the majority of the quest House Counsel David Welch replied, “While draft, save for recommendations to eliminate several neither admitting nor denying that House network rural Missouri economic development programs. security was compromised records relating to such The committee was wrought with difficulties would be exempt from disclosure as operation of a and many speculate that it’s because of the low level computer, computer system, or computer network of confidence the Governor's Office has in the Gen- that could allow unauthorized access to or unlawful eral Assembly that they used a method called Bates disruption of a computer, computer system, computstamping to identify each copy they sent to individu- er network.” al legislators so they could track any leaks.

The Governor’s Office used Bates stamping to Was the Highway Patrol involved track the report published by The Missouri Times in investigating a false claim? back to Rehder, and the Governor’s office moved On June 28, Crumbliss stated that he was in a very swiftly, as documented in a Sunshine Law re- meeting with the Colonel of the Highway Patrol, and quest complied by the Missouri House of Represen- planned to speak with her after the meeting contatives, showing that by 12:45 p.m., approximately cluded, leaving the question open as to whether or 70 minutes later, Rehder sent a text message to the not the Highway Patrol has been investigating a false Chief Clerk of the House Adam Crumbliss stating, claim.

“I think my account has been hacked. Can you call House counsel David Welch’s response to the me?”

Sunshine request shed some light onto the matter, According to documents turned over to The "While additional records may or may not exist, if Missouri Times by The Missouri House of Represen- they do, they are exempt as part of an ongoing crimtatives the rest of the exchange wetn as follows: inal investigation.”

The Highway Patrol state that they do not com“Got your message. Having IT guys [call] ment on ongoing investigations. However, sources you. - Adam.” inside the Highway Patrol have confirmed that initially they were encouraged by the Governor’s Office “Thank u,” Rehder texting, then again: to investigate the claim, only days later to flip flop “I may also have highway patrol look and want the matter to go away without documentainto it” tion that, under the Sunshine Law, would have to be released once any investigation was concluded.

“That would likely be our recommendaThe matter is further complicated by the Govertion as well.” nor’s Policy Director Will Scharf being not only on the committee but one sending out draft reports. The “Who do I call for that? Someone Governor and his office have also been active in supspecific?” porting Rehder’s run for House Speaker.

Lastly, should the Missouri Alliance for Free“I’m sitting in a meeting with the Patrol dom’s lawsuit, being handled by the firm of the Colonel and am going to ask her when she Chairman of the Missouri Republican Party Todd is free.”

Graves, be successful, any emails Rehder sent from her personal account containing state business, such Shortly after Rehder reached out to Crumbliss, as a draft of the government report would be open to Crumbliss texts House Director of Information Sys- disclosure after a Sunshine Law request. tems Rich Beckwith and tells him, “Holly Rehder Rehder did not respond to calls for comment as thinks her account has been hacked. Please call her,” of time of print. and sends him Rehder's phone number.

Other than password issues of members, this is the only security complaint of any House member since June 15.

After learning of the allegations that in some way hacking was involved in obtaining the draft report, The Missouri Times verified that the source who provided the report in fact received it directly

8 www.themissouritimes.com

Graves Garrett sues Galloway, Schaaf over open records requests Benjamin Peters

benjamin@themissouritimes.com This week, Graves Garrett attorneys, on behalf of the Missouri Alliance for Freedom, filed civil suits with the Cole County Circuit Court to compel both the Auditor and Sen. Rob Schaaf to produce documents requested under the state’s Sunshine Law. State Auditor Nicole Galloway has been a strong voice in the call for more transparency in Missouri government, but now she finds herself on the opposite side of a Sunshine Law request.

Todd Graves As for the Missouri Alliance for Freedom, it’s a nonprofit organization who says their primary purpose is to “advance the interests of Missouri by protecting and growing individual, religious, and economic liberty.” They support the idea of limited government and accountability while aiming to pass conservative legislation through the Missouri General Assembly. They were heavily involved in pushing for right-to-work legislation, as well as being vocal opponents of PDMP in Missouri. Their president is Kristen Blanchard Ansley, the former acting executive director of the Missouri Republican Party.

The firm they’re using is Graves Garrett, which is run by Todd Graves, the chairman of the Missouri GOP. That Sunshine request stems from May of this year when the Missouri Alliance for Freedom asked for records relating to the audit of the Missouri Department of Revenue, as well as all communications within the Auditor’s Office or other relating to the audit.

Galloway responded by delivering a letter from

Paul Harper to Wood Miller, Acting Director of the Department of Revenue, one letter from Paul Harper to Joel Walters, Acting Director of the Department of Revenue, and one letter from Joel Walters, Acting Director of the Department of Revenue to Paul Harper.

But as for the other requests, Galloway’s counsel stated all other records “relating to the audit of the Department of Revenue” are “confidential under Sections 29.070, 29.200.17, 32.057, 610.021(14), and 610.021(17), RSMo.” The MAF filed their petition with the court, saying Galloway’s “assertion of confidentiality is overbroad” and the statutes do not protect “records relating to your decision to audit the timeliness of the Department’s issuance of tax refunds.”

A spokesperson with the Auditor’s Office tells the Missouri Times they have not been served with the lawsuit yet, but has received a copy from an attorney at Graves-Garrett.

“We disagree with the unfounded claims made

by Missouri Alliance for Freedom, a 501(c)(4) organization. We will continue to follow the Sunshine Law and are focused on the work of the office to get results for the citizens of Missouri.”

But perhaps the more interesting of the two suits is the one filed against Sen. Rob Schaaf.

The MAF’s petition claims Schaaf has “purposely closed public records without legal justification.”

The MAF sent the Senate Administrator a request to inspect Schaaf ’s correspondence in late May. They say, “on information and belief, the Senate has granted individual senators the unilateral authority and discretion to release or close records of their correspondence retained in the Senate’s email system,” and Schaaf has closed almost all records of his correspondence retained by the Senate in its email system.

The Senate Administrator offered to produce sixteen pages of emails in response to MAF’s request.

The MAF argues Schaaf has no basis to close these records under the Sunshine Law, and requested to inspect and copy his correspondence through email. The petition document says Schaaf responded, refusing to produce any correspondence.

Here’s Schaaf ’s response: I’m sure you know that as a legislator, my communications are exempt from the Sunshine Law. If they were [sic], I would gladly respond to your request. You might be interested to know that an initiative petition is being circulated that would subject legislators to the Sunshine Law. I imagine, given the social media activity of your group, that were I to request your donor list, you would demur as well.

All the Best, Rob Schaaf The MAF argues those records belong to the Senate and are retained by Schaaf on behalf of the Senate, and he has no basis to close them. They also allege Schaaf uses personal email accounts to do public business, which they say he does in order to “avoid public scrutiny of his correspondence.”

“He has purposely arranged a system of at least two, and perhaps many, personal email accounts to avoid retaining records on the Senate’s official email system. By these means, on information and belief, he has purposely sought to circumvent the Sunshine Law.” But the state’s open records law allows for some government documents to be withheld, as the legislature covers the two chambers and committees, but not each individual lawmaker. That decision goes back to an appeals court ruling which stated an indi-

vidual was not a public governmental body and not individually subject to the Sunshine Law. In both cases, the MAF and their attorneys are seeking the court’s injunction to get the requested documents and data.

Copies of the petitions filed with the courts can be viewed online at missouritimes.com.

Corporations can still make unlimited contributions to PACs, and here's how Benjamin Peters

benjamin@themissouritimes.com

More than eight months have passed since Missouri voters elected to put in new laws regarding campaign contributions in the ShowMe State, which has already proven to be easier said than done.

As each month has ticked by, the decisions on just what the new law does, and how it is enforced has been argued and tested.

And a recent ruling by the commission has cleared up more of the campaign finance provisions of the law in an area that has been heavily scrutinized: political action committees.

Recently, Tom Robbins put four questions to the commission in regard to the law and how it works with PACs and corporations, and the commission’s response shows that under the state law, a corporation may receive unlimited contributions.

“Is a PAC not connected to an organization when its monetary contributions are from a corporation’s general treasury, not a corporation’s officers, employees, spouses, et. al.?”

Robbins asked the MEC. According to the MEC, the law provides limitations on corporate and labor organiza-

tion contributions to certain committees and specifically allows them to establish and contribute to PACs and continuing committees.

After reviewing the laws, the MEC stated that a corporation that is not connected to a PAC may make unlimited contributions to a PAC. They also said that assuming the corporation doesn’t establish the PAC and doesn’t serve as a connected organization, it can make unlimited monetary contributions from the corporate treasury.

So how does one define a corporation as not connected? The MEC’s responses say that as long as the corporation doesn't maintain the PAC, solicit funds for it, and only contributes corporate treasury funds, it is not a connected organization, and may receive unlimited contributions.

But if an individual contributes to the PAC, monetary or in-kind, those contributions must not exceed 49 percent of the PAC's total receipts, otherwise it will become a PAC connected to such individual's employer and, thus, cannot receive corporate general treasury funds.

Read the letter online at missouritimes. com

The Missouri Times

MEC slaps Curtis with more than $100K in fines Benjamin Peters

benjamin@themissouritimes.com

Rep. Courtney Curtis has officially landed in hot water with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

The MEC last week put out an order, which finds Curtis and the committees supporting him, ‘Curtis for Mo’ and ‘Curtis for Missouri,’ in violation of several campaign finance laws.

The MEC investigation into Curtis and his committees found nine counts of violations: • Failure to timely and accurately update statement of committee organization • Failure to maintain an official fund depository account in the candidate committee’s name through which all contributions are deposited and all expenditures are made • Unauthorized use of campaign contributions • Commingling committee funds with funds of others • Cash contributions and expenditures in excess of limits • Failure to timely and accurately file campaign finance disclosure reports with cumulative information from the date of the last report • Failure to timely and accurately report contributions received • Failure to timely and accurately report expenditures and contributions made • Failure to maintain committee records in accordance with accepted normal bookkeeping procedures Some of the findings of the investigation show that Curtis used campaign contributions to buy gas while traveling to and from House sessions, that at least $2,000 in committee funds had been commingled with the funds of others, including Curtis’, as well as failing to timely and accurately report hundreds of contributions.

After granting a continuance, the commission heard the case back in late April of this year. Curtis was granted additional time, until

June 16, to provide additional evidence for the commission to consider, but according to the order, Curtis never offered any exhibits or legal responses under the imposed deadlines, which led to a unanimous vote from the commission to fine the state representative from District 73.

The commission ordered Curtis and the committees to pay a fee in the amount of $114,050, an amount that a number of veteran observers are saying is one of the largest fines they have ever seen. (Former Sen. Robin Wright-Jones was hit with a $271k fee in 2013.

The MEC fined former state senate candidate and former Rep. Rodney Hubbard with a $322k fine in 2010.)

But Curtis and the committees can avoid paying it all if they pay $11,400 of the fee within 45 days of the order, which was issued on July 14, and file all required campaign disclosure reports. If they can comply with that part of the order, then the remainder of the fee will be stayed.

If, however, that amount is not paid within the 45 day time period, then the full fee would need to be paid. If any other violations occur within the following two years, then the remainder of the fee will also have to be paid in full.

Curtis and the committees could utilize campaign funds to pay the fees, MEC Director James Klahr said, which is not uncommon, but he emphasized that if that’s how they decided to pay that cost, it must be reported to the MEC as such.

But Curtis still has another option, too. He could appeal the decision, which Klahr also said that, under the MEC provisions, would essentially work as a stay.

Rep. Curtis says he will be appealing the order.

“A combination of a stolen campaign laptop with all of my financial records, a stolen campaign debit card, and 2 major bank errors led to discrepancies, inaccurate and late reports for which I take full responsibility for, but I will appeal to have the record accurately reflect those incidents and reduce the overall fine amount,” he said.

9

Curtman launches exploratory committee into 2018 U.S. Senate race Benjamin Peters

benjamin@themissouritimes.com

Republican state representative Paul Curtman has been eyeing the 2018 race for U.S. Senate in Missouri, and has now launched an exploratory committee.

Curtman, a longtime constitutional conservative from Pacific, announced the move on Thursday morning, saying that he is beginning the exploration for the federal office because the state and nation “cannot afford six more years of Senator McCaskill.”

“I have a vision for America, and it involves Sen. Claire McCaskill becoming a private citizen,” he said.

He says that the politicians serving in Washington D.C. have failed the American people by attacking jobs, families and values, while also creating massive budget deficits that the American citizens can’t afford.

“I’m tired of political insiders and bureaucrats that have done nothing but grow the size of government and create budget deficits that will take generations to pay off. We need less of them and more of us,” Curtman said.

“We need leaders who will stand and fight for personal freedoms, sound financial principles, and our constitution.”

Curtman is currently serving in the Missouri House of Representatives, where he is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, but he is term-limited at the end of 2018. He served in the military from 1999 to 2003, and is a financial advisor with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where he majored in political science. He’s

also a published author, having written a book titled “Don’t Tread on Me: The Constitution and State Sovereignty.”

If Curtman does enter the race, he would join two other existing candidates, Tony Monetti and Austin Petersen, as the potential challenger of the incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill. He says that the exploratory committee will help him decide if there’s enough support and resources to challenge the Democrat, but he also says it’s not the first time he has faced off against McCaskill.

He caught the eye of several conservatives when he challenged McCaskill on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act years ago, and hopes to bring that same kind of fire to the race in 2018.

Still, others have been named as possible candidates, including Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, whom this week Vice President Mike Pence called on to run for the seat. State Treasurer Eric Schmitt, Congressman Blaine Leutkemeyer, and Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler have also been suggested as potential candidates.

He says that if he were elected to the U.S. Senate, he would seek to bring change by changing the way money is spent and focusing on good fiscal responsibility, as well as working toward a full repeal of Obamacare.

“People want the government out of their pocket books and out of their lives,” Curtman said.

According to Curtman’s new campaign website, he will hold a kickoff event at Orlando’s Events Centers in Maryland Heights on Saturday, July 29.

10 www.themissouritimes.com

PASS OR VETO

A look at the bills signed by Gov. Greitens, and what could reappear in veto session Benjamin Peters

benjamin@themissouritimes.com

With the final day to sign bills into law come and gone, we're taking a look back at what has been signed into law by first-term Governor Eric Greitens, as well as the bills that did not make it past his desk, thanks to his veto. By our count, the Governor signed off on 31 House bills and 36 Senate bills, for a total of 67 bills. He also vetoed five items before the deadline. 81 bills were passed by the legislature during the regular session.

Of the sixty-plus bills signed by the Republican governor, roughly one-third of them were budget bills. But several of the bills signed delivered on promises made by the incoming governor, including the passage of right-towork, tort reform, as well as a number of labor laws.

The Governor also allowed the passage of another bill without signing it. That bill is HB 1194, which prohibits political subdivisions from requiring a minimum wage that exceeds the requirements of state law.

Here's a breakdown of each bill signed into law by Gov. Eric Greitens: • HB 2 - Appropriates money for the expenses,

• •

•

•

•

• • •

• •

•

grants, refunds, and distributions of the State Board of Education and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education HB 3- Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the Department of Higher Education HB 4- Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the Department of Revenue and Department of Transportation HB 5 -Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the Office of Administration, Department of Transportation, and Department of Public Safety HB 6 - Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources, and Department of Conservation HB 7 - Appropriates money for the departments of Economic Development; Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration; and Labor and Industrial Relations HB 8 - Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the Department of Public Safety HB 9 - Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the Department of Corrections HB 10 - Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the Department of Mental Health, Board of Public Buildings, and Department of Health and Senior Services HB 11 - Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, and distributions of the Department of Social Services HB 12 - Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of statewide elected officials, the Judiciary, Office of the State Public Defender, and General Assembly HB 13 - Appropriates money for real property leases and related services

• HB 14 - To appropriate money for supplemental purposes for the several departments and offices of state government • HB 17 - To appropriate money for capital improvement and other purposes for the several departments of state government • HB 18 - To appropriate money for purposes for the several departments and offices of state government; for projects involving the maintenance, repair, replacement, and improvement of state buildings and facilities • HB 34 - Changes the laws regarding the Uniform Commercial Code to adopt the current version of Articles 1 and 7 • HB 50 - Changes division designations for circuit and associate courts in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit • HB 51 - Authorizes county commissions that oversee cemetery funds to utilize investment managers • HB 93 - Changes the laws regarding job training • HB 115 - Modifies provisions relating to the sale of intoxicating liquor in airports • HB 130 - Enacts provisions relating to transportation network companies • HB 151 - Requires the department of revenue to issue REAL ID compliant driver’s licenses unless the applicant requests a license that is not compliant with the REAL ID Act • HB 153 - Modifies provisions relating to expert witnesses • HB 190 - Allows community college police officers to establish regulations to control vehicular traffic on any thoroughfare owned or maintained by the college • HB 292 - Changes the laws regarding powers of banks • HB 336 - Provides that riders, endorsements, and amendments to life insurance policies may contain suicide exclusions or limitations • HB 339 - Modifies provisions relating to tort claims • HB 451 - Specifies that a change in population shall not remove a city, county, or political subdivision from the operation of a law • HB 452 - Modifies definitions of “employee” and “physician employee” in actions against health care providers for personal injury or death • HB 662 - Changes the laws regarding the misuse of herbicides • HB 1 - (Extraordinary Session) - Gives the public service commission authority to approve certain special utility rates for an aluminum smelting facility or a steel works facility under certain circumstances • SB 8 - Modifies the law relating to flashing lights on motor vehicles and equipment • SB 16 - Exempts delivery charges from sales and use taxes • SB 19 - Creates new provisions of law relating to labor organizations • SB 31 - Modifies provisions relating to the collateral source rule and provides that parties may introduce evidence of the actual cost, rather than the value, of the medical care rendered • SB 34 - Modifies and creates new provisions relating to criminal offenses • SB 35 - Modifies public notice and hearing requirements for certain land purchases made by the Department of Natural Resources or the Commissioner of Administration on behalf of state departments • SB 43 - Modifies the law relating to unlawful discrimination • SB 49 - Modifies several provisions relating to local sales taxes • SB 50 - Modifies several provisions relating to health care • SB 52 - Creates several provisions relating to sui-

cide awareness and prevention • SB 62 - Modifies provisions regarding various pension systems and forfeiture of a pension benefit due to a felony conviction • SB 64 - Gives designation to certain infrastructure • SB 66 - Modifies provisions of law relating to workers’ compensation • SB 88 - Establishes a two-year statute of limitation for claims of malpractice or negligence against veterinarians • SB 95 - Extends the expiration dates on certain provisions relating to public funds • SB 108 - Grants reemployment rights to members of the military • SB 111 - Modifies various provisions regarding bonds issued by a political subdivision, qualifications for candidates of public office, limited liability companies who own property in certain cities, public administrators, and guardianships • SB 112 - Modifies provisions relating to political subdivisions • SB 139 - Modifies provisions relating to health care • SB 160 - Modifies provisions relating to child protection • SB 161 - Establishes the Ozark Exploration Bicentennial Commission • SB 182 - Modifies provisions of law relating to project labor agreements • SB 222 - Modifies provisions relating to vehicle lighting equipment • SB 225 - Modifies provisions relating to transportation • SB 240 - Creates a statewide license for electrical contractors • SB 248 - Repeals the expiration date for tax refund contributions to the Organ Donor Program Fund • SB 279 - Adds certain forms to the list of documents sufficient to demonstrate eligibility for a veteran designation on an applicant’s driver’s license or non-driver identification card • SB 283 - Enacts provisions relating to political subdivisions • SB 322 - Designates certain memorial infrastructure • SB 329 - Modifies provisions relating to motor vehicle franchise practices • SB 376 - Designates “Old Drum” as the historical dog of the state of Missouri and “Jim the Wonder Dog” as Missouri’s wonder dog • SB 395 - Modifies provisions relating to the practice of public accounting • SB 421 - Modifies provisions relating to the conveyance of state property • SB 486 - Authorizes the conveyance of a certain state property located in Cole County to the City of Jefferson • SB 501 - Modifies provisions relating to health care • SB 503 - Requires the Committee for 911 Oversight to designate a state 911 coordinator

Here's a breakdown of the bills vetoed by Gov. Eric Greitens • HB 850 - Changes the law regarding military complaints against a commanding officer in the National Guard • HCB 3 - Modifies provisions relating to funds for vulnerable senior citizens • HCR 19 - Authorizes the issuance of public bonds for half of the financing of a new conservatory building at UMKC • SB 65 - Exempts vessels propelled by outboard jet motors and vessels not originally

manufactured with adequate guards or railing from the provisions prohibiting passengers from riding in certain areas of a boat • SB 128 - Modifies various provisions regarding criminal offenses, the Attorney General, the Department of Revenue, child support and custody, trusts and estates, guardianships, judges, court surcharges, court reporter fees, and victim’s of crime Many wonder about what a potential veto session might consist of, as the six bills vetoed would be up for consideration. But when comparing the bills in question and the fact that the legislature has been called back for two special sessions, it stands to reason that the legislature may not choose to try and override any of these vetoes.

Indeed, some of the vetoed items may not have any need to be overridden. The governor's veto of HCR 19 could be considered unnecessary since UMKC has already made it clear they intend to locate the funding elsewhere.

As for HB 850, Greitens said he sees no need for the military complaint process to be taken any further than The Adjutant General, saying the military is completely capable of policing their own.

SB 65 was vetoed when members of law enforcement expressed concern.

That would leave two bills as options for a veto session: SB 128 and HCB 3.

SB 128 could be brought forward, as it was a criminal justice measure that addressed a wide range of topics.

Greitens said it violated the Constitution’s ban on laws containing multiple subjects, but the real reason lawmakers may be interested in taking it up once again is because it had a provision in it that sought to bring more transparency to the state's legal settlements, which has cost the Show-Me State millions in recent years. The proposal would have required the attorney general to provide monthly updates on the state’s legal expense fund.

But HCB 3 might be the most likely of the three, as it caused the most controversy in the last few weeks of the session.

The issue at hand was how to provide care to a group of more than 8,000 low-income seniors, veterans and people living with disabilities and minor health care issues. The bill sought to pull $35 million from various state funds into general revenue as a one-time payment.

Greitens called the bill a "budget gimmick," but the emotions witnessed on both the House and the Senate floors this past session in regard to this bill suggests that this particular item may be the most likely to see another chance.

The Missouri Times

11

Greitens launches PDMP with executive order Benjamin Peters

benjamin@themissouritimes.com

Missouri will officially join the other 49 states in using a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP).

Governor Eric Greitens on Monday signed Executive Order 17-18, which establishes a statewide drug monitoring program focused on those prescribing drugs and filing prescriptions.

“The opioid crisis in Missouri has taken the lives of hundreds of mothers, fathers, and children. It strikes in our cities and our rural communities. It destroys relationships and drives crime. We must take bold action to address it,” Greitens said in a release.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared a national opioid epidemic, and Greitens said the state’s new approach to combatting opioid addiction and overdose deaths could potentially become a national model.

According to the executive order’s language, more than 900 Missourians died from an opioid overdose in 2016, which Greitens says is overwhelming the state’s law enforcement, health care and social service providers.

Greitens’ order calls for the Department of

Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to implement a “multi-phase” prescription drug monitoring program.

“We need to be honest and clear about the scale of what we are up against: Opioids are a modern plague,” Greitens said. “Like the plague, opioids kill the young, the old, the healthy, the sick, the virtuous and the sinful.

There’s not a corner of our state that hasn’t been visited by this curse. There is no single program, or law, or executive order that can fix this crisis. This program is a step—and it’s a big step. Throughout this week, we will outline the other steps we will take to address the opioid crisis. The only thing we won’t do is wait. We won’t wait for this problem to get worse. That’s not an option.”

The first phase requires DHSS to enter into contracts with all pharmacy organizations to analyze prescriber and pharmacy prescriptions and dispensing data for schedule II-IV controlled substances.

The second phase requires dispensers to submit their controlled substance prescription and dispensing information to DHSS to be looked over in order to identify any instances of controlled substances being inappropriately given out or prescribed.

The final step requires DHSS to work with private companies and government entities to

purchase the tools and technology to properly monitor the prescription information that is sent to DHSS or its designee as part of the PDMP. All information throughout the multiphase process is required to be confidential.

Greitens made the announcement at the pharmaceutical provider, Express Scripts, in St. Louis. The company will be the private-sector partner in the state’s program.

The estimated cost for the PDMP startup is about $250,000.

Monday’s stop in St. Louis is just one of a week-long tour in which Greitens plans to unveil the new actions that Missouri will take to address the national opioid epidemic. On Tuesday he will be in St. Louis discussing ways to prevent overdose deaths, and will head to Cape Girardeau and Springfield later in the week to outline plans to combat drug traffickers and treat addiction in rural Missouri.

Missouri lawmakers have long debated putting a PDMP into place in the Show-Me State in an effort to combat opioid addiction and doctor shopping, but have never acted on any of the legislation due to strong opposition due to privacy concerns in regard to the use of a database to harbor medical information.

But while the state legislature sat at a draw, a number of counties and municipalities had

already taken the matter into their own hands, setting up their own prescription drug monitoring systems. St. Louis County was the first establish a PDMP in 2016, leading others to do the same.

Now, the governor is doing the same thing, and some lawmakers expressed displeasure at the governor’s actions. The tension between lawmakers and the governor has often been an issue at times, and the latest executive order could be seen as an attempt by the governor to circumvent the legislature altogether.

“Governing by executive order because you couldn’t get a bill passed was wrong under Obama and it’s wrong today,” Rep. Shamed Dogan wrote on Twitter.

“For a “Republican Outsider,” @EricGreitens sure has quickly embraced the Obama doctrine of governing by Executive Order,” Sen. Ryan Silvey tweeted.

Others commented more about the issue with the order’s substance.

“I support PDMP. @EricGreitens’ version doesn’t allow prescribers to see database — totally useless in trying to prevent ‘dr shopping’,” Rep. Lauren Arthur said in a tweet. “This actually undermines successful local efforts to combat this crisis. Intended to make Gov look good despite costs to folks in MO.”

12 www.themissouritimes.com

Net neutrality debate underway again Lt. Gov. picks a side

Benjamin Peters

benjamin@themissouritimes.com

The issue of net neutrality is rising once again in the U.S., following the recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission to roll back net neutrality regulations.

Current FCC Chairman and Trump appointee Ajit Pai put forth a plan back in May to overturn the rules set forth in 2015 under the Obama administration that prohibited the throttling, blocking and prioritizing of traffic by internet service providers. The current net neutrality laws require ISPs to treat all data

equally, preventing the blocking or slowing down the delivery speeds in favor of certain companies. It’s been favored by companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, and Netflix.

Pai calls those regulations overly burdensome. He says the regulations are hindering infrastructure development and seeks to have broadband returned to a framework under Title I of the Communications Act, which would classify it as an information service. The regulations established in 2015 put it under Title II as a utility.

The commission approved Pai’s 75-page

New poll shows Greitens with 51 percent approval rating Greitens ranks in top five among uncertain voters Benjamin Peters

benjamin@themissouritimes.com

Even in the world of politics, it’s all just one big popularity contest. And if that holds true, then Governor Eric Greitens may not be doing as well as he hoped, according to a new poll.

The Morning Consult on Tuesday released the results of their Governor Approval Rankings, which used data that was collected from interviews with more than 195,000 registered voters across the U.S. from April 1 through July 10.

Greitens finished 34th among the governors in the approval portion, with a 51 percent approval rating. His numbers also showed 28 percent disapproving (21st among governors), and 22 percent unsure, which ranked number 4 among all governors.

The data shows neighboring Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas with the second-lowest approval rating, only surpassed by Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey. Wisconsin’s Gov. Scott Walker, who recently visited Missouri to support Greitens as he signed a bill on project labor agreements back in May, also showed low approval ratings, finishing 43rd with 43 percent approval and a 51 percent disapproval rate.

Austin Chambers, former campaign manager for Greitens, called the numbers “great news.”

But the polling also seems to indicate that some GOP governors are thriving in typically Democratic states. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, a strong blue state, boasts the highest approval of all, coming in at 71 percent.

You can read the full report at missouritimes.com.

proposal to undo the arrangement, which is broadband infrastructure to the under-served called “Restoring Internet Freedom,” with a areas of Missouri.

2-1 vote at their May 18 meeting.

“70% of rural Missouri does not have acThe chairman’s proposal called for public cess to high-speed broadband,” the Lt. Gov. comment, which tweeted. “We wrapped up this owe it to future week with more generations to than 9 million regive them the sponses filed. tools to be sucBut while cessful.”

GOP leaders seem Broadband to continue pushproviders like ing to loosen the AT&T, Comnet neutrality regcast, and Verulations, recent izon say that polls over the last allowing them few years indicate to increase that it’s not necestheir profits sarily an opinion through the shared by their use of a tiered voters. system would A November enable them 2014 University to invest in of Delaware surinfrastrucvey, found that ture. But Parson PHOTO/TIM BOMMEL-HOUSE COMMS 85% of Repubcritics of licans (and 81% the plan say of Democrats) were opposed to allowing ISPs that loosening the regulations might not do to charge web companies a fee to deliver their that and there are no guarantees that the comcontent to customers more quickly. panies will go through with the investments.

So what’s the reasoning behind the push?

In an interview with Missourinet, ParSome argue that it’s just a continued fight son says he believes that the providers will go against the work of the Obama administration, through with the plan if enabled to, pointing while others say it’s about campaign contribu- to cable providers as an example. He says the tions, though it's fair to point out that compa- cable companies go to rural communities and nies on both sides of the issue have contributed provide a more expensive option, but the deto both parties. But the most common belief as cision is left to the people as to whether they to why Republicans continue pushing the bill purchase or not. on the issue is that the current rules under the Parson will be headed to Nashville this FCC give the federal government more power week, where he will be attending the Nationover the industry, and if there's one thing Re- al Lieutenant Governors Association annual publicans have consistently stood for, it's lim- meeting. The issue of net neutrality is expected ited government. to be on the agenda.

The move, however, is one that’s supported by one of Missouri’s top statewide elected officials. Lt. Gov. Mike Parson says it’s time to loosen the regulations, which he believes will give them the motivation to finally build

The Missouri Times

13

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity & Missouri Benjamin Peters

benjamin@themissouritimes.com

What changes would you make to election laws to ensure the integrity of the elections?

That’s the question put to Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and the other election officials across the nation this month.

President Donald Trump in May announced a commission he proposed would look into the integrity of the elections across the U.S., setting up an investigation to his belief that as many as 3 or 5 million people voted illegally last November. That number has been dismissed by a number of experts and election officials, but the real controversy in this matter came when the commission completed their first action: asking all 50 states to send in detailed voter registration records.

So, as the state’s leading authority on elections and voting, the Secretary of State oversees all elections in the state, and for that simple reason, Ashcroft now finds himself tied into the national debate.

The records asked for would include names, date of birth, political party, the last four numbers of social security, and voting history, which the panel says would allow them to study the extent of voter fraud. Some states have refused to comply, as many as 44 declining to at least some portion of the request at the beginning of July. Many have decried the call for records, saying it’s just another attempt to disenfranchise certain voters, particularly minorities or the elderly.

"They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi is a

great state to launch from," Mississippi's Republican secretary of state, Delbert Hosemann, said in response.

Colorado's Republican secretary of state, Wayne Williams, sent a nine-page letter that begins: "Elections are working well in Colorado."

Here in Missouri, Secretary of State Ashcroft was one of the election officials that complied.

Ashcroft’s stance on voter fraud is nothing new; he campaigned heavily on the matter in the past election. He said that he will not give social security numbers to the commission, but will provide names, voting history, and locations.

“We do know vote fraud occurs,” Ashcroft said during a CNN interview, where said that the voter documents requested were “public information that we regularly give out.”

Indeed, the Missouri Times sought to see how easily one might obtain those records, and within less than an hour's time, had obtained a disc full of the requested records. All one has to do is fill out a form and pay the $50 fee, and they can walk out with a copy.

But aside from the request for voter documents, the commission also asked for input.

In his letter to states requesting the voter data, Vice Chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach asked for recommendations on how to prevent voter intimidation or disenfranchisement as well as how to help "state and local election administrators with regard to information technology security and vulnerabilities."

Kobach asked the election officials from each state to answer the following questions.

1. What changes, if any, to federal election laws would you recommend to enhance the integrity of federal elections?

2. How can the C o m mission support state a n d local

election administrators with regard to information technology security and vulnerabilities?

3. What laws, policies, or other issues hinder your ability to ensure the integrity of elections you administer?

4. What evidence or information do you have regarding instances of voter fraud or registration fraud in your state?

5. What convictions for election-related crimes have occurred in your state since the November 2000 federal election?

6. What recommendations do you have for preventing voter intimidation or disenfranchisement?

7. What other issues do you believe

the Commission should consider?

All of this comes prior to the first official public meeting of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which took place this week.

The commission met last Wednesday - you can watch the entire meeting online at missouritimes.com.

A spokesman for Secretary Ashcroft said that they have not responded to the questions at this time, as the commission is not accepting the responses at this time. There’s still some legal debate over the whole issue - and multiple lawsuits. But, the spokesman confirms that if and when the responses are sent to the commission, they will be made available to the public as well.

Ashcroft talks voter information and media bias Kaden Quinn

kaden@themissouritimes.com

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft joined This Week in Missouri Politics Sunday to speak about voter ID, the voter information that was requested by the President, and more.

In an effort to dispel any false accusations or hyperbole in regards to the president’s request, Ashcroft tried to make things clear by defining what the request was actually asking for from the state.

“There was a commission set up by the president to look at our voting processes and look at what could be done better. They sent a request to every state asking for that information a state has about voters that’s public,” Ashcroft said. “They specifically said they only wanted public information twice. In Missouri that’s going to be things like your name, your address, your date of birth, the elections in which you’ve received a ballot and where you vote. It’s not going to have your party affiliation, it’s not going to have your social security number or any part of that, it’s not going to say how you voted either, we just know that you got a ballot.”

Emphasizing how a misunderstanding of information can exaggerate hyperbole and spread untrue details, This Week in Missouri Politics host Scott Faughn decided to investigate the severity of the request, if it was in fact as severe as some editorials had made it out to be.

By bringing a copy of the president’s letter to Ashcroft’s office and simply asking if he could have the information asked for in letter himself, Faughn was a given a CD containing all that the data that the state was allowed to collect and to give out. According to Faughn, it took about five minutes and it looked to be one of the most simplistic processes he has witnessed.

Questioning the methods of some individuals within the media, Faughn said that it would be easy for outlets to check out just how important something is by doing something similar to what he did.

Jumping off that, Ashcroft pointed out that all major media outlets have received this data multiple times over the last ten years.

“This is part of Missouri’s Sunshine Act,” Ashcroft explained. “Anyone that requests in writing this public information and pays a nominal fee, they have to agree not to use it for commercial purposes, and we give it out.

It’s been given out a thousand times in the last ten years.

Both went on to talk about the media and its disposition towards the president. Agreeing that there are many things the American people should question regarding the President’s actions, but the media continues to discredit itself when it puts its blatant opposition before what is objectively true, thus creating a credibility cap.

“I think, unfortunately, our politics have gotten so divisive that when something comes up, people immediately run to their side of the

CONTINUED AT MISSOURITIMES.COM

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6

THINGS THAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK

1. Caleb Arthur announces campaign for Senate District 30 2. NRA-PVF endorses Sandy Crawford for state senate 3. Missouri Chamber, NFIB endorse Sarah Walsh for House District 50 4. DED announces decrease in umemployment, now at 3.8% 5. McCaherty announces candidacy for Jefferson County Executive 6. Dicamba ban lifted Read these and more online at www.missouritimes.com.

Email your news to pressreleases@themissouritimes.com

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LOBBYIST CHANGES

Changes on: 07/21/2017 Paul Sparks Added AEGERION PHARMACEUTICALS Mark J Rhoads Deleted STEVEN R CARROLL Mark J Rhoads Deleted MULTISTATE ASSOCIATES INC ON BEHALF OF UNITED RENTALS Changes on: 07/20/2017 Jeffrey Altmann Added THE CITY OF ELLISVILLE MISSOURI Changes on: 07/18/2017 Jason Zamkus Added FAIRWAY CONSTRUCTION COMPANY INC Changes on: 07/17/2017 Christopher Desimone Deleted AEGERION PHARMACEUTICALS Changes on: 07/16/2017 Shawn Dabreu Deleted MISSOURI CENTERS FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING MOCIL Changes on: 07/14/2017 David Jacobson Added NORIDIAN HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS Brian Kinkade Added Missouri Hospital Association Changes on: 07/13/2017 Edens Davis Added NRDC ACTION FUND INC Jeremy Lafaver Added MISSOURI BUDGET PROJECT Jeremy Lafaver Added ALLIANCE FOR CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Jeremy Lafaver Added FOSTER ADOPT CONNECT J Scott Marrs Added WIRELESS INFRASTRUCTURE ASSOCIATION CO MULTISTATE ASSOCIATES INC Bo Moore Added NRDC ACTION FUND INC Philip Simon Added NRDCAF J Scott Marrs Deleted CITY OF PURDY J Scott Marrs Deleted APPLUS TECHNOLOGIES INC CO MULTISTATE ASSOCIATES INC J Scott Marrs Deleted CITY OF MONETT Changes on: 07/12/2017 Elizabeth Althoff Added MISSOURI LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM Bob Wilson Added MISSOURI LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM Changes on: 07/11/2017 Daniel C Gibb Added US CHAMBER INSTITUTE FOR LEGAL REFORM Katie Hendrickson Added CODEORG Steven Tilley Added STEVEN TILLEY Emily J Van Schenkhof Deleted MISSOURI KIDS FIRST Changes on: 07/10/2017 Sarah Wood Martin Added MISSOURI ENERGY INITIATIVE Jay Benson Deleted MISSOURI ASSOCIATION OF TRIAL ATTORNEYS Melissa Bowie Deleted SHIRE Changes on: 07/09/2017 Keith Faddis Deleted MIDAMERICA REGIONAL COUNCIL Ginger Steinmetz Deleted MISSOURI SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION Changes on: 07/07/2017 Kemp A Shoun

Added MISSOURI STATE TROOPERS ASSOCIATION Linda Barefoot Deleted PURDUE PHARMA LP L Kent Gaines Deleted FIRST RULE Amy Haste Deleted GOOGLE INC Alan Chip Mason Deleted SILVER DOLLAR CITY INC Alan Chip Mason Deleted DIXIE STAMPEDE LLC Alan Chip Mason Deleted HERSCHEND FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION Alan Chip Mason Deleted SHOW ME YOU CARE Changes on: 07/06/2017 Gregory Fisher Added PACE FUNDING David Jacobson Added EPIC STRATEGIES William J Kuehling Added FOPA PARTNERS LLC CO THE LAWRENCE GROUP William J Kuehling Added DISCOVERY PIER LAND HOLDINGS LLC Michael Lindsey Added WAL MART STORES INC Thomas R Robbins Added STERLING BANK Lisa Tames Added BANK OF AMERICA NA Sheryl Schmidt Deleted FAMILIES FOR HOME EDUCATION Rose Marie Hopkins Deleted TIAA Rose Marie Hopkins Deleted THE DOCTORS COMPANY Rose Marie Hopkins Deleted RL POLK CO Rose Marie Hopkins Deleted SONNYS SOLID WASTE SERVICE INC Rose Marie Hopkins Deleted ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI NURSE PRACTITIONERS Rose Marie Hopkins Deleted THE 109 GROUP LLC Changes on: 07/05/2017 Brian Bunten Added UNITED HEALTHCARE SERVICES INC Reid Forrester Added MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Shawn Rigger Added STERLING BANK Steven Tilley Added STERLING BANK Brian Bunten Deleted MISSOURI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY Kyna Iman Deleted CHEYENNE INTERNATIONAL LLC Kyna Iman Deleted CORPORATE SECURITY ADVISORS ASSOCIATION Kyna Iman Deleted NATIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE BOARDS OF NURSING Changes on: 07/03/2017 Corinne Copeland Deleted EISAI INC Andrew Wynne Deleted US CHAMBER INSTITUTE FOR LEGAL REFORM Changes on: 07/01/2017 Stephen Mahfood Deleted THE NATURE CONSERVANCY Kelsey Robinson Deleted STEVEN R CARROLL AND ASSOCIATES Changes on: 06/30/2017 Michael Mcdermott Added VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS AND AFFILIATED COMPANIES Joseph Miller Added MISSOURI PRIMARY CARE ASSOCIATION

Changes on: 06/29/2017 John E Bardgett Jr Deleted TERRAGEN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LLC Changes on: 06/28/2017 Wade Hapgood Deleted UNITED HEALTHCARE SERVICES INC Richard W Moore Deleted ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES Changes on: 06/26/2017 Shawn Rigger Added COUNTY OF JEFFERSON Thomas R Robbins Added COUNTY OF JEFFERSON Kelvin L Simmons Added MCI AVIATION GROUP LLC Steven Tilley Added COUNTY OF JEFFERSON Steven Tilley Deleted ELIZABETH LAUBER LLC EL CONSULTING Changes on: 06/23/2017 Carla Capps Added COGNOSANTE LLC Changes on: 06/21/2017 Theresa Garza Added RENOVATE AMERICA INC Richard I Martin Deleted HNTB Changes on: 06/19/2017 Jeffrey Altmann Added FOUR CORNERS DEVELOPMENT Lana Ladd Baker Added EHAWK INC Changes on: 06/16/2017 Jeffery N Brooks Added NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC David Michael Jackson Added NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC Jorgen Schlemeier Added NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC Dwight Scharnhorst Deleted EXPRESS WASH CONCEPTS Dwight Scharnhorst Deleted SAINT CHARLES AUCTION COMPANY Changes on: 06/13/2017 Clinton Mcbride Added LABORERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA LOCAL 110 Michael Talboy Added BURNS MCDONNELL ENGINEERING Keith Antone Willis Sr Added FLOTRON MCINTOSH LLC Jason Zamkus Added MISSOURI ENERGY INITIATIVE Changes on: 06/12/2017 John Mcgurk Added AECOM Irl L Scissors Added MISSOURI ENERGY INTITATIVE Lewis R Mills Deleted SUMMIT UTILITIES INC Irl L Scissors Deleted AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC INSURANCE ADJUSTERS Changes on: 06/10/2017 David W Sweeney Added SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY Changes on: 06/09/2017 Robert B Dixon Deleted MISSOURI COMMUNITY COLLEGE ASSOCIATION Changes on: 06/08/2017 Aaron Baker Added BURNS AND MCDONNELL Ronald Randen Added RONALD RANDEN Kristian Starner Added BURNS AND MCDONNELL Steven W Bunten Deleted UNION ELECTRIC DBA

NEW GROUP FORMS SEEKING TO MODERNIZE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

Thousands join Missouri group supporting air traffic control modernization ST. LOUIS – A new group is seeking to push for reform and modernization to the nation’s air traffic control systems.

On Wednesday, a group of lawmakers and government, transportation, and local leaders announced the formation of “Missouri Citizens for On Time Flights”, a group supported byover 5,500 Missourians who have signed petitions in support of the air traffic control modernization. Their goal is to encourage Congress to take a look at modernizing the system, which they say is in much need of reform.

“Our air traffic control system is at a breaking point and it is directly responsible for nearly 50 percent of all flight delays in the United States,” coalition Cochair and Missouri Senate Transportation Chair Dave Schatz said. “I am proud to support President Trump’s effort to modernize our air traffic control system to allow more efficient routing and more opportunities for airlines to serve Missouri’s rural communities.”

“Our air traffic control system is a critical part of our nation’s economy yet it is still operating with paper strips and the same ground-based system that is has used since World War II,” House Majority Leader Mike Cierpiot, the former Chairman of the Transportation Funding and Public Institutions Committee and CoChair of Missouri Citizens for On Time

Flight, said. “It is time to modernize our system by moving it away from the federal bureaucracy and into an independent, not-for-profit corporation to help bring the system into the twenty-first century.”

“Our cell phones and cars are operating with better technology than that of America’s air traffic. It is time for Congress to get to work to pass this much-needed reform to fix our antiquated air traffic control system,” State Rep. Kevin Corlew said, who also serves as Chair of the 21st Century Missouri Transportation System Task Force.

The coalition is also joined by local Mayors Ron Blum of St. Clair, Adam Couch of Odessa and Adam Paul of Ellisville.

Earlier this month, 60 Missouri lawmakers signed a letter of support for air traffic control modernization, which was delivered to Missouri’s Congressional delegation.

Missouri Citizens for On Time Flights is a chapter of Citizens for On Time Flights, a nationwide effort which launched in May and has generated over 200,000 emails to Members of Congress so far. It joins 10 other states as part of a nationwide grassroots campaign mobilizing passengers, advocates, and businesses who are unhappy or fed up with flight delays and cancellations.

16 www.themissouritimes.com

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