Jefferson City

Missouri will enter the new fiscal year July 1 with a near-record cash surplus as state spending falls short of budgeted amounts and revenues meet expectations.

Meeting revenue expectations won’t, however, be enough to trigger an income tax cut dependent on revenue growth, said Jim Moody, a former state budget director.

“My view is, best case, they end up probably around the last year’s revenues, which would not trigger it,” said Moody, who is also a retired lobbyist who advised clients on state fiscal issues and tax matters.The state took in $13.2 billion in general revenue in the year that ended June 30, 2023. Through Thursday, general revenue receipts were down 0.35% for the current fiscal year — the estimate is for a decline of 0.7% — while a tax cut would occur if revenues increased by $200 million or more.

Gov. Mike Parson must act on the $51.7 billion budget approved by lawmakers before the new fiscal year begins July 1. And while the large surplus and steady revenues mean every item can be funded, Parson last year vetoed $550 million in spending items he said jeopardized the state’s long-term fiscal health.

And Parson may call lawmakers back to add new spending before his term expires in January. If the budget fails to adequately fund state operations, Parson said at a news conference in May that he would not leave it to his successor to fill in the gaps.

And at the first meeting of the State Board of Education after the budget was approved, board President Charlie Shields predicted that the department would need the “mother of all supplemental budgets” to make it through the year.

At the end of May, the state general revenue fund held $4.9 billion, with other funds that could be spent without restriction adding almost $1.9 billion. On July 1, 2023, the general revenue surplus stood at $5.1 billion, the largest in state history.

The general revenue balance is about $1.7 billion more than Gov. Mike Parson’s January budget proposal anticipated would be left on June 30. And while there are some big items left to fund in the current budget – a $300 million transfer to an account for expansion of the Capitol Building being the largest – the balance is unlikely to change dramatically in the final month of the fiscal year.

A large part of the additional surplus is likely due to unspent funds due from staffing shortages across state government. During fiscal year 2023, state agencies only used 87% of the payroll hours allocated in the budget. That helped keep general revenue spending $608 million below budgeted amounts.

The almost flat revenue growth masks changes in the mix of revenues. Sales tax revenues are up more than 9% for the year, while income taxes receipts have declined about 3%. In just the past two years, as income tax cuts have kicked in, the share of general revenue coming from sales tax has increased from $1 out of every $5 to $1 out of every $4.

There are several factors driving growth in sales tax, Moody said.

The first is inflation, both in wages and prices, he said. Adult use marijuana is a market of more than $1 billion annually and sales tax claims 3% of that amount for general revenue.

The state began collecting tax on goods sold through the internet last year, and there is some residual spending of COVID-19 relief funds.

If Parson approves all the spending in the budget plan on his desk, it will consume about $2 billion of the accumulated surplus. If that continues into future years, Moody said, the surplus won’t last until the next recession.

“It’s been 15 years since we had a recession,” Moody said. “So nobody thinks that things can go down.”

This story was originally published by The Missouri Independent, part of the States Newsroom.

Originally Appeared Here

Two area farms are growing more than the usual vegetables — fields of dahlias, tulips, daisies and other beautiful flowers bloom on their family farms.

Rudy Lane Flower Farm and Mostly Meg are just two of the local flower farmers, a business model that has seen growth in recent years.

For Megan Rudroff at Rudy Lane Flower Farm in Linn, the inspiration came from social media. After she and her husband purchased their cattle farm back in 2010, she had the desire to start her own enterprise, but was unsure of what to create.

Rudroff looked into getting sheep, goats or pasture chickens, or even growing mushrooms indoors, but ultimately none of it felt right.

“Nothing really clicked until I stumbled upon flower farming through Instagram,” Rudroff said.

And so it began. Rudroff began by planting only peonies in 2019 and later decided to add more to her fields.

“It just seemed like everything kind of clicked for what I wanted from our farm and what I could do with our kids safely,” Rudroff said.

When the pandemic started the next year, Rudy Lane had to pivot their business model. They mostly grew and sold from their farmstand where people could stop by and buy bouquets, creating a contactless market.

Since then, Rudy Lane has expanded and is now up to 600 peonies, 800 dahlias and dozens of different kinds of annuals.

The beginning of Meghan Dudenhoeffer’s flower farm, Mostly Meg, had a different origin.

She had been growing vegetables on her in-laws’ farm for years before she ventured into growing flowers, but as soon as she did, she was hooked.

For her, growing plants is almost therapeutic.

“It was just a great stress relief. I loved the whole process of watching a plant grow and taking care of it,” Dudenhoeffer said.

She began planting zinnias and cosmos and fell in love with arranging them. After she began posting photos of her arrangements on Facebook, she received compliments from family and friends who suggested she start selling her flowers.

Despite not thinking anyone would buy them, she started listing them for sale and was shocked that they would sell instantly.

She inherited land just outside of Jefferson City from her grandfather that has been in her family for 150 years. Dudenhoeffer established her business in 2021 and began selling bouquet subscriptions, evergreen wreaths and more.

What started as a private business with grow lights and thousands of seeds in her basement quickly grew to a full flower farm business in the spring of 2022 when they broke ground in the field and began planting.

As soon as she knew she’d have flowers, she announced the bouquet subscriptions and sold out in a day.

Flower farms have a variety of business models. For Rudy Lane, that includes selling bulk to florists, selling bouquet subscriptions to area residents, and hosting workshops such as their wreath workshop.

Rudy Lane typically has two options for subscriptions, though they are both sold out this year. The spring subscription is a weekly bouquet every week for four weeks that typically includes tulips, daffodils, peonies and lilacs. Their summer subscription features five bouquets once a month, which include peonies, snapdragons, zinnias and dahlias.

“So the summer people really get a wide look at the flowers we have on the farm, too,” Rudroff said.

While Rudy Lane’s subscriptions are sold out, the farmstand is open on Saturday mornings and is done by the honor system.

Mostly Meg has a variety of subscriptions options; a spring subscription, a month-by-month subscription where you choose the month, a six-month subscription, or an all-summer-long subscription which includes 12 bouquets.

“It’s just so beautiful to put a smile on someone’s face by handing them flowers,” Dudenhoeffer said.

For Jefferson City customers, Mostly Meg partners with Plate and Pour on High Street as a pickup location for bouquet subscriptions in addition to her porch pickup option.

“These flowers are so fresh, they’re grown right here in our own community. They’re not shipped thousands of miles, they’re not full of chemicals to keep them fresh,” Dudenhoeffer said.

According to Rudroff and Dudenhoeffer, the local flower farm scene has been on the rise in recent years.

“I’d definitely say that it’s grown. … The pandemic pushed a big shift in locally grown, not just flowers, of course, but locally grown everything: vegetables, fruit, beef and other meats and things like that. And really focusing on small business and local products, I think that has just continued since the pandemic. And as people are learning more about flowers and flower farming, I have definitely seen a bigger interest in that as well,” Rudroff said.

Dudenhoeffer agreed, adding she has seen a lot more people attempting to grow their own plants.

“Right now, we’re in this period of time where everybody is seeing the importance of gardening on your own and producing your own food and self-sustainability and things like that, and I think this kind of goes along with it. People love that kind of thing right now, it’s very popular,” Dudenhoeffer said.

    Alexa Pfeiffer/News Tribune Meghan Dudenhoeffer of Mostly Meg Flower Subscriptions works on her flower farm in preparation for the spring season. She has been paying close attention to her garden as it has struggled this season with extreme weather.
      Alexa Pfeiffer/News Tribune Flowers begin to sprout for Mostly Meg’s flower farm just in time for the spring season. Meghan Dudenhoeffer has a flower subscription service selling bouquets of flowers grown locally in Jefferson City.
      Alexa Pfeiffer/News Tribune Flowers begin to sprout for Mostly Meg’s flower farm just in time for the spring season. Meghan Dudenhoeffer has a flower subscription service selling bouquets of flowers grown locally in Jefferson City.
  

Originally Appeared Here

Jefferson City’s parks department hosted its annual Art Around Town event Thursday evening, complete with drinks and cats.

The art crawl, which took place 4-8 p.m., included locations like Capital Arts Gallery, Gumbo Bottoms, Cottonstone Art Gallery and Frame Shop, Baristocats Cat Cafe, Art 101, the Jefferson City Museum of Modern Art, The Art Bazaar, The Art Gallery and Last Flight Brewing Company.

The purpose of the event is to encourage residents to be more aware of local art exhibits and artists, according to Leann Porello, the parks department’s cultural arts program manager.

Porello said Art Around Town has taken place every year for at least the last decade.

“I’ve lived in Jefferson City 10 years and we’ve always done it, so I would say we’ve done it probably around 15 or 16 years,” Porello said.

Every location was free to enter. Typically, Baristocats charges $5 per person, while the Jefferson City Museum of Modern Art is by appointment only.

“What’s special about this event, too, is some of these locations use this event as just a nice introduction back to the community for people to come and see what they’re all about,” Porello said.

She said the event originated with Capital Arts Gallery before the parks department adopted it. She encourages art-related businesses to reach out to her about participating in future Art Around Town events.

“Any business in Jefferson City can sign up to be on our map if they have something artsy going on,” Porrello said.

The event doesn’t just pertain to art studios or museums. Last Flight Brewing Company is a brewery at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport with local artists’ work on the walls and Baristocats is a coffee shop with cats that showed off local artists — Alex Eickhoff’s mural was on display and Lainie Strange’s artwork was for sale.

“Really anything art-oriented, and their only stipulation is that they have to be open from 4-8 p.m. That way the public can come in, tour their space, meet and greet any artist or just see what they offer,” Porello said.

This is Baristocats’ second year as a stop on the art crawl, according to Rescue Director Sheila Martens. The cat cafe serves coffee and pastries and has a separate room with 15-20 cats.

Eickhoff’s mural fills an entire wall in the cat lounge; the mural features a large white cat with a big, fancy purple hat and a smaller tabby kitten playing with the hat’s feathers.

“I think of this as our proudest achievement, but we didn’t do it, ” Martens joked. “We think it’s just the highlight of our building.”

Eickhoff was born in Jefferson City and currently lives in Kansas City, according to his website, eyecough.com. Martens said he came back to Jefferson City to donate his time to paint the mural on the wall.

Baristocats also showed off Strange’s paintings and rock art. She said she started painting on rocks a few years ago and found not only did she enjoy it, but people were willing to buy them. She typically likes to paint flowers on the rocks and labels them as garden stones, but said she included cats since she would be at Baristocats. She also had a white cat with an American flag theme for the Fourth of July.

Strange has worked full-time for the state since 1997 and she said she’s looking forward to retirement so she can spend more time on her art.

“It’s become my favorite thing to do, I just want to, like, crawl into my cave and do my thing,” Strange said with a laugh.

Capital Arts Gallery had a fiber arts competition and reception with each piece for sale and awards for winners; the Art Bazaar hosted a free class with demonstrations and a free succulent cutting for the first 10 customers; and Gumbo Bottoms featured local poets Mark Pottorff, Ken Gierke and Jon Freeland.

“Each location does something a little bit different. And they all do their own programming,” Porello said.

Cory W. MacNeil/News Tribune
Chris Duren, director of the Jefferson City Museum of Modern Art, pauses for a moment among the artwork of Purvis Young during Thursday’s during Art Around Town hosted by Jefferson City’s parks department. Duren said she enjoys showing Young’s artwork to visiting students as his story goes from living on the streets to becoming a well-known artist.

Stephi Smith/News Tribune
Lainie Strange shows off her painted rocks at the Baristocats Cat Cafe during the “Art Around Town” art crawl on Thursday. Strange, a local artist, has been selling garden stones since at least 2018.

Stephi Smith/News Tribune
Lainie Strange shows off her art at the Baristocats Cat Cafe during the parks department’s “Art Around Town” on Thursday evening.

Stephi Smith/News Tribune
Lainie Strange shows off her art at the Baristocats Cat Cafe during the parks department’s “Art Around Town” on Thursday evening.

Stephi Smith/News Tribune
Alex Eickhoff’s mural at the Baristocats Cat Cafe on East McCarty Street fits in well with its residents.

Originally Appeared Here

JEFFERSON CITY — On the night of May 22, 2019, an EF-3 tornado tore through Jefferson City, leaving businesses and livelihoods in ruin behind it. 

One business, Donnie Braun & Sons Auto Repair, Inc., is just now returning to fully normal operations five years later. Alan Braun, one of the shop’s owners, worked as a volunteer firefighter at the time of the tornado, and after a night of working and helping the community, it was time to go see what was left of his own shop. 

“We were working all night with the community before we got down here,” Braun said. “Then we started handling the mess that was our facility.”

Before and after: This is what the lot of Donnie Braun & Sons Auto Repair looked like five years ago, on May 22, 2019.▲

Looking at the amount of damage was devastating. Braun said it felt like generations of hard work was thrown away. 

“It’s a pretty bad feeling to come in and see everything that your mom and dad worked for, and you and your brothers have worked for, for many many years, just laid in devastation,” he said.

Before and after of Donnie Braun & Sons Auto Repair following an EF-3 tornado in Jefferson City in May 2019▲

Braun said it took months to get things going again. Waking up every day was hard, knowing all the difficulties that waited for him.

“You got a pit in your stomach knowing every day you’re going to go down and deal with this and try and clean it up and rebuild it. It takes a lot,” he said.

Braun said none of the rebuild would have been possible without the help of the community. Braun named two people who went above and beyond: Dave Perrey of Turks Construction Inc. and Doug Schrimpf of Doug Schrimpf Construction. 

Doug Schrimpf overlooks the aftermath of an EF-3 tornado in Jefferson City on May 22, 2019.  Haley Davidson/Flyin 2D Photography
▲

Schrimpf said he goes to bed early and is a heavy sleeper, so he had no idea what awaited him the morning after the tornado came through. 

“I went to bed about 8:30 that night, but my wife stayed up watching the TV,” Schrimpf said. “I didn’t know anything about it until I pulled up to the lot and saw all the damage.” 

He immediately called his crew and began cleaning up, but he didn’t start cleaning his own shop and belongings.

“We didn’t even clean up our sheds and stuff for a week,” he said. “We just helped clean up everything else.” 

Before and after of Donnie Braun & Sons Auto Repair following an EF-3 tornado in Jefferson City in May 2019▲

A bulk of the initial work included making calls to customers, telling them he wouldn’t be able to finish their jobs for a little while. He said he received great feedback from customers, which allowed him to go and help the community first. 

When asked why he helped the community first, Schrimpf said, “I’ve always been that way, I guess. I just like helping people, and it makes you feel good.”

Although some point to his individual efforts, Schrimpf said his crew and the entire community, as one, should receive the praise. 

“Everyone worked together good, you know, this is a good community here,” he said. 

Schrimpf said especially after the tornado, and even to this day, it’s important just to take life one day at a time, and keep moving forward. 

“You just got to take it day by day, one foot in front of the other,” he said. “Then before you know it, even with something as bad as this was, it’s all over.” 

Originally Appeared Here

On Jan. 18, the ninth day of the 2024 legislative session, a bill essential to balancing the state budget was placed first in line on the Senate’s calendar for debate.

On the same day, a bill expanding an education scholarship program was also put on the calendar, second in line.

Last week, the education bill narrowly passed the Missouri House on its way to Gov. Mike Parson for his signature. 

The bill that would balance the budget by renewing roughly $4 billion worth of medical provider taxes that fund Medicaid hasn’t received as much as a minute of debate.

At a news conference last week, Sen. Doug Beck, an Affton Democrat, said the delays are frustrating.

“It’s completely ridiculous that we’re perfecting the Senate bill on gold and silver on a Thursday when we could have all week long been talking about the” taxes,” he said.

While the Medicaid taxes, known as the federal reimbursement allowance, have gotten scant attention inside the Senate, there’s been plenty of talk outside the chambers.

Senate members of the Missouri Freedom Caucus, six of the 24 Republicans in the chamber, have promised to filibuster renewal of the taxes until two other legislative items are finished. Both are Senate-passed bills awaiting votes in the House.

The first is a bill banning Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid program. The second is a proposed constitutional amendment to alter how a majority is determined for voter-initiated constitutional amendments. 

But even if those bills pass, the Freedom Caucus has also said it will demand the federal reimbursement allowance legislation include an expiration date before they will consider letting it come up for a vote. And at that point, other amendments — such as Medicaid work requirements — may also become mandatory for the Freedom Caucus to and their filibuster. 

“We’re going to continue to fight for a sunset, and maybe there’s some other provisions that fit on this bill,” said Sen. Bill Eigel, a Weldon Spring Republican running for governor.

The budget, which must be completed by May10, can’t be finished in committee until the provider taxes are secured for the future, said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Lincoln Hough, a Springfield Republican running for lieutenant governor. 

“I don’t really deal in ultimatums,” Hough said. “I deal with the constitutional necessity of passing a budget in the state, not trying to leverage someone to get something else done.”

Hough scheduled a hearing for Tuesday to discuss changes to the House-passed budget spending $50.7 billion. Senate floor debate on the budget is expected the following week.

“We’re running up against the end, and FRA and the budget, and all of these things, are in front of us that I think will take center stage in the coming days,” Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden said last week.

Democrats, who hold the minority in both legislative chambers, said they’re tired of waiting for Republicans to bury their factional warfare.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade opened her Thursday press conference with criticism of the House GOP for not moving independently of the Senate. Quade filed the only bill in the House to extend the taxes, but it has not been referred to a committee.

“If we do not get this passed,” Quade said, “everything else we’re doing when it comes to the budget or funding mechanisms, is just smoke and mirrors.” 

Since 1992, Missouri has taxed hospitals – and later nursing homes, ambulance providers and pharmacies – to support the Medicaid program. The money becomes part of the state’s share of the federally sponsored program.

This year, Missouri must provide 34.69% of the cost of most Medicaid services. An exception is the group covered by a 2020 ballot initiative that used a provision of the Affordable Care Act to cover adults aged 18 to 64. The federal government pays 90% of the cost for that group.

The budget proposed by Parson in January pegs the general revenue cost for the entire Medicaid program at 21.7% of the projected $17.8 billion total. The remainder of the state’s share, $1.7 billion in Parson’s budget, comes from reimbursement allowances and other funds.

There is no general revenue in the $3 billion budget line covering the cost of the adult expansion group. Instead, much of the state’s share comes from money banked as a bonus federal share of the regular Medicaid program as an incentive to expand coverage.

The provider taxes are slated to supply $50 million toward the cost of Medicaid expansion in the coming year’s budget, drawing $450 million in federal funds. There’s another $950 million from the provider taxes used across 16 lines of the Medicaid budget, drawing at least $1.8 billion in federal funds.

The taxes have been renewed 16 times during regular legislative sessions. That regular process was disrupted in 2021, when first an effort to ban payments for some contraceptive medications, and later the question of banning Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider, forced lawmakers to have to return for a special session to extend the taxes.

The taxes expire Sept. 30 without passage of a renewal bill.

If reimbursement allowance funds aren’t available, the Medicaid budget will have to be rewritten and cuts made to make up the shortfall, Hough said.

He’s ready to debate the bill at any time, he told reporters.

“I’m waiting on the floor leader just say, ‘Hey, let’s go to the FRA and let’s get this thing done,’” Hough said. “I think she’s got competing interests with our small band of merry men out there on the floor all the time that you know, constantly slow things down and want to say we haven’t gotten anything done.’

Missouri has accumulated a surplus that stood at $6.4 billion at the end of March. 

Eigel said he’s not concerned that the state can fund its obligations without the provider taxes.

“We have more than enough money with or without the FRA to meet the obligations of the state,” Eigel said.

Sen. Rick Brattin, speaking at a news conference Thursday, said the goals the Freedom Caucus is working towards are more attainable if members are willing to push against the constitutional deadline for passing the budget.

“We can get a lot of things done and I think that’s what we have to leverage to ensure we’re able to protect the Constitution, to make sure that abortion isn’t in our Constitution and to fight against that,” Brattin said. “We’re going to do everything by every means possible.”

Senate Democrats are ready to help pass the provider taxes without the Freedom Caucus demands and to get the budget through on time, Minority Leader John Rizzo of Independence said.

He thinks the deadlines will be met, he said.

“You’re gonna probably see a lot of other bills fall by the wayside because they’re unable to move on FRA and on a budget pretty quickly,” Rizzo said. “I don’t think it’s time to panic quite yet.”

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Originally Appeared Here

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey launched an investigation into four companies Wednesday as part of an effort to crack down on intoxicating hemp products.

The problem, according to Bailey, is the products in question — such Delta-8 edibles and vape pens — are not clearly labeled to indicate that they’ll get you high.

“When purchasing products, Missourians have a right to know if they will be subject to serious and potentially dangerous side effects,” Bailey stated in his press release, “like psychotic episodes, severe confusion, hallucinations and other life-threatening problems.”

Intoxicating hemp products are completely unregulated but can still be sold in places like bars and gas stations — because hemp is federally legal.

However, everyone from the companies making these products to stores selling them to elected officials want to see age restrictions put in place by the state, along with label and testing requirements.

Two Republican lawmakers have proposed legislation to do that, but the bills would also likely ban a majority of the intoxicating hemp products currently on the market — putting hundreds of companies out of business.

The large divide in how regulations should happen has essentially tanked the bills’ chances of making it to the governor’s desk.

Bailey seems to be joining the push to regulate the products. However, it’s unclear exactly who he’s targeting.

Bailey issued a “civil investigative demand,” which are essentially subpoenas, to CBD Kratom Connect LLC of St. Louis, a company that several leaders in the hemp industry say they’ve never heard of and which has virtually no online presence indicating it is operating in Missouri.

Some wonder if Bailey meant to target CBD Kratom, which is one of the largest intoxicating hemp companies in the state and country.

When asked for clarification, Madeline Sieren, spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s office, said: “Unfortunately because the investigations are ongoing, I cannot comment beyond what is written in the CIDs.”

Also based in St. Louis, CBD Kratom has over 60 retail locations throughout Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis. And it has no connection to CBD Kratom Connect, the company’s owner David Palatnik told the Independent.

During hearings regarding the proposed legislation, Palatnik testified in support of banning products that look like candy and are attractive to children — the exact issue Bailey is hoping to address by the investigations.

“It’s an issue in the industry that some people sell child-looking packaging that is also fraudulent and is also a violation of federal laws,” Palatnik said. “So we’d agree with the attorney general on that front.”

His company ensures all its products have transparent labeling, he said. Palatnik says he opposed the legislation proposed in the Missouri General Assembly because of the harmful impact it would have on hemp businesses.

On Wednesday, Bailey also ordered an investigation into American Shaman, one of the largest intoxicating hemp companies in the state and country.

Vince Sanders, owner of American Shaman, told the Independent on Thursday that his company makes gummies and chocolates made with hemp-derived THC, but they’re sold in child-proof containers, similar to what is required by state law for marijuana products.

“They all say ’21-plus,'” Sanders said. “If you’re in one of our stores, you actually have to sign a document that says you understand that these are psychoactive.”

Sanders has also been a vocal and influential opponent to the proposed legislation.

Two individuals also received investigation notices from Bailey: Cara Buchanan with Smoke Smart LLC in St. Louis and Tariq Zeiadeh with Vape Society Supplies in Columbia.

An employee at the Smoke Smart location in St. Peters said Buchanan no longer owns the business or lives in Missouri, and the current owners do not operate as Smoke Smart LLC. Zeidadeh has not responded to a request for comment.

In his press release, Bailey states he’s received reports that businesses were “potentially violating the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, which grants Missourians the right to a marketplace free from fraudulent or deceptive business practices.”

Bailey also pointed to the six elementary-age children in St. Louis County who became sick and intoxicated at school after reportedly ingesting Delta-8 products that were packaged as “Nerds Rope Bites and Mad Monkey Sour Strawberry Premium Gummies.”

The attorney general’s office didn’t respond to the Independent’s question on whether any of the four companies under investigation made the products in the St. Louis County incident.

The great divide

Among the biggest supporters of the proposed legislation are leaders of the marijuana industry. The intoxicating hemp industry poses a major threat to marijuana businesses.

Hemp is often known for being the part of the cannabis plant that doesn’t get people high. It’s full of CBD, a nonpyschoactive cannabinoid that helps people relax and often found in massage oils and sleep aids.

However, hemp was taken off the controlled substance list in 2018 by the last U.S. Agriculture Improvement Act, more commonly known as the farm bill. Since then, people have found numerous ways to make intoxicating products from hemp — largely through a chemical process of converting CBD to THC. The market for things like Delta-8 drinks and edibles is one of the fastest growing markets in the country.

Because of the farm bill, there’s no state or federal law saying teenagers or children can’t buy them or stores can’t sell them to minors — though some stores and vendors, including American Shaman and CBD Kratom, have taken it upon themselves to impose age restrictions of 21 and up.

Mitch Meyers, partner at BeLeaf Medical, said at a recent industry summit that the intent of the bill was to put the hemp-derived products under the strict packaging and other requirements that marijuana companies must go through.

“So that’s why we’re just in complete amazement that this stuff just can be out there without any of these checks and balances,” Meyers said.

The Missouri Hemp Trade Association has continuously advocated for measures such as prohibiting sales to minors and mandating clear user instructions and rigorous product testing.

The big problem the hemp industry has with the legislation is that it would place these products under the same constitutional framework and rules that the marijuana industry must abide by — including the mandate that products are only sold at licensed marijuana dispensaries regulated by the cannabis division within the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

There are no new marijuana facility licenses available currently, so there would be no way for the current hemp storefronts to sell these products.

Last week, Republican state Rep. Barry Hovis of Whitewater offered a different draft of the House legislation — backed by the hemp industry — that would allow the Division of Cannabis Regulation to issue licenses to companies that sell intoxicating hemp products, as well as oversee age restrictions and labeling requirements.

Under Hovis’ proposal, the licensees would not come under other marijuana rules, which includes a ban on the “chemical conversion” process used to create the majority of hemp-derived THC products. The state rules also require that THC may only come from cannabis cultivated by a Missouri-licensed cultivation facility. Most hemp-derived THC is currently brought in from other states.

Few products currently on the market would meet these requirements.

Hovis’ proposal failed, largely because the division said the licensing fee he proposed wouldn’t produce enough revenue to cover the division’s costs.

“There’s something we need to do because of the unregulated market that we have right now,” Hovis said. “I do feel that for the safety of children … this would be a good move.”

State Sen. Karla May, a Democrat from St. Louis, said she plans on offering an amendment to Republican Sen. Nick Schroer’s bill to regulate these products, which will likely be similar to Hovis’ proposal. May said the license fees in her proposal will be higher.

Schroer’s bill could be brought up on the Senate floor for debate any time, May said, and that’s when she’d offer her proposal.

“My only concern is that we get an independent structure for these businesses,” May said, “and that they don’t have to come up under marijuana. Because the only license they will be given is a microbusiness license and that is not fair to them.”

The Missouri Independent, www.missouriindependent.com, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization covering state government and its impact on Missourians.

Rebecca Rivas/Missouri Independent
John Pennington, CEO of Proper Brands; Jamey Murphy, Sen. Nick Schroer’s chief of staff; Mitch Meyers, partner at BeLeaf Medical; Amy Moore, Director, Division of Cannabis Regulation; and John Payne, managing partner at Amendment 2 Consultants, discuss legislation on intoxicating hemp products at an industry summit in downtown St. Louis on March 28.

Originally Appeared Here

If Missouri Supreme Court judges were dreaming of enjoying the nice weather at the Lake of the Ozarks during oral arguments on April 17, it’s hard to blame them.

The two cases before the court that day both concerned whether lake area business districts, which are allowed by statute to collect a lodging tax and use the revenue to promote tourism, are electing members to their advisory boards, run into constitutional problems, and whether the entire statutory scheme behind the districts should be stricken.

In both cases, plaintiffs sought election to the advisory boards in Camden County and Miller County, respectively, in 2020. However, that year, the Tri-County Lodging Association, a nonprofit that each advisory board contracts with to manage taxes and promote each district, changed the election rules. Previously, each business that is a member of its county’s lodging association had one vote. But starting in 2020, each such business could cast one vote for each property it managed.

That goes against the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, argued Curtis Tideman of Lathrop GPM in Kansas City, who represented the plaintiffs.

Additionally, a private entity, as he described the Tri-County Lodging Association and the advisory boards, should not be able to collect and distribute taxes, he said, citing the 1968 Missouri Supreme Court opinion in Ruggeri v. City of St. Louis, which he described as almost the beginning and the ending of this case.

Siding, to some degree, with the plaintiff, Circuit Court Judge Deborah Daniels, who presided over the joint cases, entered a partial summary judgment, finding the statutory scheme was not unconstitutional if she struck the words “which shall be a nonprofit entity” from the description of the advisory board, which she did.

But that’s not enough, argued Tideman.

“Whether you call it a nonprofit entity or whether you strike the language that gives it that label, either way, it operates as a private entity and is therefore unconstitutional,” he said.

On appeal, the plaintiffs argued the trial court erred by failing to strike the entire statutory scheme. Daniels’ severability analysis was wrong, argued Tideman, who said the scheme failed both steps of a two-part severability test. First, the scheme is not susceptible to constitutional enforcement just by removing the words “nonprofit” when the rest of the statute still describes a private entity, he said. Second, the legislature would not have enacted the remaining portions of the scheme if it had known the unconstitutional part would be removed, he claimed.

“The way votes are collected and who gets to vote is essential,” he said. “It’s been very clear that, in any state election or in any local election, every voter gets to vote on any election which applies to the place where they live.”

Marc Ellinger of Ellinger Bell in Jefferson City represented the Camden County business district. He argued the trial court’s severability analysis was correct and that the plaintiffs essentially got what they wanted. He pointed out that the appeals presented facial challenges, which come with a high burden for the plaintiffs, but that Tideman had, at least in part, been arguing as if the challenge were operational. Ellinger also challenged Tideman’s argument that the districts at least operate as private entities.

“Government, by its definition, can’t run a profit. At least, I don’t think it’s supposed to run a profit. And as a result, a nonprofit entity is, theoretically, a governmental entity,” Ellinger said.

T. Michael Ward of Brown & James in St. Louis, who represented the Miller County district, argued that the legislature’s actions should be seen as intentional. Because the statute allowing businesses rather than registered voters to elect board members is more specific and more recent, it must be assumed to govern.

Chief Justice Mary R. Russell asked Tideman what it would mean if the court struck down the statutory scheme due to its allowing businesses rather than registered voters to elect board members.

“If we rule for you on a facial challenge, then are we destroying levee districts?” she asked.

That would not be the case, said Tideman, who argued Missouri has two types of elections: elections by registered voters and elections by property ownership. Allowing businesses to vote falls within neither category.

Judge Zel M. Fischer said the legislature decided on this type of election for the lake area business districts because they were “a different animal” needing a different voter base. And ordinarily, Fischer said, the court would hold that the specific statute overrides the general.

“They can do that so long as they are not providing money or a thing of value to a private entity, association, corporation or individual,” Tideman said.

The cases are Salamun et al. v. Camden County Clerk et al., SC100076, and Griswold et al. v. Miller County et al., SC00083.

Originally Appeared Here

The Missouri Senate voted Wednesday night to ensure homeschool families are allowed to own firearms.

On a 27-4 vote, lawmakers approved legislation that originally was focused on cleaning up issues with Missouri’s virtual school program. 

But over the course of a five-hour recess in the Senate Wednesday, Republicans turned that legislation into a catch-all measure aimed at ensuring the House approves an even larger education bill approved by the Senate last month.

The bill approved Wednesday night was crafted to ease House concerns about a 153-page bill that passed the Senate to expand Missouri’s private school tax credit program and allowed charter schools in Boone County, along with other provisions aimed at bolstering public schools.

That bill’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Andrew Koenig of Manchester, told The Independent he would prefer the House pass the Senate’s education bill without changes and send it to the governor’s desk. Any changes in the House would bring it back to the Senate for debate, putting its changes at risk.

After the Senate passed Koenig’s legislation last month, criticism began popping up on social media and in the Capitol about a myriad of issues — primarily that homeschooling families may face additional government oversight.

Despite assurances from gun-rights groups, one concern focused on the idea that homeschoolers’ inclusion in the private school scholarship program would result in home educators being subject to laws banning guns in schools. 

The Missouri Firearms Coalition made a statement that it felt that gun-ownership was not threatened in the bill. And an attorney for Home School Legal Defense Association Scott Woodruff was adamant that he was not concerned about the provision.

“The idea (the bill)…. would make the criminal penalties of (state firearm code) apply to home schoolers with guns in their home is supported, at best, only by a long, thin string of assumptions and implications,” he wrote.

But House members were flooded with emails and social media messages expressing concerns, putting the bills’ chances of passing without being altered at risk. 

Koenig said Wednesday that the ability to own a gun was not threatened by his bill.

“I don’t know that it was a problem, but this definitely makes it a lot stronger,” he said. “Anytime we can clarify something in statute, then we make sure that interpretation is stronger.”

The bill applies the existing homeschool statute to particular sections of state law — avoiding applying the definition of a “home school” to the state code that prohibits firearms on school grounds.

The legislation approved Wednesday night expanded beyond virtual schools to include changes such as connecting funding for K-12 tax-credit scholarships to state aid for public schools’ transportation. This is current state law, but Koenig’s bill separated the two.

The bill also exempts Warsaw School District from taking a vote to reauthorize the district’s current four-day school week. If Koenig’s bill passes, school districts that have switched to a four-day week in charter counties or cities with at least 30,000 residents will have to hold a vote to continue with an abbreviated week.

Similar provisions are included in amendments to Koenig’s bill filed by House members. Fifty-three amendments have already been filed on Koenig’s bill in the House.

House Majority Leader Jon Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, told reporters on Monday that he would prefer to pass the Senate’s version of Koenig’s bill but there was not a guarantee to do so.

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Originally Appeared Here

Missouri’s statewide Republican candidates have a huge cash advantage over Democrats, while Democratic candidates reverse that edge in contested state Senate seats.

Quarterly financial reports were due from all campaigns Monday, providing the last financial snapshot of upcoming primary battles until just a few weeks before Missourians vote on Aug. 6. 

This year’s ballot includes a U.S. Senate seat, five statewide offices as well as congressional and legislative races. Republicans hold all the statewide offices on the ballot, and there’s a GOP primary for every race except for the Senate seat held now by Josh Hawley.

As of March 31, Republican candidates for the five state constitutional offices had $24 million on hand, compared to $1.6 million for Democrats. 

Political observers rate three Senate seats – two held by Democrats and one held by Republicans – as toss-ups in November. The Democratic candidates, none of whom face primaries, hold about $1.1 million in their campaign accounts, while the Republicans, bound for a primary in two of the three races, have a combined cash on hand of less than $500,000.

The race for governor is the only statewide contest with candidates in both major parties running full-scale primary campaigns. A poll conducted in February showed large numbers of voters in both parties are undecided about their choice.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft had the largest number of committed voters, 28%, in that St. Louis University/YouGov Poll, but he had the weakest quarterly fundraising totals of the three top contenders for the Republican nomination. 

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe was selected by 10% of those polled and state Sen. Bill Eigel was at 8%. Almost half of the voters said they were undecided.

Ashcroft’s campaign raised $160,000, and his joint fundraising PAC, the Committee for Liberty, took in almost $353,000. Ashcroft’s campaign has raised $649,000 since the beginning of 2023 and his PAC has collected $2.1 million.

Every major candidate has a campaign committee and a joint fundraising PAC. Candidate committees can accept donations of up to $2,825 for statewide offices, while there is no limit on donations to PACs. Candidates can help the PACs raise money but cannot coordinate other campaign efforts.

Kehoe had the best quarter of the three, raising $557,000 for his campaign and $1.9 million for his joint fundraising committee, American Dream PAC. Kehoe’s campaign has raised $2.2 million and his PAC has collected $5.3 million since the start of 2023.

Eigel’s committees took in more than Ashcroft, but his strategy of relying on small donors from outside the state is expensive, leaving him with less cash on hand than either of his rivals. Eigel raised $232,514 for his campaign committee and $354,085 for BILL PAC, his joint fundraising committee.

Of the 6,037 individual donors to Eigel’s campaign, who gave $148,220, only 194 listed addresses in Missouri. BILL PAC reported 958 donations from individuals, totaling $75,230, with only 20 from within the state.

Eigel has raised $1.1 million and BILL PAC has taken in $2 million since the beginning of 2023.

On the Democratic side, the SLU/YouGov poll showed House Minority Leader Crystal Quade of Springfield with 21%, businessman Mike Hamra at 4% and 66% undecided. 

Since entering the race in October, Hamra has put $500,000 of his own money into the campaign. His campaign and PAC have also outraised Quade in other donations. Hamra’s campaign committee has raised $773,000 in addition to his personal funding, compared to $746,000 for Quade. Hamra’s PAC, Together Missouri, has taken in $178,000 compared to $81,000 for Crystal PAC.

In the first quarter of the year, Quade reported 5,363 individual donors, who contributed $221,340, with 4,934 from within Missouri. 

Hamra reported 309 individual donors, who gave $255,000, with 103, donating $45,171, reporting addresses in the state.

The Republican fundraising advantage is even more pronounced in the reports of candidates seeking the other statewide constitutional offices. Only one Democrat, attorney general candidate Elad Gross, has exceeded $100,000 in total fundraising, and he’s the only Democrat who tallied more than $10,000 in donations in the first three months of the fiscal year.

The contests:

Lieutenant Governor. Kehoe is giving up the office as he seeks to become the first to be promoted to governorship by voters since 1992. There are six Republicans seeking the nomination to replace Kehoe, with state Sen. Lincoln Hough of Springfield leading in cash on hand for his campaign and PAC over state Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder of Scott City and St. Louis attorney Dave Wasinger, the two others running full-scale campaigns.

Hough, the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, raised $22,875 for his campaign and $904,000 for Lincoln PAC during the first quarter. His campaign has $377,000 on hand and Lincoln PAC has $1.2 million on hand. 

Rehder raised $62,000 for her campaign and $38,000 for Southern Drawl PAC, giving her $302,000 in her campaign fund and $264,000 for her PAC on March 31. Wasinger, who gave his campaign $100,000, raised $237,000 and had $221,000 on hand.

On the Democratic side, House Assistant Minority Leader Richard Brown of Kansas City reported raising $1,526 and had $6,160 on hand. Brown faces Anastasia Syes of St. Louis, who raised less than $1,000, in the primary.

Secretary of State. Ashcroft is leaving the secretary of state’s office, resulting in an eight-way GOP primary where at least six candidates are running full-scale campaigns. 

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher has the fattest campaign warchest, with $528,000 in his campaign account and $810,000 on hand with his PAC, Missouri United. But Plocher’s fundraising fell off a cliff in the first quarter of the year as he was plagued by an ethics investigation that included double-dipping by seeking personal reimbursement for expenses paid by his campaign. 

Plocher’s campaign raised $7,500 and his PAC raised $7,501 in the quarter.

Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, who is making his second bid for secretary of state, had the best fundraising quarter of the field, taking in $32,270 for his campaign and $4,000 for his Safe Elections PAC. Schoeller lags the other major contenders in cash on hand, with just $21,000 in his campaign fund and $12,000 in his PAC fund on March 31.

The other candidates running full-scale campaigns are state Sen. Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg, who raised $13,882 in the quarter to push his cash on hand to $100,000 in his campaign fund and $8,500 to give Old Drum Conservative PAC a treasury of $154,000; state Rep. Adam Schwadron of St. Charles, who raised $6,500 in the quarter and had $82,706 in his fund; and state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman of Arnold, who took in $3,100 and had $23,000 in her campaign fund, along with $77,290 in her PAC, Conservative Solutions for Missouri.

Former congressional staffer Jamie Corley, a late entrant in the race, has not formed a campaign committee.

State Rep. Barbara Phifer of St. Louis is one of three Democrats running. She raised $8,900, and had $9,000 in the bank at the end of the quarter.

State Treasurer: Incumbent Vivek Malek, who took office at the beginning of 2023 after his appointment by Gov. Mike Parson, has put $800,000 of his own money into the race. That has helped him amass a treasury of $1.3 million. With another $1.2 million in his American Promise PAC, Malek has more than double the combined resources of his five rivals.

Attorney Lori Rook of Springfield, seeking her first elective office, put $500,000 of her own money into the race and has $506,000 on hand. The other candidates running full-scale campaigns are House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith of Carthage, who raised $13,390 in the quarter and has $331,000 in his campaign account and $174,000 in his Ozark Gateway Leadership Fund PAC; and state Sen. Andrew Koenig of Chesterfield, who raised $5,889 for his campaign fund during the quarter, leaving a balance of $114,000, and $3,000 for his Freedom’s Promise PAC, which had a balance of $67,065.

A Democratic candidate, Mark Osmack of Manchester, has not reported any fundraising.

Attorney General: Incumbent Andrew Bailey, another Parson appointee seeking a full term, faces Will Scharf, one of former President Donald Trump’s attorneys, in the August primary. Bailey raised just over $1 million combined for his campaign and joint fundraising committee, Liberty and Justice PAC, during the first three months of the year, but Scharf took in more.

Scharf raised just $42,000 for his campaign fund during the quarter but Club for Growth Action Missouri, which is backing his campaign, took in $1.6 million and reported a $1.4 million donation from Paul Singer, one of the nation’s richest hedge fund managers, just after the quarter closed.

Bailey has $564,000 in his campaign account and $1.9 million in his PAC, while Scharf is sitting on $824,000 in his campaign fund and Club for Growth had $2.1 million on March 31.

Gross, unopposed for the Democratic nomination, raised $38,000 in the quarter and had $80,000 in the bank.

State Senate races

There are 17 state Senate races on this year’s ballot, but politically polarized districts mean that only three – two in the Kansas City area and one in St. Louis County – are considered truly competitive.

Democrats already expect to pick up central Missouri’s 19th District in Boone County, where former state Rep. Stephen Webber has amassed almost $800,000 in his campaign fund and PAC account for the race against former state Rep. Chuck Basye, who has yet to establish a campaign committee.

The race that could end the GOP’s 24 to 10 supermajority is the 15th District in St. Louis County, where Koenig must leave office due to term limits. Democrats could have no net gain if they win the 15th and 19th but lose in the 11th District, the area around Independence, and the 17th District, in Clay County, where Democratic incumbents must leave office.

11th District: Senate Majority Leader John Rizzo of Independence is term-limited and state Rep. Robert Sauls, also of Independence, has amassed a campaign fund of $158,000 and has $185,000 in his Independence Leadership PAC. The committees raised $60,000 and $108,000 in the quarter, respectively.

Sauls will face the winner of a primary between state Rep. Aaron McMullen, finishing his first term in the House, Joe Nicola, who lost a Senate primary in the 8th District in 2022, and David Martin, the GOP nominee in the 29th Missouri House District in 2022.

McMullen raised $3,219 and had $66,931 on hand on March 31 in his campaign account and took in $16,000 and had $85,101 in his Independence PAC fund. Nicola took in $9,470 for his campaign and $2,450 for his Truth and Light PAC, giving him $42,199 in his campaign fund and $1,741 in the PAC at the end of the quarter.

15th District: Former Drury Hotels legal counsel Joe Pereles is one of the Democratic Party’s most prolific fundraiser in this election cycle, raising $120,865 in the quarter and amassing almost $400,000 in his campaign account. The Fearless PAC supporting his campaign took in $5,750 and held $26,584 on hand.

Pereles will face the winner of a GOP primary between St. Louis County Councilman Mark Harder, Wildwood Mayor Jim Bowlin and former state Rep. David Gregory.

Harder raised just under $7,600 in the first quarter and had $55,226 in his campaign account, along with $7,486 in the St. Louis Conservative Leadership PAC. Bowlin took in $11,545 and had $121,648 on hand, while Gregory raised $7,810 and had $130,364 in the bank.

17th District. The only competitive seat without a primary in either party is the race to replace state Sen. Lauren Arthur, a Kansas City Democrat. State Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Democrat, raised $59,000 for her campaign and $79,000 for the Northland Forward PAC, giving her $297,000 in her campaign fund and $149,601 in the PAC account.

Her Republican opponent, four-term Clay County Commissioner Jerry Nolte, raised $7,900 and had $20,930 on hand.

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Originally Appeared Here

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher obstructed an investigation of his official acts through pressure on potential witnesses and refusing to issue subpoenas, bipartisan leaders of the House Ethics Committee alleged Monday. 

Some potential witnesses allegedly refused to speak out of fear Plocher would use his power as speaker to retaliate against them. Others were out of reach because the speaker decided who the committee could compel to testify. And Plocher refused to cooperate with the attorney hired to collect evidence for the committee. 

Details of the alleged obstruction were contained in a report laying out findings from the ethics committee’s months-long investigation that was released Monday night. The report concluded the committee lacked direct evidence of ethical misconduct in Plocher’s advocacy for a six-figure software contract, in his firing of a former staffer or in years of filing false expense reimbursement reports. 

But Republican state Rep. Hannah Kelly of Mountain Grove, the committee’s chair, and Democratic state Rep. Robert Sauls of Independence, the vice chair, said the report demonstrates “absolute obstruction” that hindered the committee’s efforts to get to the truth. 

Kelly took the unusual step of conducting Monday’s committee hearing in open session. All previous hearings had been closed from the public. 

The committee ultimately voted down the draft report, but because the hearing was not closed, the report became a public record. 

Kelly said she decided  to ensure the report would become public after Plocher’s private attorney went on the radio on Friday to criticize the fact that all the hearings were being conducted behind closed doors. 

“Secrecy never works,” said David Steelman, an ex-legislator and former member of the University of Missouri Board of Curators who was hired by Plocher to defend him in the ethics probe. 

Steelman’s statements follow weeks of public criticism of the committee’s work by Plocher’s allies. Kelly said releasing the draft report addresses Steelman’s demand for more transparency. 

Kelly also hinted that someone on the committee was leaking confidential information from the investigation, though she declined to elaborate. 

“We have come to the end of this process,” Kelly told reporters after the hearing. “I have done all I can do… you do all you can, and then when you’ve done all you can, put everything on the table.”

Plocher, a candidate for secretary of state, declined comment Monday evening. 

The rejected report recommended a formal letter of disapproval for Plocher, that he hire an accounting professional to manage his expense reports moving forward and that he refrain from retaliation against any legislator or House employee who cooperated with the committee. 

The report also recommended further review by the House into allegations of threats made against legislative employees during the course of the investigation. 

Plocher’s actions “substantially impair public confidence in the General Assembly,” the report states.

After the report was defeated by the committee on a 6-2 vote, Kelly said she wasn’t sure what happens next. The committee is scheduled to meet again Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.

The report presented to the committee Monday was the summation of hours of closed-door debate last week, Kelly said. But six of the nine committee members who were present — two Republicans and four Democrats — voted against it.

Only Kelly and Sauls of Independence voted in favor of the report. State Rep. Cyndi Buchheit-Courtway, a Republican from Festus, voted “present.”

Before the vote, Republican Rep. John Black of Marshfield asked the committee to go into closed session to debate the report further. Kelly declined. 

The only member to offer any thoughts after the meeting ended besides Kelly and Sauls was GOP Rep. Rick Francis of Perryville, who said he voted no because he wanted more discussion about what should be included in the report. 

Sauls said the committee had already spent countless hours toiling over the draft report.

“Sunshine would actually help maybe get to the bottom of this,” he said. 

Plocher’s troubles spilled out into the public in September, when he was accused of engaging in “unethical and perhaps unlawful conduct” as part of a months-long push outside the normal bidding process to get the House to award an $800,000 contract to a private company to manage constituent information.

As part of that contract push, Plocher allegedly threatened the jobs of nonpartisan staff who raised red flags. 

A month later, The Independent reported Plocher had on numerous occasions over the last five years illegally sought taxpayer reimbursement from the legislature for airfare, hotels and other travel costs already paid for by his campaign.

Plocher repaid the illegal reimbursements, but they could have violated at least three state laws. 

Submitting false expense reports could be prosecuted as stealing from the state, a class A misdemeanor. It could also be considered false declaration, a class B misdemeanor that involves knowingly submitting any written false statement. 

Plocher was required to sign a sworn statement with each expense report declaring that he had used “personal funds” to pay the expenses. 

And while it is permissible to use campaign money for official government business, it is a crime for campaign contributions to be converted to personal use.

On the constituent management contract, the report concluded there was no direct evidence to indicate an ethical violation or “quid pro quo” by Plocher. 

As for the threats against nonpartisan staff, there was also no direct evidence implicating the speaker, though the report states that several employees testified under oath about threats and a “negative work environment.”

On the expense reports, Plocher eventually testified to the committee that the multiple false reports over the course of years were an “accounting error” and a “lack of oversight on my part.” 

Plocher testified that he and his wife, who was his campaign treasurer, discovered the illegal reimbursements and decided to take action. 

But he didn’t begin repaying them until weeks after The Independent submitted a request for the expense reports. And the committee discovered someone else had requested the reports a week before The Independent. 

In both instances, Plocher’s legislative staff were made aware of the requests, the report noted, and his office was provided with copies of the records before they were turned over to the requester. 

Plocher was also accused of retaliating against a possible whistleblower when he fired his chief of staff last year. The speaker’s political consultant, David Barklage, testified that he recommended Plocher fire his chief of staff. 

Plocher never mentioned Barklage’s role in the process during his testimony to the committee, the report states, and the former chief of staff refused to testify.

The attorney hired to collect evidence for the committee marveled at the overarching fear of retaliation among House staff. 

“I have not encountered more unwilling witnesses in any investigation in my career,” the attorney wrote in a report to the committee in March. “The level of fear expressed by a number of the potential witnesses is a daunting factor in completing this investigation.”

The report detailed how one witness, who was anonymous, feared their employment was at risk for testifying before the committee. It also states that the potential witness was “highly encouraged” not to testify by another Republican lawmaker close to the speaker. 

Plocher also did not respond to at least three interview requests by the attorney. He eventually agreed to testify to the committee in mid-March. 

The committee met in a legislative hearing room, with witness testimony taken under oath by a court reporter who appeared by Webex. Because of this, the report states that House IT staff arranged for every committee member to have a secure laptop that remained in the locked hearing room at all times. 

On March 13, the report states, Plocher’s general counsel in the speaker’s office “used his position of authority to make a House administrative employee unlock” the hearing room so he could “take photographs.” 

Plocher’s general counsel refused to testify about why he went into the closed hearing room. 

The rejected draft report also contains recommendations for improving the House ethics process, including giving the committee the power to look into obstruction of an investigation and a policy protecting House employees from retaliation. 

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Originally Appeared Here