Politics
Parson wants to make I-70 improvements with Missouri surplus
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Updated at 7:10 p.m. Jan. 18 with comments from legislators and state officialsWith Missouri flush with cash, Gov. Mike Parson wants the legislature to allocate some of the hefty surplus to widen parts of Interstate 70, expand access to early childhood education and provide a backstop against future cuts to K-12 schools.Parson also used his State of the State speech Wednesday to push for incentives that could make child care more available and affordable — something the GOP governor said is critical for expanding access to the workforce.“Missouri is stronger today, and we’re going to continue what we’ve started,” Parson said. “Because this governor isn’t done yet. We are not done yet.”Among the items in a roughly $57.3 billion budget is $859 million to expand lanes along parts of Interstate 70. State officials say the lane widening will focus on the Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia portions of the highway.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioGov. Mike Parson gives the crowd a thumbs-up after delivering his State of the State address while flanked by House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-St. Louis County, and Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe on Wednesday at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.
In the eastern part of the state, the money would go toward expanding the highway from two to three lanes in each direction between Wentzville and Warrenton, said Missouri Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna.“For years, congestion, traffic accidents, and delays have become serious issues for commuters on I-70. Not only are we concerned for motorist safety, these inefficiencies are costly to our state’s economy. And we must invest to improve I-70,” Parson said. “To those who say we can’t afford it, I say we can’t afford not to.”Funding for the project would come from the state’s general revenue surplus, though state Budget Director Dan Haug said there will also be efforts to acquire federal funding for the project. Parson chief of staff Aaron Willard touted the money for I-70 as a way to strengthen the nation’s supply chains, which have been under stress because of the COVID-19 pandemic.“If you look at the map, Missouri is at the nexus of our U.S. supply chain,” Willard said. “This is an exciting opportunity to do something not only for the communities and the people of the state. This is a chance for us to lead nationally.”Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe said that Parson’s proposal was “bold in a good way.”
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioDan Haug, Missouri budget director, presents his budgetary recommendations to Gov. Mike Parson for the next fiscal year on Wednesday during a media preview of the State of the State address.
“The governor’s proposal is what Missourians are going to want to hear about how we improve infrastructure, within the confines of our budget, and how that improves safety for our families and economy for our state,” Kehoe said. “It’s a win-win.”Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, has been advocating for expanding I-70 over the past few months. He said the governor’s proposal was a good starting point.“And of all the things I heard in the governor’s speech about spending money, that was probably the one area where I have some agreement with,” Eigel said. “For me taking care of I-70 is not doing half the job. We got to do all the job.”House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said while her caucus hasn’t discussed the specifics of what an I-70 expansion should look like, members are excited about the plan.“We know that Missouri being in the center of the country, we are a hub for transportation, and not just in roads, but looking at our rivers and our ports. And so any sort of conversation and an investment in that, to continue to grow our economy, we are going to be supportive of,” Quade said.Early childhood education funding
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioGov. Mike Parson delivers his State of the State address on Wednesday in a meeting of the 102nd Legislature at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.
Parson is also proposing about $56 million to expand access to early childhood education programs. Under the proposal, the money would help pay for 4-year-olds who receive free or reduced-price lunches to attend pre-K programs at public and charter schools. The governor’s office predicts it will provide access to early childhood education programs for roughly 17,000 people throughout the state.“There is a clear need to do better when it comes to early childhood,” Parson said. “Let’s meet this moment for Missouri kids, families and businesses.”Additionally, Parson wants to create three tax credits aimed at bolstering the state’s child care infrastructure. That’s in addition to bumping up the amount of subsidies given to the state’s child care providers by about $78 million.“These programs will help improve child care facilities, support employers who support their workers with child care assistance and allow more of our dedicated child care workers to earn a pay increase,” Parson said.Quade said she was grateful to hear Parson prioritize child care but would prefer his proposed programs apply to more people.“With the amount of money that we’re talking about, I would love to see that expanded to every kid. It’s wonderful that we’re prioritizing low-income kids, but every child needs that first fresh start,” Quade said.Parson also wants to place $250 million in an account intended to prevent future cuts to K-12 schools. And he is proposing fully funding K-12 transportation at a cost of $233.4 million.“This year, we will again fully fund the foundation formula with an additional $117 million to ensure Missouri schools are receiving the support they need,” Parson said.If it passes the legislature, Missouri will fully fund its share of school transportation costs for the second year in a row, after not doing it for more than 20 years.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioRep. Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson, listens to Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday during the State of the State address at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The legislature gained national media attention last week after a rules proposal was put forward restricting what women could wear on the House floor.
Quade said that she is thrilled about fully funding school transportation and that some school districts moving to a four-day school week could be a factor as to why this funding shift is happening.“I think that’s a big piece of it, right? We have heard from our education providers, and our teachers, administrators, all sides of that conversation, that they don’t have enough money to keep the doors open, to keep staff in, to be able to pay them living wages and to be able to want folks to come into their communities,” Quade said.In addition to his school transportation funding, Parson is calling for adding $31.9 million toward the existing Career Ladder program, which provides raises to experienced teachers who put in extra work.Quade said while Career Ladder was something Democrats supported when it was put in the budget last year, it’s still a starting point.“That is not the solution to teacher pay. As we all know, we are one of the lowest in the entire country. We’ve got to do more than just that,” Quade said.After noting that the shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School in St. Louis was “nothing short of tragedy,” Parson pitched $50 million for school safety.“We want to ensure that preparedness and response can be repeated across our state if the unthinkable ever occurs again,” Parson said.For higher education institutions, Parson is proposing roughly a $70.8 million increase. He’s also seeking $275 million for higher education capital improvement projects as well as $234.2 million for improving state facilities.State employee pay raisesParson wants to commit $273.6 million for state employee pay raises, something he said is crucial for making sure state services are carried out effectively.“For anyone who can’t already see the dire need for this action, we want to be clear, this is not state government setting the market,” Parson said. “This is merely an attempt by state government to stay competitive with the market. If we allow state government to fall behind, we allow Missourians to fall behind.”Haug said that the state should still have around $4 billion in the bank after this year’s budget. He said the goal is to not spend the state’s surplus at once.Mixed reception from RepublicansDuring the speech, members of both parties gave a rousing standing ovation to Parson’s desire to expand parts of I-70. There was less enthusiasm among Republicans, though, to expand child care and early childhood education.Eigel said he saw Parson’s speech as a continued expansion of state government since he joined the Senate in 2017.“Of all the things that we’ve done over the past six years while I’ve been in the Senate, expanding the budget, and expanding government, unfortunately, has been one of the most aggressive things we’ve done,” Eigel said.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioGov. Mike Parson is welcomed by legislators on Wednesday at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.
He said there could be opposition among Republicans to spending money on expanding access to child care and early childhood education.“There are a lot of priorities that I’d like to see moved in the realm of education,” Eigel said. “But I don’t know if expanding government run schools to an earlier age is necessarily the answer to getting better outcomes.”Others felt that focusing on child care and early childhood education was aligned with Parson’s desire to expand workforce development.“We have a really big workforce problem, and a lot of that can be tied to people needing to take care of their kids,” said state Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick. “There’s an opportunity for them to start getting educated at an earlier age that creates more opportunities for workforce development.”Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said he wasn’t surprised there was a lot of agreement between Republicans and Democrats on many of Parson’s proposals.“It’s always easier when there’s a lot of money to be shared,” Ashcroft said. “Everybody’s going to claim a win from this. What I think will really happen though, at the end of the year, I think we’ll see the legislature that’s wisely stewarding the people’s money.”Democrats had a lot to applaud for
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioHouse Minority Leader Rep. Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, addresses the media on Wednesday during a response to the State of the State address at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.
Multiple times during Parson’s speech, Democrats were the first to stand up for proposed budget items, including child care, education funding and addressing Missouri’s maternal mortality rate.Quade said she is happy with the starting point Parson has laid out.“I think this is the most that we’ve ever stood up for a State of the State because quite truthfully, I feel like he took a lot of the budget priorities that we’ve been fighting for, for so long, and wrote the budget with it,” Quade said.She said she believes some of that shift is due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and many constituents’ frustrations with it.“We’re seeing our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, swoop around with more family support programs and actually help with pregnancy and help with the care of children afterwards,” Quade said.As to the likelihood of the Republican supermajority going along with Parson’s recommendations, Quade said she hopes the General Assembly takes note of what he has outlined.
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Poll: Support for Missouri abortion rights amendment growing
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A proposed constitutional amendment legalizing abortion in Missouri received support from more than half of respondents in a new poll from St. Louis University and YouGov.That’s a boost from a poll earlier this year, which could mean what’s known as Amendment 3 is in a solid position to pass in November.SLU/YouGov’s poll of 900 likely Missouri voters from Aug. 8-16 found that 52% of respondents would vote for Amendment 3, which would place constitutional protections for abortion up to fetal viability. Thirty-four percent would vote against the measure, while 14% aren’t sure.By comparison, the SLU/YouGov poll from February found that 44% of voters would back the abortion legalization amendment.St. Louis University political science professor Steven Rogers said 32% of Republicans and 53% of independents would vote for the amendment. That’s in addition to nearly 80% of Democratic respondents who would approve the measure. In the previous poll, 24% of Republicans supported the amendment.Rogers noted that neither Amendment 3 nor a separate ballot item raising the state’s minimum wage is helping Democratic candidates. GOP contenders for U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer and secretary of state all hold comfortable leads.“We are seeing this kind of crossover voting, a little bit, where there are voters who are basically saying, ‘I am going to the polls and I’m going to support a Republican candidate, but I’m also going to go to the polls and then I’m also going to try to expand abortion access and then raise the minimum wage,’” Rogers said.Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Kehoe has a 51%-41% lead over Democrat Crystal Quade. And U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is leading Democrat Lucas Kunce by 53% to 42%. Some GOP candidates for attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer have even larger leads over their Democratic rivals.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioHundreds of demonstrators pack into a parking lot at Planned Parenthood of St. Louis and Southwest Missouri on June 24, 2022, during a demonstration following the Supreme Court’s reversal of a case that guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion.
One of the biggest challenges for foes of Amendment 3 could be financial.Typically, Missouri ballot initiatives with well-funded and well-organized campaigns have a better chance of passing — especially if the opposition is underfunded and disorganized. Since the end of July, the campaign committee formed to pass Amendment 3 received more than $3 million in donations of $5,000 or more.That money could be used for television advertisements to improve the proposal’s standing further, Rogers said, as well as point out that Missouri’s current abortion ban doesn’t allow the procedure in the case of rape or incest.“Meanwhile, the anti side won’t have those resources to kind of try to make that counter argument as strongly, and they don’t have public opinion as strongly on their side,” Rogers said.There is precedent of a well-funded initiative almost failing due to opposition from socially conservative voters.In 2006, a measure providing constitutional protections for embryonic stem cell research nearly failed — even though a campaign committee aimed at passing it had a commanding financial advantage.Former state Sen. Bob Onder was part of the opposition campaign to that measure. He said earlier this month it is possible to create a similar dynamic in 2024 against Amendment 3, if social conservatives who oppose abortion rights can band together.“This is not about reproductive rights or care for miscarriages or IVF or anything else,” said Onder, the GOP nominee for Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District seat. “Missourians will learn that out-of-state special interests and dark money from out of state is lying to them and they will reject this amendment.”Quade said earlier this month that Missourians of all political ideologies are ready to roll back the state’s abortion ban.“Regardless of political party, we hear from folks who are tired of politicians being in their doctor’s offices,” Quade said. “They want politicians to mind their own business. So this is going to excite folks all across the political spectrum.”
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Democrat Mark Osmack makes his case for Missouri treasurer
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Mark Osmack has been out of the electoral fray for awhile, but he never completely abandoned his passion for Missouri politics.Osmack, a Valley Park native and U.S. Army veteran, previously ran for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District seat and for state Senate. Now he’s the Democratic nominee for state treasurer after receiving a phone call from Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Russ Carnahan asking him to run.“There’s a lot of decision making and processing and evaluation that goes into it, which is something I am very passionate and interested in,” Osmack said this week on an episode of Politically Speaking.Osmack is squaring off against state Treasurer Vivek Malek, who was able to easily win a crowded GOP primary against several veteran lawmakers including House Budget Chairman Cody Smith and state Sen. Andrew Koenig.While Malek was able to attract big donations to his political action committee and pour his own money into the campaign, Osmack isn’t worried that he won’t be able to compete in November. Since Malek was appointed to his post, Osmack contends he hasn’t proven that he’s a formidable opponent in a general election.“His actions and his decision making so far in his roughly two year tenure in that office have been questionable,” Osmack said.Among other things, Osmack was critical of Malek for placing unclaimed property notices on video gaming machines which are usually found in gas stations or convenience stores. The legality of the machines has been questioned for some time.As Malek explained on his own episode of Politically Speaking, he wanted to make sure the unclaimed property program was as widely advertised as possible. But he acknowledged it was a mistake to put the decals close to the machines and ultimately decided to remove them.Osmack said: “This doesn’t even pass the common sense sniff test of, ‘Hey, should I put state stickers claiming you might have a billion dollars on a gambling machine that is not registered with the state of Missouri?’ If we’re gonna give kudos for him acknowledging the wrong thing, it never should have been done in the first place.”Osmack’s platform includes supporting programs providing school meals using Missouri agriculture products and making child care more accessible for the working class.He said the fact that Missouri has such a large surplus shows that it’s possible to create programs to make child care within reach for parents.“It is quite audacious for [Republicans] to brag about $8 billion, with a B, dollars in state surplus, while we offer next to no social services to include pre-K, daycare, or child care,” Osmack said.Here’s are some other topics Osmack discussed on the show:How he would handle managing the state’s pension systems and approving low-income housing tax credits. The state treasurer’s office is on boards overseeing both of those programs.Malek’s decision to cut off investments from Chinese companies. Osmack said that Missouri needs to be cautious about abandoning China as a business partner, especially since they’re a major consumer of the state’s agriculture products. “There’s a way to make this work where we are not supporting communist nations to the detriment of the United States or our allies, while also maintaining strong economic ties that benefit Missouri farmers,” he said.What it was like to witness the skirmish at the Missouri State Fair between U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce.Whether Kunce can get the support of influential groups like the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which often channels money and staff to states with competitive Senate elections.
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As Illinois receives praise for its cannabis equity efforts, stakeholders work on system’s flaws
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Medical marijuana patients can now purchase cannabis grown by small businesses as part of their allotment, Illinois’ top cannabis regulator said, but smaller, newly licensed cannabis growers are still seeking greater access to the state’s medical marijuana customers.Illinois legalized medicinal marijuana beginning in 2014, then legalized it for recreational use in 2020. While the 2020 law legalized cannabis use for any adult age 21 or older, it did not expand licensing for medical dispensaries.Patients can purchase marijuana as part of the medical cannabis program at dual-purpose dispensaries, which are licensed to serve both medical and recreational customers. But dual-purpose dispensaries are greatly outnumbered by dispensaries only licensed to sell recreationally, and there are no medical-only dispensaries in the state.As another part of the adult-use legalization law, lawmakers created a “craft grow” license category that was designed to give more opportunities to Illinoisans hoping to legally grow and sell marijuana. The smaller-scale grow operations were part of the 2020 law’s efforts to diversify the cannabis industry in Illinois.Prior to that, all cultivation centers in Illinois were large-scale operations dominated by large multi-state operators. The existing cultivators, mostly in operation since 2014, were allowed to grow recreational cannabis beginning in 2019.Until recently, dual-purpose dispensaries have been unsure as to whether craft-grown products, made by social equity licensees — those who have lived in a disproportionately impacted area or have been historically impacted by the war on drugs — can be sold medicinally as part of a patient’s medical allotment.Erin Johnson, the state’s cannabis regulation oversight officer, told Capitol News Illinois last month that her office has “been telling dispensaries, as they have been asking us” they can now sell craft-grown products to medical patients.“There was just a track and trace issue on our end, but never anything statutorily,” she said.
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Capitol News IllinoisThe graphic shows how cannabis grown in Illinois gets from cultivation centers to customers.
No notice has been posted, but Johnson’s verbal guidance comes almost two years after the first craft grow business went online in Illinois.It allows roughly 150,000 medical patients, who dispensary owners say are the most consistent purchasers of marijuana, to buy products made by social equity businesses without paying recreational taxes. However — even as more dispensaries open — the number available to medical patients has not increased since 2018, something the Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office “desperately” wants to see changed. Johnson said Illinois is a limited license state, meaning “there are caps on everything” to help control the relatively new market.Berwyn Thompkins, who operates two cannabis businesses, said the rules limited options for patients and small businesses.“It’s about access,” Thompkins said. “Why wouldn’t we want all the patients — which the (adult-use) program was initially built around — why wouldn’t we want them to have access? They should have access to any dispensary.”Customers with a medical marijuana card pay a 1% tax on all marijuana products, whereas recreational customers pay retail taxes between roughly 20 and 40% on a given cannabis product, when accounting for local taxes.While Illinois has received praise for its equity-focused cannabis law, including through an independent study that showed more people of color own cannabis licenses than in any other state, some industry operators say they’ve experienced many unnecessary hurdles getting their businesses up and running.The state, in fact, announced last month that it had opened its 100th social equity dispensary.But Steve Olson, purchasing manager at a pair of dispensaries (including one dual-purpose dispensary) near Rockford, said small specialty license holders have been left in the lurch since the first craft grower opened in October 2022.“You would think that this would be something they’re (the government) trying to help out these social equity companies with, but they’re putting handcuffs on them in so many different spots,” he said. “One of them being this medical thing.”Olson said he contacted state agencies, including the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, months ago about whether craft products can be sold to medical patients at their retail tax rate, but only heard one response: “They all say it was an oversight.”This potentially hurt social equity companies because they sell wholesale to dispensaries and may have been missing out on a consistent customer base through those medical dispensaries.Olson said the state’s attempts to provide licensees with a path to a successful business over the years, such as with corrective lotteries that granted more social equity licenses, have come up short.“It’s like they almost set up the social equity thing to fail so the big guys could come in and swoop up all these licenses,” Olson said. “I hate to feel like that but, if you look at it, it’s pretty black and white.”Olson said craft companies benefit from any type of retail sale.“If we sell it to medical patients or not, it’s a matter of, ‘Are we collecting the proper taxes?’ That’s all it is,” he said.State revenue from cannabis taxes, licensing costs and other fees goes into the Cannabis Regulation Fund, which is used to fund a host of programs, including cannabis offense expungement, the general revenue fund, and the R3 campaign aiming to uplift disinvested communities.For fiscal year 2024, nearly $256 million was paid out from Cannabis Regulation Fund for related initiatives, which includes almost $89 million transferred to the state’s general revenue fund and more than $20 million distributed to local governments, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.Medical access still limitedThe state’s 55 medical dispensaries that predate the 2020 legalization law, mostly owned by publicly traded multistate operators that had been operating in Illinois since 2014 under the state’s medical marijuana program, were automatically granted a right to licenses to sell recreationally in January 2020. That gave them a dual-purpose license that no new entrants into the market can receive under current law.Since expanding their clientele in 2020, Illinois dispensaries have sold more than $6 billion worth of cannabis products through recreational transactions alone.Nearly two-thirds of dispensaries licensed to sell to medical patients are in the northeast counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will. Dual-purpose dispensaries only represent about 20 percent of the state’s dispensaries.While the state began offering recreational dispensary licenses since the adult-use legalization law passed, it has not granted a new medical dispensary license since 2018. That has allowed the established players to continue to corner the market on the state’s nearly 150,000 medical marijuana patients.But social equity licensees and advocates say there are more ways to level the playing field, including expanding access to medical sales.Johnson, who became the state’s top cannabis regulator in late 2022, expressed hope for movement during the fall veto session on House Bill 2911, which would expand medical access to all Illinois dispensaries.“We would like every single dispensary in Illinois to be able to serve medical patients,” Johnson said. “It’s something that medical patients have been asking for, for years.”Johnson said the bill would benefit patients and small businesses.“It’s something we desperately want to happen as a state system, because we want to make sure that medical patients are able to easily access what they need,” she said. “We also think it’s good for our social equity dispensaries, as they’re opening, to be able to serve medical patients.”Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, who was the first statewide project coordinator for Illinois’ medical cannabis program prior to joining the legislature, wrote in an email to Capitol News Illinois that the state needs to be doing more for its patients.“Illinois is failing the state’s 150,000 medical cannabis patients with debilitating conditions. Too many are still denied the patient protections they deserve, including access to their medicine,” Morgan wrote, adding he would continue to work with stakeholders on further legislation.Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
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