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Why did Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher convert an entire office into a liquor pantry?

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10 months ago

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For four years, state Rep. Mike Stephens occupied prime real estate on the third floor of the Missouri Capitol.His office in room 306B certainly wasn’t the biggest in the space-starved statehouse, where staff often work out of musty, windowless rooms, and many lawmakers are stacked on top of each other in non-ADA compliant mezzanines.But Stephens’ office was steps away from the House chamber. And it was the only one besides the speaker’s with direct access to the House Lounge — a room adorned with a Thomas Hart Benton mural where conference committees, leadership meetings and press conferences are often held.For decades, it was reserved for the chairman of the House budget committee, but in more recent years was occupied by senior Republicans. Entering into his final term in the House, it was a relatively safe bet that Stephens would finish his legislative career in the coveted office space.But in late 2022, he got word he’d be moving down the hall.House Speaker Dean Plocher took over that space and converted it into what has been jokingly referred to as his “butler’s pantry,” a makeshift storage room stocked with liquor, beer, wine and soda to complement the supply in his office.The move was part of a $60,000 renovation of Plocher’s office in late 2022 and early 2023, paid for with public funds by the House. Half the costs stemmed from expenses resulting from repairs to walls, baseboards and ceilings in the speaker’s office.The other half, according to records obtained by The Independent through Missouri’s Sunshine Law, went towards new furnishings — to the tune of about $29,000, including $8,600 for a black leather sofa and armchairs, $2,500 for a new walnut table, $2,500 for a refrigerator with an ice maker, $5,000 for a custom cabinet to hold the refrigerator and $385 for two walnut trash can bins.Plocher did not answer specific questions about the office conversion. Instead, he released an emailed statement to The Independent defending the overall cost of the renovation.He noted that the last major overhaul of the office was completed in 2009. His office was pursuing the vision of the Missouri State Capitol Commission’s 2019 master plan, Plocher wrote, to “restore the speaker’s office and House chamber to its original historical significance.”“These new investments were done alongside other interior renovation projects throughout the Capitol as suggested by the Missouri State Capitol Commission,” Plocher wrote, and consisted of “updated technology, furniture and energy-efficient infrastructure. The House chamber and speaker’s office have been, as close as possible, restored to their original historical significance.”Stephens declined comment about his old office when reached by phone this week.“I don’t think it does me any good to discuss that,” he said.But the renovation is not without its critics.State Rep. Tony Lovasco, a Republican from O’Fallon, noted that there are legislative offices that are inaccessible to constituents with disabilities. Other offices, he said, are so small they could be considered a closet.One lawmaker is working out of a former vault on the second floor.“We probably shouldn’t be eliminating offices at this point,” he said. “We shouldn’t be repurposing office space unless it’s absolutely necessary, and while I can’t speak to whether it was in this case, my guess is probably not.”Renovation in a century-old building will always be more expensive, Lovasco said, but “$29,000 on furniture sounds like an enormously high number. That certainly doesn’t seem reasonable to me.”The cost of the furniture in the speaker’s office “does seem excessive,” said Rep. Deb Lavender, a Manchester Democrat. And she would have preferred if the House budget committee was involved in a renovation of that size, instead of using the chamber’s core budget, because the process would have been more transparent.But her main concern is the loss of office space for what she called a “questionable use.”“We had a member that had an office on the fourth floor that was so small, the legislative assistant can’t get to behind her desk without closing the door of the closet,” Lavender said. “So with such a serious lack of space in the Capitol, I’m not sure we should be spending the public’s money to build a bar across the House Lounge from the speaker’s office.”The first principle stated in the Missouri State Capitol Commission long range master plan focuses on the lack of functional space for legislators and staff and the need to “decompress space and remove the mezzanines.”‘Substantial price difference’

Tim Bommel

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Missouri House Communications The House Lounge on the third floor of the Missouri Capitol, home of Thomas Hart Benton’s mural “The Social History of Missouri.”

For nearly two months, the Missouri House Ethics Committee has been investigating Plocher over allegations of misconduct.The inquiry was launched after The Independent revealed that Plocher on numerous occasions over the last five years illegally sought reimbursement from the legislature for airfare, hotels and other travel costs already paid for by his campaign.Those illegal payments were documented in expense reports Plocher regularly filed with the House. The reports also detailed any taxpayer funds Plocher used to upgrade his office over the years, going back to when he first entered the legislature in 2016.For example, Plocher had hoped to renovate of his previous office while he was serving as majority floor leader. But costs proved too high, with expense records showing Plocher settled for spending around $3,500 of public funds on new countertops, paint, bench covers and upholstery.He spent a similar amount the year prior on a new desk and a veneer walnut desktop.But those records didn’t include renovation expenses to the speaker’s office since Plocher began moving into the job late last year. That’s because the money for the speaker’s office renovation didn’t come from Plocher’s legislative expense fund. It came from House operating funds.The Independent filed a new request seeking those documents on Nov. 10.The last time a major remodel of the office had been completed was under then-Speaker Ron Richard in 2009, when new desks were purchased, furniture was reupholstered and hardwood floors were refinished, among other expenses.In the years since, speakers have taken an approach that builds upon that work, such as recovering, refinishing and reupholstering chairs and desks as opposed to purchasing entirely new ones. For example, former Speaker Elijah Haahr had desks and credenzas refinished in 2018, though he did buy a new conference table for the office that year.As Plocher was preparing to take over as speaker, the need to remove pealing wallpaper ended up requiring the replacement of drop ceiling tiles and baseboards. Energy-efficient lighting was also installed.As the office was being remodeled, the decision was made to replace all the furniture — new desks, credenzas, bookcases and a conference table.Plocher also wanted a new refrigerator for the office that included an ice maker, which required a custom cabinet to hold it along with a new water line and filtration system to service it. A special wood stain was requested for the cabinets to match the speaker’s gavel.The priciest furniture expense was a black leather sofa and armchairs from Ethan Allen.Originally, records show the House planned to purchase a floor model set in brown leather from Missouri Furniture in Jefferson City. But the speaker preferred black leather, which required a special order.The set, which cost roughly $4,200, was manufactured in China, causing months of delays. In March, the order was canceled because the furniture was not expected to be delivered for at least two more months.With Plocher wanting the furniture in place sooner, records show Chief Clerk Dana Miller went online and found a black leather set from Ethan Allen, at a cost of $8,366.“I’m fine with whatever you want to do, but there’s a substantial price difference and there’s still a 4-6 week wait time for the items to ship,” a House employee wrote in an email to Miller in March regarding the Ethan Allen furniture.Miller responded that the cost could be justified “because we are ordering historically appropriate furnishings that will be in permanent use in that office for at least a decade.”The cost of refurnishing the office topped $29,000. But there were some requests Plocher had hoped to include that weren’t feasible.A dishwasher couldn’t be installed in the office because it would have required the installation of a new drain line. And an inlay of the state seal on the coffee tables in his office was also deemed too costly.Repurposing room 306B came with minimal cost, according to records, and it appears Plocher may have paid for the alcohol using his own campaign funds.Twice during the legislative session, Plocher’s political action committee paid for “campaign meals” at a Jefferson City liquor store called Macadoodles — spending $194 in February and $350 in April. And he was seen on several occasions during session pushing a cart stacked with alcohol into room 306B.Plocher did not respond to a question about the alcohol purchases. Alcohol consumption is prohibited everywhere in the Missouri Capitol unless it is part of a state government function and approved by the Board of Public Buildings. That prohibition does not include legislative offices.Ethics investigationIn addition to Plocher’s false expense reports, the House ethics committee is also investigating allegations that he threatened the jobs of nonpartisan staff as part of his push to convince his colleagues to spend $800,000 to hire a private company to manage constituent information.Three closed-door hearings have been held by the ethics committee so far, with the investigation likely to stretch into the new legislative session that starts Jan. 4.Plocher, a Republican from Des Peres running for lieutenant governor, has flatly denied any wrongdoing and rejected all calls from his fellow Republicans to step down as speaker. He chalked up the false expense reports to a “checkbook error” and paid back the illegal reimbursements.During an event in St. Louis late last month, Plocher told Spectrum News that “his conscience is clear.”“I sleep well at night,” he said. “I’m not gonna let this sideshow distract me or the legislature from getting good work done for the state of Missouri.”This story was originally published on the Missouri Independent, part of the States Newsroom.

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Poll: Support for Missouri abortion rights amendment growing

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1 month ago

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August 29, 2024

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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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1 month ago

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August 29, 2024

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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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August 29, 2024

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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.

Dilpreet Raju

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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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