ST. LOUIS—Almost a week after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson vetoed more than $500 million in funding for projects around the state, we’re learning more about what factored into some of the cuts, and about more concerns from some in the St. Louis area delegation to the General Assembly.
Among the cuts affecting the St. Louis region:
A request for $25 million for Great Rivers Greenway was reduced to $15 million.
$13 million for design and construction of a police center in the city of St. Louis
$10 million for a Public Safety Access Point or PSAP Center for 911 in St. Louis.
$12 million for the design and construction of a law enforcement training facility in O’Fallon, Mo.
$7 million to upgrade St. Charles County’s emergency dispatch call and phone system
$5 million for a drinking water infrastructure project in St. Charles.
In all, Parson issued 201 line-item vetoes, totaling $555.3 million.
In many cases, Parson cited the projects as a local responsibility that lacked statewide impact. In others, he said there were other funds available that should be tapped instead. The veto messages also include references to legislation passed by the General Assembly “estimated to result in a loss of ongoing general revenues exceeding $300 million and increasing ongoing general revenues by over $200 million.”
Democrats, including State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, thought that was a reference to tax cuts passed by the GOP supermajorities in both chambers last fall. A Parson spokesperson said Wednesday it was SB 190, a bill that would end state taxation of social security benefits and would also allow counties to pass property tax freezes for seniors. On Thursday afternoon, Parson signed SB 190 into law.
State Sen. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, who represents portions of western St. Charles County, joined State Sen. Nick Schroer in airing frustrations about how the county was impacted by the vetoes, saying Parson “went to town” on St. Charles County.
“Our coffers are full. If we aren't going to spend these dollars on generational infrastructure projects, then maybe we need to more aggressively cut taxes for Missourians who are footing the record tax bill,” Fitzwater said on Twitter. “I'm not sure where we go from here. But veto session ought to be entertaining,” he added.
A spokesperson for State Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, confirmed comments first reported by the Missouri Independent that Hough has already heard from lawmakers about possible budget veto overrides.
Bost vs. Bailey
After weeks of speculation, former State Sen. Darren Bailey officially announced his candidacy for Illinois’ 12th congressional district seat this week. He chose a July 4 fireworks event to set off his own political fireworks that will once again turn part of the Metro East into an intra-party battleground.
Bailey, the GOP nominee for Governor in 2022, will challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Bost next year. Bailey didn’t mention Bost by name during remarks at his Xenia, Ill. farm Tuesday and didn’t voice specific policy areas where the two conservatives differ.
An aide referred to “weak-kneed career politicians” and “three-piece seat-wearing slick politicians” as generic jabs at Bost, who served in the Illinois House from 1995 until his election to Congress in 2014.
Bailey did mention the chance to work in Congress with Mary Miller, who represents the 15th district in Congress. Miller defeated U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis in a bitter primary between incumbents brought on by redistricting. Bost endorsed Davis in that race. Miller has not responded to questions from Spectrum News regarding a potential endorsement in a race between Bost and Bailey.
Bailey has also gone out of his way to support former President Donald Trump, traveling to Trump’s Bedminster, N.J. golf club for a rally on the night of Trump’s arraignment on federal charges of mishandling government documents. Bost has already announced his endorsement of Trump’s 2024 presidential bid. So far, Trump has not publicly said anything about the Illinois congressional primary. Trump endorsed Bailey’s gubernatorial bid late in the 2022 primary when he held a rally for Miller’s campaign in June 2022.
Davis called the Bailey campaign announcement a “sad day for the Illinois Republican Party”, saying the primary wasn’t about policy differences but instead was about Bailey’s ego. “This is about Darren Bailey trying to remain relevant,” Davis told Spectrum News in an interview Wednesday. Davis praised Bost’s work as chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and said Bost has a better relationship with the former President than he did. Davis suggested Trump would be “well-served” to endorse Bost in the race and called it “distinct possibility”.
Decision time
A June 30 campaign finance deadline and the July 4 holiday are in the rearview mirror. We can expect a wave of announcements regarding 2024 intentions for statewide races in Missouri by the end of the month.
State Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, R-Scott City, told Spectrum News she’s given herself until mid to late July to decide whether to run for Lieutenant Governor in 2024 or seek re-election to the Senate.
“My decision ends up being where do I think I can make the biggest difference for Missourians and for me, as a Senator I really have enjoyed it and I’ve gotten a lot of good things done. As a state representative, I really enjoyed it and I got a lot of things done,” she said. Thompson Rehder was a longtime advocate for the state to adopt a prescription drug monitoring system as a way of combating opioid addiction.
Her legislation on the subject was signed two years ago by Gov. Parson, and the system is ready to go online soon, according to the Missouri Independent.
In 2022, Thompson Rehder sparred with members of the then-called “Conservative Caucus” in the Senate over a “Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights”, accusing the Senate’s far right members of trying to kill the bill with poison pills. The bill was signed last June.
In the just-completed session, Thompson Rehder sponsored legislation which bans transgender female athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports for the next four years. Parson signed the legislation last month.
“I certainly was proud to be able to protect the gains that women have made over the past 50 years since Title IX and how important it is, not that I ever want to hurt anyone’s feelings but it’s incredibly important that we worry about and are concerned with the girls that these scholarships are being taken away from,” Thompson Rehder said.
A GOP primary for Lt. Gov. could pit her against House Speaker Dean Plocher, who first confirmed he was eyeing the contest earlier this year. Voters would hear more about Thompson Rehder’s life story, chronicled in her 2022 book, “Cinder Girl”.
“I got married at 15, I had my first baby at 16. I had to do it on my own. I was a high school dropout at 16 with a baby on the hip standing in the middle of the trailer park,” she said.
“I do think that it’s important to have a lot of life that you have lived through, that you have succeed in, before you run for higher office and so my decision will be based on where I think I can make the biggest difference for the people of Missouri,” Thompson Rehder said.
One name that will not appear on a Democratic party primary ballot for Lt. Gov. in 2024 is John Kiehne. Kiehne had previously filed paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission to run in the race but last month decided to run for a Missouri House seat in a district that stretches from Eureka to Ellisville.
Kiehne’s decision was driven in part by word the race for Lt. Governor could be joined by an elected Democrat already in the General Assembly who would already have a geographic base of support. Spectrum News has not been able to confirm that candidate’s identity.
The 88th district seat Kiehne is now targeting is held by State Rep. Holly Jones, R-Eureka, who was elected to her first term in 2022.