JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — As lawmakers take the week off for the legislative spring break, a few of them joined This Week In Missouri Politics to discuss some of the biggest issues facing the state so far, including municipal court reform, the next state auditor, and the future of Missouri Republican Party Chairman, John Hancock.
Sen. Eric Schmitt joined the show to discuss his municipal court reform bill, which would reduce the amount of money a city government can collect through traffic fines and court fees. Schmitt blasted local cities caught budgeting for increases in traffic fines every year or giving police officers daily or monthly ticket quotas.
“There are communities all over the state that are raising their revenue through tickets and speed traps,” Schmitt said. “People ought to be able to expect better. It’s broken down that truth between people and their government.”
Schmitt is running for state Treasurer in 2016 and so far has no Republican or Democratic challengers. He also touched briefly on his “#PorkSteakRebellion,” a social media campaign he started after learning that the EPA was spending roughly $15,000 to study the carbon emissions of barbeque grills.
The panel included Reps Tracey McCreery, D-St. Louis, and Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, alongside Lynda Brotherton, a Democratic political operative and Paul Berry, a Republican activist.
McCreery and Rowden traded their thoughts on Medicaid expansion, which drew the largest rally of the year on the final day of the session before the break.
“I was really disappointed that we still have not had a debate on Medicaid expansion,” Mcreery said. “The state of Missouri is missing out on a huge economic development tool. Expanding Medicaid would not only give access to about 300k Missourians to health insurance, but it would also be a huge job creator.”
Rowden challenged several Democratic talking points on expansion and applauded the Missouri House for passing several large legislative packages before the break, including Right-to-Work, medical malpractice caps, and the state’s $26 billion budget.
Panelists soon offered their takes on who would get the nod from Gov. Jay Nixon to permanently take over the post of Auditor before briefly touching on Hancock’s future with the MRP.
The full episode can be streamed now at thisweekinmissouripolitics.com. It is available every Sunday for streaming after 11:30 a.m. St. Louis area viewers can watch at 11:00 a.m. on ABC 30 KDNL and Southeast Missourians can tune in at 10:30 a.m. on Fox 23.
Some highlights from the show:
“For every dollar we send the federal government, we get $1.22 back, so to say that our money is funding Medicaid expansion in other states is just patently false…. It’s an unsustainable trajectory. If we’re going to look at an expansion conversation, you have to make sure you’re expanding a system and a program that works,” Rep. Rowden, on Medicaid expansion.
“I don’t have a specific name, but I think if the governor was respectful and true of what the Democratic party represents he would look for a qualified woman to fill that position, even if it’s a Republican woman,” Rep. McCreery on the next auditor.
“If you were a political operative or strategist and you had your ear to the ground, you knew that a strategy would be to upset Tom Schweich. We knew at the Susan Montee campaign that we could get under his skin so easily. Tom was easily frazzled. He became easily upset. We chose the higher ground, we chose not to…I don’t think John Hancock is being completely honest. If you’re a political operative, you knew that this would upset Tom to a very large degree,” Lynda Brotherton on the latest accusations against Hancock.
“Well there’s no growth in government. We’re going have to find ways to save money that we’re already spending. I’m not saying we won’t increase for things like education, but the problem here is that our government is wasting millions of dollars…there’s millions of tax dollars out there, they’re just not being spent properly,” Paul Berry on fully funding education in the state.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
