(Missourinet) – Governor Jay Nixon wants state lawmakers to tax daily fantasy sports and regulate the industry like gambling. During his State of the State address last month, Nixon called on the legislature to do so and said applying a tax could raise millions of dollars for things like education.

Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia) has filed a bill that would include standardized guidelines.

“Since it is generally is over the internet, it’s going to be more effective if you’ve got kind of a national standard that each state is able adopt if they so choose, rather than going state by state. Some form of regulation is appropriate to make sure that it’s not being abused and participants are appropriate ages,” said Schaefer.

Nixon thinks daily fantasy sports is gambling. Schaefer’s bill doesn’t include a tax or regulate the industry as gambling.

“I don’t look at everything out there as some way for the state to get more money,” said Schaefer. “There’s some legitimate issues about people underage getting their parents credit card and getting online.”

Representative Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob) has filed a House bill that would legalize gambling on daily fantasy sports. He doesn’t consider fantasy sports to be gambling, but instead a game of skill.

Fitzpatrick is considering a number of amendments, including one that proposes a tax and another would require participants to be at least 18 years old to play.

Several states, including Illinois, have made playing daily fantasy sports illegal.

(Missourinet) – The Missouri Rural Crisis Center is suing the Missouri Department of Agriculture for the referendum process on a proposed state beef checkoff. The lawsuit was filed in Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City.

Program Director Rhonda Perry said the process disenfranchises some voters and discourages cattle producers from registering and voting. Perry also claims the Ag Department has refused to hold public rulemaking for determining how to conduct the election.

“We were forced to file a lawsuit requesting that they start this process over and that they abide by the law when they do so,” said Perry.

A vote among producers would be whether to establish a $1.00 per head beef checkoff in addition to the national checkoff. That money would be spent to increase demand through research, education and promotion.

Perry said there is a lack of trust among many producers about how the money will be spent.

“Particularly at this time when we’re facing a significant drop in cattle prices with no real change predicted for the coming months, none of us believe this is the time to add another tax to beef producers,” said Perry.

The vote is scheduled to happen in April.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture said it cannot comment on pending litigation.

(Missourinet) – The state House has approved a bill meant to help save the lives of individuals who have overdosed on an opioid such as heroin.

The House approved a bill to let licensed pharmacists sell naloxone – a drug that can block the effects of an opioid overdose. The bill would allow it to be sold to a family member or friend of an opioid user as well.

House sponsor, Representative Steve Lynch (R-Waynesville), says that’s because many overdoses happen in the home.

“Two-thirds of all overdoses happen in the home. Eighty-five percent of the time there’s people around, and for states that have a bill like this, eighty-percent of the rescues are done by family members and friends,” said Lynch. “This bill will save lives.”

Some Democrats, like Randy Dunn (Kansas City), while supporting the bill, said they want the legislature to take steps to help people addicted to other substances.

“I’m glad that as a society we are moving in a direction where we are showing compassion for those that are addicted as opposed to being a society that criminalizes those individuals,” said Dunn. “This is a very important bill relating to those that are addicted to opioids, but I hope we will show this same compassion for those individuals that are addicted to other substances and other types of drugs that are filling our jails still.”

The bill goes to the state Senate, where similar legislation has been filed.

Two years ago Missouri began allowing first responders to administer naloxone to overdose patients.

(Missourinet) – The state House wants to have a private company check the eligibility of people using the state’s welfare programs.

Supporters say the bill will save money, and Representative Kathie Conway (R-St. Charles) says it will also allow people who work with welfare programs to spend less time checking eligibility.

“Is their primary function to [check eligibility] or to actually help the people with their mental health issues, their childcare, their other health issues. Which is more important? To do verification or to deliver actual services?” asked Conway.

The bill has bipartisan support, though some Democrats note it would result in fewer federal welfare dollars coming to Missouri as ineligible people are removed from welfare rolls. Representatives Justin Alferman (R-Hermann) and the bill sponsor, Marsha Haefner (R-St. Louis) don’t think that’s a bad thing.

“They’re not eligible for the program to begin with so it’s fraudulent money coming in,” said Alferman.

Haefner agreed, “It’s kind of a win, not a negative.”

Some supporters suggested the bill, which estimates say would save the state $20-million over the next three years, would free up money for other things like transportation. Democrats, however, oppose using general revenue for transportation and say much of the money the bill would free up comes from the federal government, and could not be repurposed.

The Senate has a similar bill.

(Missourinet) – University of Missouri professor Melissa Click claims that a student journalist she threatened during campus protests in November didn’t identify himself as a student or journalist. Mark Schierbecker disputes that, and her claim that he broke through a chain of protesters.

“They passed around me because they assumed I wasn’t a member of the press,” said Schierbecker. “I just happened to end up on the right side of things. I passed through non-violently, but she’s going to try to word it to seem favorable.”

Schierbecker’s video shows him saying he’s media and moments later, Click calling for “some muscle” to remove “a reporter.”

Schierbecker said he’s not too disappointed about a Columbia city prosecutor no longer pursuing assault charges against Click.

“The criminal charge was inconsequential to some of my ulterior goals in this, which is to shed light on press freedoms,” said Schierbecker. “I think we’ve done that marvelously.”

Click has agreed to a deal that allows her to avoid prosecution. She claims she was not calling for violence.

The Board of Curators two weeks ago suspended Click with pay pending further investigation.

(Missourinet) – State lawmakers who don’t like how University of Missouri leadership has responded to protests and dealt with embattled professor Melissa Click have voted to eliminate its funding increase in the next state budget.

A state budget subcommittee voted to reduce the 6-percent increase Governor Jay Nixon (D) proposed for the state’s colleges and universities to 2-percent for all of them but the University of Missouri. MU was to get a 26.8-million dollar increase in the next state budget.

Chairwoman Donna Lichtenegger (R-Jackson) proposed eliminating MU’s increase and said it’s because, in part, of how University leaders dealt with Click, who was seen on video asking for “some muscle” to keep a student reporter away from protesters on campus last fall.

“I think they need to start showing some leadership,” said Lichtenegger. “The only one that I have seen show leadership in anything was the Journalism School, and the Journalism School right away said we’re not going to have this and took Melissa Click’s privileges away … had the chair of Mass Communications done the same thing we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”

She also cited how the Board of Curators dealt with being interrupted by members of Concerned Student 1950 during its meeting last week.

“That doesn’t show me that they have students on their campus that are respectful and that know why they’re supposed to be there. They are there to learn, not to protest all day long … and when the Curators immediately didn’t do something about that problem, that was kind of like the last stroke for me.”

Representative Stephen Webber (D-Columbia) says University leaders won’t be the ones affected.

“Retaliatory action from the General Assembly, the legislature, is not going to be felt by administrators that people are frustrated with. It’s going to be felt by students by way of higher fees and reduced educational opportunities,” said Webber.

Lichtenegger said she has heard from others, including constituents and major donors to MU, who wanted lawmakers, “to literally just take as much as we could, and I fought not to do that. The best thing I could get was not doing the 2-percent increase.”

In all, the increase in Fiscal Year 2017 state aid to colleges and universities would be reduced from the $55.8-million proposed by Governor Nixon to $9.9-million. Nixon announced his proposal in September as part of an agreement with the state’s colleges and universities that they would freeze tuition in the 2016-17 school year. Many of their boards have voted to do just that.

The proposed higher education budget moves next to the full House budget committee, then the full House, before going through the Senate. More changes could be made before it must be delivered to Governor Nixon.

Lichtenegger said she is hopeful no more cuts are made, but is doubtful the increase to MU would be restored along the way.

“Unless some big things happen at the University, no,” said Lichtenegger.

(Missourinet) – A U.S. senate committee has voted unanimously to take legal action against Backpage.com to enforce a subpoena issued to it during an investigation of online sex trafficking. U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced today a resolution to hold the company in contempt. A senate panel that McCaskill sits on wants documents from Backpage about its business practices, including its screening of online ads for suspected trafficking.

“I really appreciate Senator Portman’s calm resolve on this—because it’s an antidote to how damn mad I am,” said McCaskill. “And everyone should be mad. This is the height of arrogance… this is thumbing one’s nose at the laws in this country.”

“We’re not on a fishing expedition here. We’re not violating anybody’s rights here. We are using the law as the law is intended to be used. Today on Backpage, children are being trafficked for sex. I am disgusted that any company wouldn’t participate and cooperate with an investigation into the trafficking of children.”

Carl Ferrer, Chief Executive Officer of Backpage.com, failed to obey a subpoena compelling his attendance at a senate committee hearing in November.

“I’m disgusted that any company would not participate and cooperate in an investigation into the trafficking of children,” said McCaskill.

If adopted by the full Senate, this would be the first time in more than 20 years that the Senate has held anyone in contempt.

(Missourinet) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today approved Governor Jay Nixon’s request to expand the federal major disaster declaration for Missouri. The approval allows local and state government, as well as eligible nonprofit agencies in 37 counties and the City of St. Louis, to seek assistance for response and recovery expenses associated with flooding in December and January.

The flooding led to 16 deaths and destroyed or significantly damaged nearly 1,000 homes.

Damage assessment teams have identified an estimated $41 million in damage to infrastructure and response expenses for the storms.

“From the western to the eastern borders of the state, Missouri was hit by devastating flooding and severe weather that left a trail of destruction to roads, bridges, public structures and other infrastructure, along with significant response costs,” Nixon said. “This expanded federal disaster declaration will provide vital assistance to communities as they rebuild infrastructure that is essential to residents and businesses as they move their communities forward.”

The 37 counties included in the expanded disaster declaration are: Barry, Bollinger, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Cedar, Crawford, Dade, Dallas, Douglas, Dunklin, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Howell, Iron, Jasper, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lincoln, McDonald, Newton, Ozark, Perry, Phelps, Pulaski, Reynolds, St. Charles, St. Clair, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Scott, Stoddard, Stone, Taney, Texas, Washington and Webster, as well as the City of St. Louis.

On January 21, President Barack Obama granted Nixon’s request for a major disaster declaration to assist residents affected by the flooding. That declaration made available the Individual Assistance program to help eligible residents with temporary housing, housing repairs, replacement of damaged belongings, vehicles and other expenses as a result of flooding, as well as disaster-related unemployment assistance in 33 Missouri counties: Barry, Barton, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Cole, Crawford, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Hickory, Jasper, Jefferson, Laclede, Lawrence, Lincoln, Maries, McDonald, Morgan, Newton, Osage, Phelps, Polk, Pulaski, Scott, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Taney, Texas, Webster and Wright.

Nixon declared a state of emergency in Missouri on December 27, as heavy rain, flooding and flash flooding impacted the state. The Missouri State Emergency Operations Plan also was activated, allowing state agencies to coordinate directly with local jurisdictions to provide emergency services.

On January 2, the President approved Nixon’s request for a federal emergency declaration to speed debris removal and relieve the strain of response and recovery costs in the St. Louis region. As a result of that declaration, Gov. Nixon announced Operation Recovery, a federal and state debris removal program coordinated by the Missouri National Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Debris removal has been underway in Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis counties.
Through February 9, Operation Recovery crews have removed and disposed of more than 98% of identified residential debris in participating communities in Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis counties: 2,675 tons of construction and demolition debris, 1,201 tons of sand, as well as more than 25,000 household hazardous waste items, appliances and electronics items.

Individuals who sustained damage or losses due to the flooding between December 23, 2015 and January 9, in one of the 33 Missouri counties included in the January 21 Individual Assistance disaster declaration may register for disaster aid online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling FEMA’s toll-free registration line at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). The Governor said the quicker that Missourians register with FEMA, the more quickly they may be able to receive assistance. The deadline for applying for most individual assistance programs is March 21, 2016.