It could have been worse with the worst recession since the Great Depression, but it wasn't, at least in Missouri. While U.S. house prices fell slightly in the fourth quarter of 2009, Missouri prices saw a very modest increase according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI).
The HPI is calculated on a seasonally adjusted basis using sales data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages. Nationally, those mortgages dropped 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter from the third quarter.
FHFA said the non-seasonally adjusted national data, however, showed a 1.5 percent decline over-the-quarter. The declines were, however, a marked improvement from the same period in 2008 that saw declines of more than 8 percent.
In Missouri, FHFA estimates home prices appreciated by 0.43 percent in the last quarter, but only 0.03 percent over-the year.
While not as great as the 3.5 percent over-the-year appreciation in Oklahoma, Missouri fared better 30 other states in terms of annual appreciation. Regionally though, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas, and Iowa all saw home prices appreciate at a greater rate. Only Tennessee and Illinois performed more poorly.
Boosting the marginal increase in average Missouri home prices was Jefferson City, which saw home prices increase by 1.8 percent last year and 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter alone. By the way, that was the fifth highest rate of any Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the country.
In Joplin, home prices increased by 1.1 percent over-the-year, even despite a 1 percent decline in the last quarter. That rate was the 12th highest in the country.
The larger metropolitan areas of St. Louis and Kansas City didn't come out so well though. Relative to one year ago, prices in St. Louis slipped another 3.5 percent and Kansas City fell almost 2.5 percent.
For years, credit card companies have used tricky fine print, hidden fees, and unannounced interest rate increases to gouge people across the country. These practices have repeatedly punished responsible families and small businesses, especially as the economy worsened over the past several years. Halting these practices is yet another way Congress is working to rebuild an economy that works for families and small businesses, not just Wall Street bankers.
That is why it was essential to pass landmark credit card reforms last year, reforms that take effect this week. Many of you have received notices from banks and credit card companies describing some of these changes, but I wanted to take a moment to share some of the most important aspects of H.R. 627, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009.
First, this act bans interest rate changes on existing balances, due-date gimmicks that allow companies to charge exorbitant fees, and fine-print tricks like charging to pay a bill by phone. According to the Pew Charitable Trust, consumers are expected to save over $10 billion a year from these changes.
But the new law goes further. It mandates that credit card companies explain, in clear language, the terms and conditions of their cards. Just as it is illegal to sell someone a toaster that will burn down their house, tricking people into accepting credit cards that destroy their finances should also be prohibited. This law does that.
Small businesses and middle class Americans have always driven the American economy, and they will continue to do so into the 21st Century. That is why it is so important to ensure that CEOs and large financial corporations cannot take advantage of honest, responsible people. By giving residents of the Fourth Congressional District the information and rights needed to make informed decisions about how they spend their money, this bipartisan legislation is just one of many ways Congress is working to strengthen every day Americans and build a more stable economy in the future.
Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton (D) filed a measure this week to block the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gases, at least without Congressional approval.
The resolution, HJR 76, would use the Congressional Review Act to essentially veto EPA's recent finding that GHGs endanger human health, a step EPA is required to take under the Clean Air Act before it can pursue further regulatory action.
"When Congress passed the Clean Air Act, it never gave EPA the explicit authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions for the purpose of stopping global climate change," Skelton said in a statement. "But, that is exactly what EPA has proposed to do."
Earlier this month Skelton, one of the highest ranking Democrats in the U.S. House, joined Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) and House Agricultural Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) in announcing separate legislation to bar EPA from regulating GHGs.
A counterpart resolution was filed in the Senate by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and already has 41 co-sponsors, including three Democrats.
It's unlikely that the proposed legislation or this resolution would make it through the many Congressional hurdles or not be subject to a Presidential veto.
"EPA is doing what they were instructed to do as a result of a lawsuit by states to regulate those dangerous gases," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said earlier this week.
But for Skelton, this is exactly the break from the Washington Democrats he must successfully demonstrate to voters in House District 4 to win re-election. In recent weeks Skelton has taken hits from several Republicans vying for their party's nomination to challenge Skelton this fall.
"Skelton has been one of main enablers to Nancy Pelosi's speakership," Bill Stouffer (R) said in a statement this week. "Since 2001, Ike Skelton has contributed a whopping $865,000 to Democrat efforts in Washington to build a liberal majority we see governing today."
"We aren't fooled by political tricks and election year conversions," former state Rep. Vicky Hartlzer (R) said in a press release. "When we needed him, he threw us over the bridge of political expediency."
While the Republican challengers are openly criticizing Skelton, they can't attack him for leaving Washington amid multiple crises to run his political campaign. Filing for offices began last week, and Skelton hasn't re-filed yet.
Skelton, who represented District 4 in the U.S. House since 1977, currently has no primary challengers.
Required 48 hour reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission for campaign contributions greater than $5,000 are rolling in this year, and an alarming number of them are showing up after the required deadlines.
MPN's analysis in Nov. 2008 identified dozens of campaign committees filing late -- from Democrats and Republicans alike. And that trend doesn't seem to have changed at all since the beginning of 2010.
Through Feb. 25, there are at least 15 more committees that we can add to the delinquent list. And that's alarming because it represents 14 percent of the total large contributions reported so far this year (a total of 106).
In 5 cases, the contributions were actually from the candidates themselves, or committees previously run by the candidate. Those include the following:
Other committees with late reports this year include both Republicans and Democrats, as well as unions and the Stop the Nonsense campaign. Here's a full list:
To date the Ethics Commission has sent no signal to political candidates or the treasurers of various committees that it will pursue penalties for late filings. However, the mere fact that so many of these reports come months after their statutory deadlines suggests transparency isn't what it can be, or was intended to be when the Republican-controlled legislature lifted campaign contribution limits in 2008.
by Leslie W. Merritt, Jr. Executive Director Foundation for Ethics in Public Service
At least 40 states have established ethics commissions, which are state agencies charged with overseeing the conduct of elected or appointed public servants. The mission of the various ethics commissions is essentially the same nationwide: to investigate alleged violations of ethics law, issue penalties for financial disclosure violations, educate “covered persons” on ethics laws that apply to them, and refer violations of ethics law to the appropriate law enforcement agencies when those violations rise to the level of criminal misconduct.
Unfortunately, while these ethics commissions look good on paper and sound good in a press release, more often than not their bark is louder than their bite. In my view, this is due in large part to the fact that government will never do an effective job of policing itself. Asking government staffers to police the very officials who hire them is very much akin to asking the fox to guard the henhouse.
It is important to note that most state ethics commissions have narrow jurisdictions, often being over-attentive to small or de minimis matters while having no jurisdiction or oversight over matters of greater importance to citizens. Interestingly, even when state ethics commissions appear to be proactive and carry a significant case load, they can rank poorly in national rankings addressing integrity in public service.
Whether intentional or not, many states seem to put a chilling effect on the complaint process itself. For example, when the Missouri Ethics Commission dismisses complaints it finds to be frivolous in nature, or “lacking basis in fact or law”, under state law the person who submitted the complaint “shall be liable for actual and compensatory damages to the alleged violator for holding the alleged violator before the public in a false light”. Another example can be found in North Carolina, where the State Government Ethics Act of 2006 requires complainants to submit their allegations under oath at the risk of perjury. This means that requests for anonymity are denied by statute. In our view, the majority of state ethics commissions put an undue burden on complainants, which discourages them from submitting complaints at all.
Recent news reports of high-profile public officials allegedly engaging in unethical, if not corrupt, practices in states like North Carolina, Illinois, and New Jersey make it clear that ethics commissions either lack the resources and jurisdiction or the political will to dive deep into the major corruption issues in their respective states.
Additionally, The Washington Post recently reported that a number of federal officials are under the scrutiny of the United States House of Representatives Ethics Committee. Unfortunately, the story had to be leaked – with the sad disclosure that committee members are sworn to secrecy regarding the subject and nature of the allegations being investigated.
These and countless other examples of unabated corruption and ethical violations make it clear that government officials, both at the federal and state level, either cannot or will not police themselves with credibility, completeness and transparency. There is an ethics void throughout government, and only independent oversight and action by non-partisan media and law enforcement can restore the credibility of our public institutions and the confidence of our citizens.
Leslie W. Merritt, Jr. is executive director of the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.ReportPublicCorruption.org.
Tuesday marked the official start of the 2010 campaign season as candidates filed paperwork with the Secretary of State's office to be placed on primary ballots.
In all, 418 candidates filed for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, State Auditor, State Senator, State Representative, and Circuit Court positions Tues. On Wed., just 11 candidates filed.
So why file on the first day? Candidates are assigned a random number with the chance of being listed first on the ballot.
As we noted earlier this week, the political science literature hasn't identified a clear statistical advantage, but conventional wisdom says it matters.
Here's where candidates stand in our closely watched primaries:
With the lucky number 271, Rep. Allen Icet (R) won the first spot for the State Auditor primary as challenger Tom Schweich (R) drew 637. In this down-ballot race where the candidates are not well known outside political circles, position could have an effect.
In the open U.S. Senate contest, among the field of nine Republicans, Congressman Roy Blunt will be listed in the middle with his main opponent, Chuck Purgason, last among first-day filers.
In U.S. House District 4 where Republicans hope to unseat incumbent Rep. Ike Skelton (D), six Republicans filed on the first day. Former state Rep. Vicky Hartzler will be listed third and main challenger Bill Stouffer will be sixth.
The active Democratic primary in Senate District 14 will have Rep. Ted Hoskins in the number one slot with Rep. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, who announced her candidacy Monday, listed fourth.
All three announced Democrats for the open seat in State Senate District 24, filed on the first day and it was Rep. Michael Corcoran who won the lottery for the first slot. With his fundraising slightly trailing Sam Page and Rep. Barbara Fraser, the top slot on the ballot may provide an extra boost. In this district rated a toss up by MPN, only Republican John Lamping filed the first day. Expected challenger Dean Plocher has not yet filed.
Since MPNblog.com's relaunch last year, readership has continually increased. But in recent weeks the trajectory of growth skyrocketed so much that we already exceeded our average monthly readership from 2008.
Projected monthly unique visits for Feb. 2010 are anticipated to surpass more than half of the monthly totals from the peak of our 1.0 operation in 2008.
So what are the most viewed stories for Feb. 2010 so far? In rank order they are:
And these are exactly the results we hope to see each month, where our premiere analyses are the top hits.
Since we're always looking for new, innovative topics to cover, please feel free to offer suggestions to me at editor@mpnblog.com. Thank you for reading MPN.
The major campaign initiative by the Heavy Constructors Association reported a $100,000 boost today for efforts to criticize Kansas City's political leadership, but failed to report the contributions within the timeframe specified by state law.
The initiative, called "Stop the Nonsense", is aimed at stimulating the local economy with street and bridge repairs, and avoiding what the group calls "mismanagement of capital projects".
“We’ve had a hard winter”, Association Director Ed DeSoignesaid. “This kind of weather damages streets, and you don’t have to drive very far to notice that pot holes are making an early appearance this year. This isn’t the time to reduce funding for street maintenance and repairs. If anything, it should be increased.”
Today the continuing campaign finance committee created by the group on Jan. 28, reported two $50,000 contributions. The first, not surprisingly, came from the Association and the second was from Operating Engineers Local 101 PAC.
There was one problem with the reports, they were delinquent. Under Missouri's campaign finance law (RSMo 130-044), contributions to committees greater than $5,000 are required to be reported to the Ethics Commission within 48 hours. The first contribution, though, was made 16 days ago while the Operating Engineers contribution came six days ago. In both cases, the statutorily defined deadline was missed. Persons failing to file reports within required timeframes can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor (RSMo 130-081), although such punishment is rarely pursued.
Perhaps in the future the Stop the Nonsense team won't have any more of this delay nonsense.
State Rep. Maria Chappelle-Nadal announced Monday that she will enter the Democratic primary in Senate District 14, which includes University City in St. Louis.
"I love my job," Chappelle-Nadal's announcement video begins. "I love going into the Capitol every day and beign humbled by the history of that building and being humbled by the people I serve."
Candidates who have already said they're running and begun fundraising for the seat include University City Mayor Joe Adams and state Reps. Don Calloway, Esther Haywood, and Ted Hoskins.
According to campaign finance data obtained from the Missouri Ethics Commission, Chappelle-Nadal is well positioned in the field in terms of campaign finances. She had $51,486 cash-on-hand at the close of the last fundraising period, slightly less than Hoskins who had $62,910.
Editor's Note: All data used in this analysis comes from candidate reports filed with the the Missouri Ethics Commission. Amended reports were incorporated only if filed before Feb. 1, 2010. Any subsequent amendments are not included. Note also that this post is an update to an earlier version.
At of the end of 2009, Missouri state House candidates reported collectively raising a total of $5 million and already spent $1.7 million.
Every seat in the Missouri House is up for re-election in 2010 and currently there are 281 candidate campaign finance committees reported as active with the Missouri Ethics Commission. Candidate committees, though, outnumber the number of seats in the House by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. But not all of those committees are actually raising funds.
24 of the committees filed limited activity statements, which means aggregate receipts and expenses for the committee were less than $500.
Seven active committees filed no report as required by the Ethics Commission. Five of the seven, however, are likely committees that will be terminated as the candidates ran in either 2008 or 2009 special elections. These candidate committees include Bob Pund (D-25), Mark Matzeder (D-54), Curtis Royston (D-61), April Harris (D-63), and Dan O'Sullivan (R-73).
Two committees appear to be delinquent in their filings: Jay Swearingen (D-31) and William Royster (D-40). Both candidates list the Aug. 3, 2010 primary as their next election. No action from the Missouri Ethics Commission is evident in either of these cases.
An additional seven committees identified as active are excluded from this analysis since the campaign committee was created after the close of the last fundraising quarter.
After removing the 38 committees created after the close of the period, which candidates did not file reports, and when limited activity reports were filed the $5 million in receipts comes from 243 committees.
On average, Republican candidates are outraising Democrats by about $5,800. Democrats reported a total of $2.08 million compared to Republican candidates' total of $2.9 million.
The candidate raising the most to date is Rep. Steve Tilley (R) who brought in $965,840 to-date. Tilley, the majority floor leader, is currently sponsoring one of the major pieces of ethics legislation under consideration in the House.
In a very distant second in terms of cumulative fundraising is Rep. Michael Talboy (D) who reported raising $104,182. Talboy is followed closely by Reps. Tim Jones and Jane Bogetto (D) with $96,800 and $95,180, respectively.
Republicans also lead in terms of total expenses. Republicans candidates, on average, spent 22 percent more than their Democratic counterparts for the current election cycle through the end of 2009.
Republicans also lead in the amount of debt incurred by campaigns. 45 Republican candidates amassed a debt of $220,000 compared to the 38 Democrats reporting cumulative debt of $194,000.
The one area Democrats can take some solace is that their campaigns report cash-on-hand that is in aggregate nearly equal to Republicans. On average, since Democrats have fewer candidates, Democratic candidates have about 1.4 percent more cash, a whopping $195 per campaign.
Even though the greatest cash-on-hand is held by Tilley, with $362,417, Democrats hold three of the top five slots in this category. Democrats with lots of cash include Reps. Jake Zimmerman ($178,192), Jason Kander ($76,872), and Jason Grill ($61,826). The other Republican in the top five is Ellen Brandom with $77,094.
Perhaps the most interesting revelation from our review of campaign finance filings is a quick review of the cash changing hands from one committee to another. While both major parties use the tactic of supporting candidates with committee-to-committee transfers, Republicans use the transfers much more often. At the end of 2009, Democrats shifted an average of $2,568 while Republicans shifted $4,564, an astounding 78 percent more.
Why does this matter? Well for one thing as lawmakers consider ethics reform this year, committee-to-committee transfers impede transparency of campaign contributions making it more difficult for the public to determine who is actually funding campaigns. Second, and more important for this analysis, these transfers inflate total receipts reported by committees. So even though total receipts are $5 million, if we consider that $857,000 came from other candidates (as opposed to new cash into the campaign finance system), total receipts are really on the order of $4.1 million. Whether intentional or not, transfers can make candidates appear to have a larger fundraising base than really exists for a given campaign. Unfortunately candidates are only required to indicate how much they give to political committees, not how much they receive. That information is difficult to get, and even once we download it into the MPN database, it often requires re-coding since candidates and their treasurers seem to infrequently know what a political committee really is.
A full listing of candidate receipts, expenditures, contributions to candidates, cash-on-hand, and debt is available here. Note that all totals were reported by candidates' committees.
"As commander in chief of the Missouri National Guard, I am tremendously proud of the work our Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen do both here at home and overseas," Gov. Nixon said in a press release. "I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Council of Governors to ensure that the men and women of the National Guard have the training, equipment and support they need to accomplish their vital missions."
Accompanying Nixon to Washington will be the Adjutant General of the Missouri National Guard's 11,500 citizen-soldiers, Brig. Gen. Stephen Danner, the Adjutant General of the Missouri National Guard.
On Tuesday candidates for U.S. Congress, Auditor, and state House and Senate seats will begin to file for positions with the Missouri Secretary of State's office in Jefferson City.
Candidates will file for the state primary election on Aug. 3, 2010 beginning Feb. 23 through Mar. 30. While there's a month-long window to file required paperwork, traditionally the first day of the filing period sees the most activity as candidates jockey for a chance to be listed first on the ballot in their party's primary. If more than one candidate files on the first day, the top ballot position is assigned by random lottery.
While the political science literature has not developed a consensus on whether being listed first has an impact on the election, conventional wisdom suggests it can make a difference, especially in races where the candidates are not well known.
For instance, it's believed that ballot position effect played into Chris Koster's victory in the 2008 attorney general primary with Margaret Donnelly, Jeff Harris, and Molly Williams.
And that is exactly the outcome many of the early filers Tuesday are hoping for if they face contested primaries.
House Budget Chairman Allen Icet took a big swipe at his Republican primary opponent last week, questioning his challenger's conservative credentials.
In a press release issued from Icet's campaign, Icet claimed to be the only "conservative" candidate in the state auditor race. The charge is a jab at Tom Schweich, a former Bush Administration appointee and Ambassador to Afghanistan.
Icet's campaign says that Schweich contributed money to then state Auditor candidate Claire McCaskill (D) nine years ago. Sure enough, buried on page 35 of McCaskill's 4Q-2001 campaign finance report is a $500 contribution from Tom Schweich. While true, Schweich doesn't actually deny or even try to down play this contribution.
“I did give $500 to McCaskill when she was running for auditor in 2002. That year, the Republican party could not field a credible candidate and, I believe, eventually settled on a convicted felon as the nominee,” Schweich wrote in a blog last summer. “While I am reliably Republican, our candidate must pass the laugh test first.”
Of course what Icet's campaign doesn't divulge is that, according to Federal Elections Commission records, Schweich also contributed to Republican U.S. House candidate Rich Elser one week earlier. In more recent years Schweich also contributed to Bush-Cheney, McCain-Palin, the Republican National Convention, and the Missouri Republican Committee. If Schweich does win the nomination in August, in the eyes of Democrats, that's conservative enough to accuse Schweich of being a neoconservative.
Icet also faults Schweich for not voting for former U.S. Sen. Jim Talent (R) in 2006. In fact, though, it's not that Schweich voted for a Democrat it's that he didn't vote at all. Schweich was at the time living in Virginia and serving in a Bush Administration position. Even the most novice political observers can see that Schweich loses this point with both Republicans and Democrats. By skipping the election, he contributed to Talent losing the race by a narrow margin. By serving in the Bush Administration he subjected himself to the most ardent of conservatives outlining a new political philosophy in the Middle East.
Unfortunately for Schweich his history, while impressive to the moderates out there, doesn't seem to impress those in established parties at all. And that will make winning the primary in Aug. and the general election in Nov. all that much more challenging.
Even though the economy is having trouble growing, Missouri's casino industry reported growth of 6.5 percent between 2008 and 2009.
That increase corresponds to gaming tax revenues and admissions fees that benefit state and local government. The Missouri Gaming Commission estimates that revenue was $469 million in 2009, up $29 million from 2008.
“Nationwide, casino attendance is down but in Missouri we’ve seen an increase in visitors as people look for entertainment options closer to home,” said Mike Winter, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Association.
Winter said just three states -- Missouri, Indiana, and Colorado, saw growth in gaming revenues last year. Major gambling centers like Law Vegas and Atlantic City saw 10 and 13 percent declines, respectively.
Missouri casinos also saw a surge in the number of visitors in 2009, up 904,500 from 2008 for a total of 52.8 million. The Gaming Association says, however, that visitors spent about 3 percent less than in 2008, a likely impact of the national recession.
“In Missouri, the increase in gaming tax revenue has meant more money for our schools, veterans’ programs, early childhood programs, and local community services and projects,” Winter said.
Casinos in Missouri pay a $2 tax per patron, which support local communities, the Missouri Gaming Commission Fund, and the state Problem Gambling Fund. Casinos also pay a 21 percent tax on adjusted gross revenue, most of which goes to the state education fund.
Missouri legislators still disagree widely on what precisely should be included in this year's ethics reform package, but last week the chairman of special House ethics committee announced campaign contribution limits will be part of the legislative proposal.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's coverage of a committee hearing last week, chairman Kevin Wilson (R)and Rep. John Burnett (D) agreed that limits should exist.
“I think the public is not as concerned with what the limit is, but that we have limits,” Wilson said.
Missouri has now received more than $2.5 billion in federal aid from the 2009 stimulus bill.
The total is an increase of about half a billion from mid-Dec. levels, according to data provided on the state's Map Your Taxes website.
Missouri government also reports spending $2.3 billion of those funds to date with a balance of just under $300 million left to spend.
Missouri will still receive an additional $800 million that has been allocated by federal agencies but not yet provided to the state, for a total allocation of $3.4 billion.
Editor's Note: This story is an update from a version posted on Feb. 10 which contained an error for Bob Dixon's campaign finance committee. MPN has corrected the database and adjusted all totals and graphics in this post accordingly.
Candidates slated for a run at one of Missouri's 34 state senate districts collectively reported $5.56 million in receipts at the end of 2009.
Half of those districts will have elections later this year, while the remaining 17 won't see elections again until 2012. In only 7 of those districts does it appear Republicans and Democrats are fielding candidates so far, meaning the 10 remaining seats will likely remain under the respective incumbent party's control.
For the 17 races later this year, 27 Republican candidates and 19 Democratic candidates collectively reported raising $4.5 million so far this election cycle, 69 percent of which was reported by Republicans. On average, Republican candidates for races in 2010 have outraised Democratic candidates by $31,500 with Democratic candidates raising an average of $92,182 and Republican candidates raising an average of $123,673.
The candidate with the greatest receipts is House Speaker Ron Richard (R). Richard, who is running for Senate District 32 being vacated by term-limited Gary Nodler (R), reported receipts totaling $704,160. No other candidates have yet filed campaign committees to raise funds for that race.
Republicans also reported more cash-on-hand than Democrats. In total, Republican candidates in 2010 races reported $2.4 million while Democratic candidates held just $931,619. On average, Republicans led Democrats by $33,838 per candidate with Republicans reporting an average of $95,946 and Democrats just $62,108.
In terms of debt reported by candidate committees, Republicans also led this category with a total of $248,200 reported by Republican candidates, an average of $10,342 per candidate. Democrats collectively held just $2,748, an average of $250 per candidate.
The most debt held by a single candidate running in 2010 was $75,000 reported by candidate John Lamping (R), running against Dean Plocher in a Republican primary in State Senate District 24.
Other Republicans with notable debt include Bob Dixon in State Senate District 30 with $60,000, Jack Jackson in State Senate District 26 with $50,000 and Brian Pratt in State Senate District 8 also with $50,000. Both Jackson and Pratt face primaries before the general election, although no Democrats filed committees in either district. Jackson is likely heading into a two-way primary with State Rep. Brian Nieves (R) and Pratt is likely heading into a three-way primary against State Reps. Will Kraus (R) and Gary Dusenberg (R).
Six candidates filed limited activity for the period, including four Democrats and two Republicans. Those committees include El-Amin for Senate, Jeff Smith for Missouri, Citizens for Flaherty, Committee to elect Esther Haywood, Citizens for Dave Broach, and Friends of Charles Portwood Committee.
An active committee also still exists for Michael Hathaway (I) who ran in a 2009 special election. Hathaway did not file a required finance report by the Jan. 15 deadline for his active committee.
A full listing of candidate receipts, expenditures, contributions to candidates, cash-on-hand, and debt is available here. Note that all totals were reported by candidates' committees.
Paying the bills on time and balancing the budget are sensible principles that any family or business must embrace. As a responsible steward of taxpayers’ money, the government should too. But sadly, this has not been the case over the past decade. Since 2000, in fact, the American budget has gone from record surpluses to record deficits. This is simply not acceptable. Congress and the Administration have an obligation to produce sensible, bipartisan solutions that will financially change the direction of our country.
The growing American debt burden, caused by years of bipartisan failures to prudently address our nation’s fiscal challenges, deeply troubles me. While there is plenty of blame to go around, it is important to explain the context of our nation’s current budget crisis.
By the end of the 1990s, sustained economic expansion and bipartisan work in Congress to balance the budget had produced large federal surpluses. Especially effective “pay-as-you-go” budget rules, or PAYGO, forced Congress to pay for what it bought without borrowing money. In short, PAYGO required Congress to cut a dollar if it wanted to spend a dollar elsewhere. The federal budget was balanced, and America entered the 21st Century fiscally sound.
But in 2001, these surpluses disappeared as the then-Congressional majority abandoned PAYGO rules, enacted tax cuts that primarily benefited wealthy Americans and were not paid for in the budget, increased spending on most government programs, and established a popular, yet very expensive, Medicare prescription drug entitlement program without offsetting its cost. To pay for these programs, the government borrowed money. These fiscal choices were ill-advised and, as anyone can understand, quickly brought deficits back to the federal budget.
To make matters worse, necessary spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and costly, but necessary, actions to confront the worst economic downturn and financial panic since the Great Depression have added to the deficit. It has now become imperative, as the economy begins to grow, for Congress to return to the sound accounting practices of the 1990s. The first step is to re-establish PAYGO.
I am pleased that Congress and the President have acted to make PAYGO law again. But, as important as enacting PAYGO is, it is only the first of many steps. Cutting non-defense discretionary spending and establishing a bipartisan debt commission, modeled after one created by Ronald Reagan, are other necessary actions. I was pleased to see the President establish such a commission just last week, and I am optimistic it will produce results for the American public.
Restoring America’s fiscal health will be neither quick nor easy, especially since we must be careful not to upset our fragile economic recovery. But, bipartisan solutions can be found, and Congress has taken the first step down the long and difficult road to a balanced budget.
Total foreclosures in Dec. 2009 fell by 3 percent from year earlier according to new data released from RealtyTrac.
In Dec. 2009, 3,166 homes were foreclosed on in Missouri, giving the state a foreclosure rate of one foreclosure in every 836 homes, the 28th highest in the country.
“Missouri’s number of foreclosure filings fell in December, keeping activity for 2009 well below what was reported for 2008,” said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Even though the state’s annual foreclosure activity was substantially worse than it was two years ago, Missouri continues to manage far better than much of the nation in terms of keeping foreclosure spikes at bay.”
In all, 35,347 Missouri homes were foreclosed in 2009.
Generally speaking, Missouri foreclosure activity has improved steadily over the last year, with a few exceptions over the last month. Peak monthly foreclosure activity growth occurred in Dec. 2007 when year-over-year foreclosures increased by an astounding 3,187. Current activity is down 109 foreclosures relative to the same time period one year ago.
Relative to pre-recession activity, Missouri is faring much better than the national average. Foreclosures indexed on the 2006 monthly average shows a sizable margin between Missouri and U.S. foreclosures. In other words, even though foreclosure activity increased in Missouri during the recession, the aggregate impact was minimal relative to the rest of the country.
As the Missouri legislature mulls ethics reforms this legislative session, here's an interesting factoid from a new Washington Post survey: a super-majority of Americans support limits on campaign spending.
The Post survey taken after the Supreme Court's Jan. 21 (Citizens United v. FEC) ruling that allowed unlimited corporate spending in political contests, found that 80 percent opposed the ruling, including 65 percent of the respondents who said they oppose strongly. An astounding 72 percent of respondents indicated they would favor some form of campaign finance limits.
And the most important statistic in the survey -- opinions vary little between political parties. Among those identifying ideologies, 85 percent of Democrats opposed the ruling along with 76 percent of Republicans.
"If there's one thing that Americans from the left, right and center can all agree on, it's that they don't want more special interests in our politics," U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement.
Respondents in the Post survey included 37 percent conservative, 24 percent liberal, and 36 percent moderates. The survey polled 1004 individuals in a national random sample. The margin of error is +/- 3%.
New data released by Creighton University this month shows that business conditions in Missouri are improving and are expected to continue to improve over the next six months.
Creighton Economist Ernie Goss' data shows growth expectations have improved over the past half year, but remain well below the U.S. expectations.
The gap between the national index of 58.4 in Jan. and Missouri's index of 52.2 has steadily increased in recent months, which may signify that improvement in the Show Me State trails national improvements.
Although overall conditions are improving and producer confidence is now at 65.8, well above the 27.4 in Jan. 2009, confidence remains shaky and has fluctuated dramatically in recent months. As conditions improve, confidence should stabilize.
Creighton's index is compiled by surveying supply managers in the state, using the same methods as the National Association of Purchasing Management's monthly survey.
An aide to Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (R) has been placed on unpaid leave for violating a state law that governs political activity.
The aide, Deputy Lt. Gov. Jerry Dowell, sent a political email from a Tour of Missouri email account and a state-owned computer to organize a fundraiser for a Republican state House candidate. Dowell was placed on unpaid leave for Tuesday and the following four work days.
“The email was sent during his lunch hour in what appears to be a genuine mistake,” said the Lt. Gov.'s chief of staff Rich AuBuchon.
Democrats, however, say that's not the case.
“This is part of a long-standing, disturbing trend involving Peter Kinder’s top staff mixing their official duties with politics,” said Ryan Hobart, a spokesman for the Missouri Democratic Party. “Using taxpayer resources for political campaigns is explicitly forbidden by state law, and it is apparent that a line has been crossed.”
Dowell, who is paid just under $60,000 for his state job, is one of five employees in Kinder's office and also runs a side business in political consulting. His primary client is Kinder.
Democrats have no chance of taking control of the state Senate this year, and will likely even face difficulties hanging on to the few Democratic seats up for election in 2010.
Currently Republicans control 23 of the 34 seats in the State Senate; Democrats control just 11. In 2010, half of those seats (the even numbered districts) are up for election due to the alternating cycle associated with four year terms.
Our 2010 State Senate Race Ratings, which complement the House ratings released last month, currently project that Republicans will hold onto all 10 seats up for election in 2010 even though 8 of the 10 are open contests as the current senators are term-limited. In contrast, of the seven seats Democrats currently hold two are open and five have strong incumbents. MPN rates one of the currently held Democratic seats as a toss up.
These projections, like those we made last month for the House, are based on the state of the world at the end of 2009. Significant factors will likely change in coming months such as recruitment of new candidates, surges/deficiencies in campaign fundraising, or major swings in the national political landscape. These factors will certainly affect these ratings, and could result in swings that favor either major party.
The race that is most likely impacted by this uncertainty is the toss-up in District 24 and the four other "lean" districts. A "lean" district is one in which upsets are still possible, but the trends support favoring one party over the other. Districts rated as "safe" or "favored" represent those with very low probabilities of switching parties.
One major difference between these ratings and our House ratings worth highlighting is that we rated none of the open districts as "safe", at least not yet. It's very possible that many of these districts currently rated as "favored" will switch over in the near future though.
Here are the ratings with summaries that follow:
Senate District 2 – Republican Favored – State Sen. Scott Rupp (R) won in this district by 9 percentage points in 2006. At the time of the last apportionment, District 2’s population was 76 percent in St. Charles County and 24 percent in Lincoln County. While both counties were in the neutral territory of MPN’s Missouri Voting Index in 2008, it’s unlikely Democrats will pose a serious challenge in this conservative region. In fact, no Democratic candidates have yet filed paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission to begin fundraising for a challenge to Rupp.
Senate District 4 – Safe Democrat – State Sen. Joseph Keaveny (D) picked up this district in a special election in 2009 after former Sen. Jeff Smith resigned and pled guilty to felony charges associated with his 2006 attempt to challenge Congressman Russ Carnahan for an open U.S. House seat. Keaveny won in 2009 without any Republican opposition and currently there are no Republicans with campaign committees in this district.
Senate District 6 – Republican Favored – This five county district in central Missouri is being vacated by term-limited State Sen. Carl Vogel (R). In 2006 Vogel won this district by a 36 point margin over his Democratic challenger. So far this election cycle, five Republicans have begun fundraising in the district, collectively raising $390,000 for the seat through the end of 2009. No Democratic challenger has yet begun raising funds in the district, but to mount a serious campaign would have to be a strong fundraiser to be reasonably competitive.
Senate District 8 – Republican Favored – This district that includes suburban Kansas City in eastern Jackson county, is being vacated by term-limited State Sen. Matt Bartle (R). In 2006 Bartle won by a 17 point margin. Several strong Republican candidates already began fundraising in the district yet no Democratic challenger has emerged. The Republican primary here will likely be the only serious race to watch this year. At the end of 2009 State Rep. Bryan Pratt led the Republican pack with $248,000 cash-on-hand, significantly more than State Rep. Will Kraus who had $73,000 and State Rep. Gary Dusenberg who had $55,000.
Senate District 10 – Safe Democrat – State Sen. Jolie Justus won this Democratic district in Jackson County by a 44 point margin in 2006. With no current Republican opposition, it’s unlikely any challenger will emerge that could raise sufficient funds and name recognition to overcome the incumbent.
Senate District 12 – Safe Republican – State Sen. Brad Lager currently represents this district that includes portions of 16 counties in the northwest region of the state. In 2006 Lager defeated his Democratic challenger by an 18 point margin, and the probability is very low that Lager will be unseated in 2010. No Democrats have yet begun fundraising for a campaign against Lager.
Senate District 14 – Democrat Favored – The current state senator in this district, Rita Heard Days (D), won without Republican opposition in 2006. Now that Days is term-limited, Republicans have not identified a clear challenger in this strongly Democratic district. Currently four Democrats, however, have begun fundraising for a campaign including Ted Hoskins, Don Calloway, and Joseph Adams.
Senate District 16 – Lean Democrat – State Sen. Frank Barnitz (D) won this district in a special election in 2005, then again in the 2006 general election by just a 5 point margin. For Republicans seeking additional gains in the state senate, this may be a seat to target, but it’s unlikely with Barnitz’s impressive fundraising to date that a mediocre Republican challenger will unseat him. To date, only one Republican challenger has emerged with a campaign finance committee, -- Charles Schlottach raised just over $18,000 for the race through the end of 2009, about $100,000 less than the incumbent. If Republicans are serious about winning this seat, they will have to show a lot more support in coming months.
Senate District 18 – Lean Democrat – State Sen. Wes Shoemyer (D) won this district by a meager three point margin in 2006, meaning this district would be Republicans’ second most likely pick up in 2010. However, there’s something about Shoemyer that the voters in northeast Missouri love, and he won’t go down without a fight regardless of what happens on the national stage. Currently two Republicans from the opposite side of the capitol are vying for their party’s nomination – Steve Hobbs and Brian Munzlinger. Neither of those candidates currently has the campaign cash to go head-to-head with Shoemyer, especially after what could be a brutal Republican primary. Update (2/15): Steve Hobbs announced in late Dec. that he would make a run for Audrain County Presiding Commissioner.
Senate District 20 – Republican Favored – State Sen. Dan Clemens (R) will be term limited in 2010, but the 29 point margin he won by in 2006 is a good indicator that this district will likely stay under Republican control. Although Democrat Terry Traw began fundraising for a race in this district, the performance has paled in comparison to either of the Republican candidates, which include Jay Wasson and Mike Cunningham. Right now it looks like Wasson is positioned to take the party nomination and the win the general election in this district.
Senate District 22 – Safe Democrat – State Sen. Ryan McKenna won this district’s election in 2006 by a 21 point margin. Now that he has name recognition, a significantly following, and the campaign war chest to backup his reelection campaign, the probability of a loss is very low. One Republican filed paperwork to fundraise for a challenge to McKenna in 2010, but filed a limited activity statement at the end of 2009.
Senate District 24 – Toss Up – Term-limited State Sen. Joan Bray (D) may have won this district with a 21 point margin in 2006, but in 2002 she won by less than 5 points. Republicans are hoping to capitalize on that 2002 margin as well as the anti-Democratic mood in 2010 to capture this district for the GOP. That will be an uphill battle for Republicans who will face three strong Democratic candidates currently competing for the party nomination, including former Lt. Gov. candidate Sam Page. On the Republican side candidates include John Lamping and Dean Plocher. [See more on this race here].
Senate District 26 – Republican Favored – With State Sen. John Griesheimer (R) term-limited in 2010, Republicans will turn to one of three Republicans fundraising for this office: Jack Jackson, Brian Nieves or Charles Portwood. No Democrat has filed paperwork to launch a campaign in this district.
Senate District 28 – Republican Favored – Two term State Sen. Delbert Scott will be term-limited in 2010. After a 14 point margin victory in 2006, this west central Missouri district will receive some extra attention from the national Republican team, currently targeting U.S. Congressman Ike Skelton (D) who’s district overlaps most of this state senate district. While the Skelton race is much more complex to rate, this senate race looks like it will continue to heavily favor Republicans. Currently four Republicans are raising funds for the party nomination including Ed Emery, Larry Wilson, Tom Self, and Michael Parson. No Democratic challenger has yet emerged.
Senate District 30 – Lean Republican – This historically conservative district will lose State Sen. Norma Champion (R) in 2010 due to term limits. Champion won in 2006 by a full 15 point margin. Revised Text: Lone Republican challenger Bob Dixon maintained a substantial fundraising edge over Democratic challenger Michael Hoeman at the end of 2009.
Senate District 32 – Republican Favored – State Sen. Gary Nodler (R) may be term-limited in 2010, but Republicans will not likely cede this largely conservative district. Republican powerhouse fundraiser and current Speaker of the House Ron Richard is currently the lone candidate for this seat and he’s raised more than any other state senate candidate in 2010 so far and also has more cash-on-hand. The probability of anyone defeating Richard is about as close to zero as it can get.
Senate District 34 – Lean Republican – State Sen. Charlie Shields (R) will be term term-limited in 2010 after winning a 19 point margin of victory in 2006. With two strong Republican candidates including State Reps. Rob Schaaf and Jason Brown, the district leans in favor of Republicans. However, House Rep. Martin Rucker (D) has shown his political acumen in recent years and currently faces no primary challenger, a huge plus for this Democrat who has cash-on-hand on par with both Republican candidates. If the political landscape in northwest Missouri changes ever-so-slightly, this race could tilt in favor of Rucker. Update (2/15): Jason Brown announced in mid-Dec. 2009 that he intends to run for Platte County Presiding Commissioner.
In an update last week on social services across the state, Missouri Health and Senior Services Director Margaret Donnelly urged continued focus on oversight and safety. Full video below:
Of the 138 out-of-state political committees registered with the Missouri Ethics Commission, just nine reported activity during the last quarter of 2009.
Out-of-state committees are treated differently than regular financing committees in statute, so not filing a quarterly report is not necessarily a violation of state law.
Although nine committees reported activity, which includes receiving contributions from individuals domiciled in Missouri, only four of those committees identified contributions to Missouri candidates, totaling just $2,900. One of the committees filed a report that has not yet been scanned and made publicly available by the Ethics Commission.
The candidates receiving funds from out-of-state committees include:
Aetna Inc PAC
R: Kevin Engler ($300), Steve Tilley ($300), Jason Brown ($300), Scott Rupp ($300)
D: Tim Green ($300)
Early this week the Missouri House passed a resolution urging the U.S. Congress to pass a balanced budget.
The measure seeks an amendment to the federal constitution requiring balanced budgets. Such an amendment, however, requires approval of two-thirds of Congress or three-fourths of states.
The resolution combined two earlier measures filed by House Budget Chairman Allen Icet (R), a candidate for state auditor, and state Rep. Chris Kelley (D).
After a heated debate with some Democrats who questioned the timing of the resolution, noting substantial deficits during the Administration of President George W. Bush, Icet expressed surprise about the depth of debate.
“We’ve had, I guess, a little more vigorous debate than I anticipated on what I think would be a common sense idea: to ask our federal colleagues to balance the federal budget just as we here in the state of Missouri are required by our constitution to balance the Missouri budget,” Icet said in closing, according to MissouriNet.
The final measure passed the House by a vote of 121-28. All opposing votes came from Democrats, although a number of Republicans were absent for the vote.
The resolution now heads to the Senate for consideration.
MPNblog.com's review of campaign finance reports filed by candidates for the final quarter of 2009 revealed that four State House Districts have no active candidate committees.
Two of those districts -- Districts 69 and 80 -- are open in 2010 as the current representatives are term-limited. Reps. Gina Walsh (D) and Ted Hoskins (D) are both completing the final session of their fourth term.
In District 47, current Rep. Jeff Grisamore (R) converted his finance committee from a candidate committee to a debt service committee in Aug. 2009. This filing could be nothing more than a clerical error, or may signal the openness of this district in 2010.
UPDATE ON FEB. 11, 2010: Rep. Grisamore informed MPN after this initial post that he will be filing for re-election and converting the debt committee to a candidate committee in the near future.
Finally, in St. Louis County's District 71, Rep. Don Calloway (D) is planning a run for State Senate District 14 which means his seat is wide open. Although this district leans heavily Democratic, no candidate has yet filed requisite paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission to collect funds for the race in this district.
More in-depth analysis of House candidates' campaign finances from the end of 2009 are forthcoming over the next week.
Editor's Note: Information current as of MPNblog.com's data pull on Feb. 8.
A contributor to The Kansas City Star's Prime Buzz blog posted a year-old story today claiming U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would not be attending a global warming rally due to her canceled flight. The problem, as identified by FiredUp Missouri, is that the conference referenced was held nearly one year ago and not part of today's blizzard in the northeast.
The Star's Political Editor, Bill Dalton, pulled an archived story from CNSnews.com, a conservative news forum, without verifying that the news was timely or relevant. Oops.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for former Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton (R) in Scott County Circuit Court.
According to Missouri CaseNet, the hearing will be held Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. in Scott County Circuit Court Division 3 with Judge T Lynn Brown presiding. Brown was assigned to the case after Jetton's lawyer requested a new judge in mid-Jan.
Jetton's charge of second degree assault, a Class C Felony, stems from a Nov. 2009 incident in which a victim claims Jetton physically abused her under suspicious circumstances (highlighted here). Jetton, formerly one of the most powerful Republicans in the state, was served an arrest warrant for the charges on Dec. 7.
Candidates slated for a run at one of Missouri's 34 state senate districts collectively reported $5.27 million in receipts at the end of 2009.
Half of those districts will have elections later this year, while the remaining 17 won't see elections again until 2012. In only 7 of those districts does it appear Republicans and Democrats are fielding candidates so far, meaning the 10 remaining seats will likely remain under the respective incumbent party's control.
For the 17 races later this year, 27 Republican candidates and 19 Democratic candidates collectively reported raising $4.2 million so far this election cycle, 67 percent of which was reported by Republicans. On average, Republican candidates for races in 2010 have outraised Democratic candidates by $20,084 with Democratic candidates raising an average of $92,182 and Republican candidates raising an average of $112,267.
The candidate with the greatest receipts is House Speaker Ron Richard (R). Richard, who is running for Senate District 32 being vacated by term-limited Gary Nodler (R), reported receipts totaling $704,160. No other candidates have yet filed campaign committees to raise funds for that race.
Republicans also reported more cash-on-hand than Democrats. In total, Republican candidates in 2010 races reported $2.24 million while Democratic candidates held just $931,619. On average, Republicans led Democrats by $27,485 per candidate with Republicans reporting an average of $89,593 and Democrats just $62,108.
In terms of debt reported by candidate committees, Republicans also led this category with a total of $188,200 reported by Republican candidates, an average of $7,842 per candidate. Democrats collectively held just $2,748, an average of $250 per candidate.
The most debt held by a single candidate running in 2010 was $75,000 reported by candidate John Lamping (R), running against Dean Plocher in a Republican primary in State Senate District 24.
Other Republicans with notable debt include Jack Jackson in State Senate District 26 with $50,000 and Brian Pratt in State Senate District 8 also with $50,000. Both Jackson and Pratt face primaries before the general election, although no Democrats filed committees in either district. Jackson is likely heading into a two-way primary with State Rep. Brian Nieves (R) and Pratt is likely heading into a three-way primary against State Reps. Will Kraus (R) and Gary Dusenberg (R).
Six candidates filed limited activity for the period, including four Democrats and two Republicans. Those committees include El-Amin for Senate, Jeff Smith for Missouri, Citizens for Flaherty, Committee to elect Esther Haywood, Citizens for Dave Broach, and Friends of Charles Portwood Committee.
An active committee also still exists for Michael Hathaway (I) who ran in a 2009 special election. Hathaway did not file a required finance report by the Jan. 15 deadline for his active committee.
A full listing of candidate receipts, expenditures, contributions to candidates, cash-on-hand, and debt is available here. Note that all totals were reported by candidates' committees.
Republican Senate candidate Chuck Purgason wants candidates to support a contract with Missouri that includes conservative principles.
"I truly believe that we must have leaders willing to stand up to the special interests in Washington and begin working for the long term viability of our nation," Purgason said in a press release. "They must show leadership and tell the truth about the problems we are facing as a nation. This is my commitment to the people of the State of Missouri."
1. Balanced Budget
2. No Earmarks
3. No member of my family will be a lobbyist
4. No TARP or other so-called Stimulus Package programs
5. No Campaign Funds from Bailed Out Companies
6. I will have no fundraisers outside the State of Missouri
7. Self-Imposed Term Limit of Two Terms
Purgason is challenging Congressman Roy Blunt and businessmen Robert Praprotnik and Mark Memoly for the Republican nomination for Missouri's open U.S. Senate seat. The winner of the Aug. 3rd primary will likely face current Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.
Claim: In mid-Jan. Attorney General Chris Koster's (D) office announced a "dramatic increase in workers' comp fraud collections in 2009."
"This office takes seriously its obligations to our state's business community, and individuals who steal from our workers' compensation system undermine a sound business climate," Koster said in a press release.
The presentation of the claim was somewhat surprising since Koster's predecessor, Jay Nixon (D), currently resides in the Governor's Mansion. The claims of massive increases in fines suggest there are corresponding increases in convictions and collections, and that Koster's team is more effectively combating fraud than Nixon did during his tenure.
Facts: While Koster's press release presents true information, according to official reports from the Attorney General's Office, it provides the information in a slightly misleading presentation.
It's true that the number of referrals increased by 30 cases, the number of convictions jumped by 12 cases, levied fines and penalties increased by $377,000 and that total collections increased by $187,900. But Koster's press release makes no indication that conviction rates decreased marginally, from 21.3 percent to 20.8 percent. The rate here is more important than the raw number because it normalizes the data across years.
The glaring omission from Koster's press release, however, is that collection rates for levied fines took a steep fall, from 85 percent in 2008 to just 69 percent in 2009. This is the figure that tells us out of total fines levied, how much was actually paid. Based on state data, that trend is not looking so rosy.
Koster claimed the increase in cases could be attributed to staff realignments. Perhaps Koster's team will also choose to focus on increasing collection rates in the future since it's one thing to win a conviction, and another to ensure proper enforcement of ordered fees and restitution.
The federal Office of Personnel Management announced this evening that the federal government in Washington D.C. will be shut down again Tuesday due to blizzard conditions that struck over the weekend. Some areas in D.C. received more than 24 inches of snow in a one day period.
Federal employees in D.C. were dismissed early last Friday and ordered not to report on Monday or Tuesday.
OPM estimates that each day the government is shut down, the cost of lost productivity is approximately $100 million. Using that estimate, so far the most recent blizzard in the northeast cost taxpayers $250 million.
According to the National Weather Service, the region is expecting another 10 to 20 inches of snow on Tues. and Wed., which means more days of closures may come later this week.
The Missouri Dept. of Transportation (MoDOT) reported today that it has obligated the full $524.6 million received from the federal stimulus package.
The obligations are important because a provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stipulates that states that fail to obligate funds from certain programs by next month would have that money pulled by federal agencies and redistributed to states able to obligate their money. The provision was intended to ensure expeditious spending, to meet the goals of the stimulus package.
"From launching the nation's first transportation stimulus project to obligating all of our recovery act funds ahead of schedule, MoDOT has worked rapidly to show that transportation projects do play an integral role in supporting jobs and rebuilding our nation's economy," MoDOT Director Pete Rahn said in a press release. "While these funds don't come close to covering all of our transportation needs, they have helped fill a short-term gap as other federal and state resources continue to decline."
MoDOT has 187 projects slated for completion in coming years and estimates those projects will support 12,500 direct, indirect, and induced jobs.
MoDOT's press release also notes that bids for all planned projects came in $24 million under estimates, enabling an additional 53 recovery act projects.
Second-term Rep. Rebecca McClanahan (D) raised nearly $62,000 to date for her re-election campaign, $11,700 of which came in during the final quarter of 2009.
District 2, which includes Kirksville and other parts of Adair County, was long held by Republicans until McClanahan narrowly defeated Nancy Summers in 2006 by a 1.4 point margin.
And so far this election cycle, McClanahan and Democrats have shown they aren't willing to lose this seat, especially without a costly fight. Even with McClanahan's substantial fundraising to date, MPN rates this district as a "lean Democrat" given the historical propensity for voters to swing between parties.
The fundraising momentum will be important as the first of potentially several Republican challengers announced his intention to run against McClanahan. Twenty-five year old political novice Zach Wyatt (R), a Novinger native, announced his intention to challenge McClanahan and is currently garnering support through Facebook, an online social media forum. Wyatt has not yet formed a political committee with the Missouri Ethics Commission and will not be able to raise funds for a campaign until doing so.
McClanahan (D) Campaign Finance Report
McClanahan's fourth quarter fundraising fell far below the first quarter of 2009, but still brought in $11,705 during the three month period. Of total receipts during the period, 63 percent ($7,415) came from businesses and individuals, averaging $75 per contribution, and 36 percent ($4,225) came from other political committees.
For the entire election cycle, McClanahan raised $61,955, half of which came from political committees, mostly during the first quarter of 2009, and the other half from individuals and businesses. 44 percent of McClanahan's total contributions came from individuals inside Missouri.
McClanahan's committee also reported $48,483 in disbursements including $3,446 in contributions to other candidates and committees. Contributions over the last quarter include $100 to Lifeline Pregnancy Resource Center in Kirksville and $250 to the American Heart Association. Contributions from previous quarters were made to the Friends of the NRA, Kirskville Band Boosters, and Putnam County Relay for Life.
At the end of the period McClanahan's committee reported $48,167 cash-on-hand and $1,000 in debt.
Even as state revenues are declining, Missouri government doled out $144 million in tax credits in 2009.
The tax credits are applied for based on statutorily authorized programs, ranging from subsidies for wine and grape producers to film production support.
Historical Perspective on Tax Credits
In nominal terms, tax credit expenses increased from 2001 to 2006 by more than $200 million. From 2006 to present, the trend has declined sharply.
The downward trend is due in part to a general decline in economic activity in 2008 and 2009, but may also be due to the fact potential recipients of 2009 tax credits have not yet filed appropriate paperwork to claim their credit. In other words, the 2009 data should be interpreted with extreme caution. Even given this caveat, it's clear businesses are claiming fewer tax credits in light of the recession.
Tax Credit Uses
More than half of the tax credit expenses for 2009 were accounted for by housing projects related to low income or affordable housing. Collectively these tax credits accounted for $75.2 million, or 52 percent of all tax credits claimed to date.
The next largest categories were for redevelopment (e.g., Brownfields) and job retention training. These programs accounted for $29.6 million (21%) and $20.6 million (14%), respectively.
Tax Credits by Legislative Districts
The distribution of tax credits is also unequal across the state, even when considering by legislative district. In MPN's analysis, businesses from 60 House districts received no tax credits in 2009. On the senate side, just one district received no credits in 2009.
Tax Credits by Senate District
The greatest value of tax credits in any single district was in Senate District 5, represented by State Sen. Robin Wright-Jones (D). Businesses in that St. Louis district received 81 tax credits valued at $26.9 million. The majority of these tax credits were for housing developments or brownfield redevelopment activities.
Business in State Sen. David Pearce's (R) district, District 31 which includes portions of Cass and Johnson counties, claimed no tax credits in 2009 to date.
Districts held by Democrats received an average of $6.9 million in tax credits whereas districts held by Republicans received an average of $2.7 million.
Tax Credits by House District
St. Louis City received the most in tax credits, House District 63 in particular, represented by Tishaura Jones. So far for 2009, businesses in the district received 49 tax credits valued at $24 million.
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