THE 100 REPORT
Missouri Legislature Enters Annual “Veto Session” Today
The Missouri Legislature is headed into the annual, constitutionally mandated veto session today. Expect a full analysis on what did or didn’t get done in our upcoming Friday report.
Does Missouri Need a Hollywood Tax Credit?
The legislature hasn’t even concluded their annual veto session and already some Republicans are looking to expand government handouts—this time to liberal Hollywood. Republican Bruce Degroot released a recent op-ed with lobbyists’ fingerprints all over it calling for the legislature to enact a new “Film and Music” tax credit program in the next legislative session. Missouri previously had a film tax credit for years that was ended after significant research showed no financial benefit to the state. Proponents suggest this will assist with tourism efforts, while opponents point to state’s like Georgia who do have a tax credit in place but have seen no significant increase in “movie tourism”. Respected and established employees of the Missouri Department of Economic Development who were around when the Missouri Film credit was in place often referred to it as the least beneficial credit program they had witnessed.
Plocher Elected “Speaker in Waiting” for Missouri House by Acclamation
St. Louis County Republican Dean Plocher was elected to serve as the next Speaker of the Missouri House without any opposition. This raised some eyebrows amongst more conservative members of the legislature and activists throughout the state. Plocher recently received a “C” rating by Americans for Prosperity—the lowest rating amongst House leadership. Plocher is currently serving as the Majority Floor Leader.
Ashcroft, Legislature Set to Push for Election Integrity Legislation in January
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and several republican members of the legislature are hoping to make election integrity reforms a key component of the upcoming legislative session. Secretary Ashcroft has reported finding at least two cases of alleged voter fraud in the last Missouri election. Enacting Photo ID requirements, hand-marked ballots, updated voter rolls, and cyber security testing at local voting sites are a few of the issues being considered. Additionally, Ashcroft has stated he would like the secretary of state to be able to audit election results.
Mike Pence is Making Moves Ahead of Possible 2024 Race
Former Vice President Mike Pence is picking up the pace, with a flurry of public events and political activity, as the former vice president prepares for a possible White House bid. In recent days, Pence traveled to Nebraska to headline the annual “steak fry” hosted by Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts; launched a podcast, American Freedom; delivered remarks at the rededication of a memorial in Indiana to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; and filed an amicus brief through his political nonprofit group, Advancing American Freedom, asking the Supreme Court to overturn the landmark abortion rights case, Roe v. Wade.Then, on Tuesday, the former vice president spoke at a memorial service for Marine Cpl. Humberto Sanchez. Sanchez is from Indiana, where Pence served as governor when former President Donald Trump selected him as his running mate. Sanchez and a dozen fellow service members were killed last month in Afghanistan in a terrorist attack committed by the Jihadist group ISIS-K at the airport in Kabul.
Full Story Here.
Dems Propose $3 Trillion Tax Hike on Working Families and Small Businesses
"House Democrats are proposing almost $3 trillion ($3,000,000,000,000) in tax increases including tax increases on small businesses and working families. This is the largest tax increase since 1968 compared to the size of the economy and the largest tax increase ever in nominal dollars."
–Americans for Tax Reform Full Analysis Here.