Friday roundup of Missouri politics

Gov. Nixon and Republican lawmakers spar over tax reform bill; Attorney General releases vehicle stops report; the payday loan battle continues; and other items you may have missed this week.

Gov. Jay Nixon and Republican lawmakers engaged in a back-and-forth this week over the tax reform bill that the Legislature passed this session.

Nixon, a former attorney general who is known for reviewing bills with a fine-toothed comb to find potential legal issues, hasn’t formally said whether he plans to veto or sign HB253, but he released a statement on Thursday pointing out one provision of the bill that would inadvertently raise the costs of prescription drugs.

“If enacted, this provision would impose a $200 million sales tax hike on Missourians and increase the cost of the medications they need,” he said in a statement Thursday morning. “This is a tax increase that Missourians cannot afford and don’t deserve.”

Nixon, a Democrat, has already noted his "serious concerns" over the bill and its potential impact to the state budget.

House Speaker Tim Jones, a Republican from Eureka who was in Columbia Thursday afternoon, noted that the prescription drug language was part of a section drafted by Nixon’s office.

The point was driven home by Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit, in a statement emailed to media shortly thereafter.

“The section of the bill the governor refers to is part of the Streamlined Sales Compact language,” he said in the statement. “That exact language was recommended to me by the governor’s own Department of Revenue, and, throughout the process, officials at DOR assured me and others that the language was correct.”

Kraus said he agrees that there is an issue that should be addressed but said the Legislature has time to work it out next session because the change wouldn’t take effect until 2015.

That prompted yet another statement from Nixon on HB253 – just hours after his first one.

“While the Senate handler may not consider a $200 million tax increase on prescription drugs a cause for immediate concern, I do,” Nixon said. “For Missouri seniors and others who rely on prescription drugs to stay healthy, this is a very serious matter. Unfortunately, this is only one of many red flags that the ongoing assessment of this legislation has raised. I will continue to review this bill carefully and identify any other problems as expeditiously as possible.”

According to Nixon’s office, the governor is continuing to review the bill.

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The state Attorney General’s office released its 13th annual report on vehicle stops this week, with analysis on more than 1.6 million stops made by law enforcement agencies across the state.

The report includes insight into the race and ethnicity of drivers who were stopped in 2012.

“One of the best uses of these reports is as a springboard for dialogue and communication between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve,” AG Chris Koster said in a news release. “It is vital that Missouri law enforcement agencies continue to review the rates of stops and searches and to continue their outreach efforts.”

The statewide African-American disparity index was 1.57 last year - down from 2011’s rate of 1.63. It’s the third time in 13 years that the disparity index for African-American drivers has dropped, Koster’s office noted.

Meanwhile, the disparity index for Hispanics dropped from .65 in 2011 to .60 last year – a rate lower than that of white drivers. But Koster also notes that hispanic drivers were 1.92 times more likely than white drivers to be searched and African-American drivers were 1.83 times more likely to be searched when stopped than white drivers.

The info is available in an easily searchable form on the AG’s website.

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Looks like the payday loan battle continues…

The Secretary of State’s office announced this week that another petition dealing with restrictions on payday loans and title loans has been approved for circulation. The full text explains that the intent is to bar "excessive fees and interest rates that can lead families into a cycle of debt," so it wants to set the bar at 400 percent.

A separate petition approved earlier this year would set the rate at 36 percent.

This isn’t the first time that Missouri has seen dueling petitions on payday lending. Here’s a St. Louis Beacon article from last year on the issue.

The latest petition was submitted by Jefferson City lobbyist and former state Rep. Jewel Patek. Patek was approved for similar petitions last year, and – as the Beacon noted – those who wanted to rein in payday loan costs claimed that Patek was acting on behalf of the payday loan industry.

Quick Hits

• Some adoption advocates are concerned that a foreign laws bill the Legislature passed this session will have unintended consequences impacting adoptions. (via the Jefferson City News Tribune)

• Missouri political blog PoliticMo is back up and running, following Eli Yokley’s departure from The Missouri Times.

• Missouri’s 8th District Congressional race is winding down, and the candidates are getting in a few jabs in the final days. The Southeast Missourian reported on a debate held Tuesday night.

• The St. Louis Beacon reports that state Rep. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, is planning to run for the state Senate. Incumbent Sen. John Lamping, R-Ladue, hasn’t said whether he plans to seek re-election.

• With steady rain in Jeff City this week, the state Capitol sprung a leak. Legislative staffer Dana Rademan Miller tweeted photos of water flowing into and the eventual cleanup of the Capitol basement’s House Hearing Room 3, where committee meetings are held during the session.

• Stateline looks at cigarette tax rates and their impact on illegal cigarette smuggling. Of note: Missouri’s cigarette tax is the lowest in the nation.

• Sen. Claire McCaskill was at Mizzou this week to talk about the future of student loans (via KOMU).