A Moment with Mike -- Action Picking Up on House Floor

      Last week saw action pick up on the House floor as priority bills begin to move from committee and come before the House members for debate and approval.  One piece of legislation approved would allow schools, hospitals and courthouses to keep their security plans and measures out of the hands of those who might misuse the information.  This bill came forward in response to a section of Missouri’s Sunshine Law that expired at the end of 2012. That expired section exempted security procedures and plans from the open records law. 

      I strongly support  the Missouri sunshine laws that help ensure the accountability of our public officials and government activities.  However, there is sometimes a fine line between public information and public safety.  In the wake of the tragedy that took place in Connecticut and other invasions of public buildings, it is absolutely necessary that security procedures and response plans are not made available to those who do not need to know.  Safety for our children in their schools and for Missouri citizens in public buildings is an absolute must and this bill will move us in the right direction.

      Another piece of legislation that received approval from the full House of Representatives last week dealt with voter ID.  The Joint Resolution passed creates a voter ID ballot measure that would have to be voted on by the people.  House bills 48 and 216 provide the language that would be amended to our constitution if the ballot initiative passes.  The premise of the bill is very simple.  If you show up at the polling place to cast your vote, you should be able to prove that you are who you say you are.

      Critics of this bill argued that it would restrict some from the voting process.  The purpose, however, is to protect the sanctity of the process, to ensure that every vote counts by removing  the potential for fraud, and to give voters more confidence in the fairness as they exercise their rights.

      Another  issue that will continue to receive a great deal of discussion this year deals with a bond issuance proposal that would help pay for some of our state’s most pressing infrastructure needs.  Deferred maintenance and improvements to our schools, college campuses and state facilities, as well as our roads and highways, is a growing concern that we must address.  Unfortunately, because our budget situation has been difficult in recent years, paying for capital improvements with taxpayer dollars has not been a viable option.  I believe that most would also agree that raising taxes is not the answer.

      One solution to the dilemma is to use the state’s excellent credit rating to issue bonds  that could generate money for this purpose.  Combined with the fact that interest rates are approximately one third of what they were the last time the state issued bonds in 1982, the timing may be right to consider this proposal.

      A special committee formed last year reported that this initiative would create thousands of jobs, lower the unemployment rate in the construction industry and, of course, make significant progress toward improving our aging infrastructure in Missouri.  This may be one of few options that we have if we are to keep up with the needs in our state.  Obligating our state to a debt service, however, may be controversial in a time when government debt seems to grow faster than the ability to pay.

      This topic will garner a lot of attention this year and if a proposal is brought forward, it will probably be in the form of a ballot initiative so that the people of Missouri have a voice in the decision.

     If you have questions, you may reach me at my Capitol number 573-751-9465, at the local district number, 660-582-4014, by email at mike.thomson@house.mo.gov or by mail at Room 401B State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.

Opinion: The “Sarah Stretch” Day Five

by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

Day five of the “Sarah Stretch” and Sarah Steelman still refuses to provide any explanation for what happened to all her emails, schedules, and other public records from her time in the state treasurer’s office. Today new revelations show that this is not the first time Steelman, the choice of the D.C. establishment, tried to hide public records.

Back in 2008, Steelman’s office refused to provide public records required under Missouri’s Sunshine Law that showed her employees were working on her campaign on their own time. Steelman eventually produced documents that suggested her employees were taking vacation time to work on her campaign, but news reports suggested that the documents were either created after the fact to cover up for her employees, or were purposefully withheld under the initial Sunshine Law request. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/29/08]

“Sarah Steelman is doing her best impression of Rose Mary Woods. Years of emails and schedules are missing and Sarah Steelman refuses to explain what happened. At least Rose Mary Woods admitted what she did,” said Matt Canter, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman. “Steelman hails herself as a champion of the Sunshine Law, but acts as though it does not apply to her. It is entirely possible that the missing emails include more evidence that Steelman was using her state offices for political purposes. Missourians deserve an explanation – what happened to these public records?”

Steelman’s Missing Public Records Include Emails During This Time Period:

In 2008, news reports indicated that Steelman’s employees were working for her campaign on taxpayer time. At the time, the Post-Dispatch reported that “Deputy Treasurer Doug Gaston was working full time for Steelman's campaign. Steelman said her deputy was taking vacation time to do the campaign work. Although the newspaper found pay stub records showing Gaston had taken only three hours of vacation time during the six weeks of campaign work, he produced time sheets that show the additional vacation time.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/29/08]

Reports suggest Steelman withheld time sheets that should have been disclosed under Sunshine Law requests. The Post-Dispatch raised questions about a Steelman Deputy, Doug Gaston. Steelman claimed Gaston was getting paid automatically, without submitting time sheets, yet three hours of vacation time showed up during a February 2008 pay period on his pay stubs which were obtained under public records requests. This revelation suggests that a time sheet should’ve been produced to reflect the leave time, yet one was never provided under a Sunshine Law request. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/29/08]

Steelman finally produced the timesheets months later, but the state Auditor noted that two different sets existed - one with the vacation time that Steelman's office was showing news outlets and another set that didn't include vacation time.The State Auditor at the time said two sets of time sheets existed, those that her employee showed news outlets and “an earlier set without the vacation time.” The documents were produced months after the vacation dates in question. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/29/08]

Opinion -- Missouri Records-Gate Continues: What’s In Steelman’s Missing Documents?

By the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

After four days, Sarah Steelman, the former Missouri State Treasurer and top recruit of the Republican establishment, is still refusing to respond to reports that “most of the key documents” from her tenure as Missouri state treasurer are missing from state archives. Now, new revelations suggest what she might be hiding: according to media reports at the time, Steelman aides used taxpayer-funded state resources to discuss political activities.

Steelman’s staff in the Treasurer’s office discussed working for her campaign consultant while using state email accounts. In February 2008, Steelman staff members Doug Gaston and Jane Dudeck-Gilstrap held a conversation over state email about Dudeck-Gilstrap going to work part time for Steelman’s gubernatorial campaign consultant. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/29/08]

“Sarah Steelman is still refusing to explain what happened to the emails and schedules from her time as State Treasurer. But news reports at the time detailed how her staff was using taxpayer-funded resources for political purposes. Is this why she is hiding the public records? Whatever the explanation, Steelman needs to come clean immediately,” said Matt Canter, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “These revelations and her unwillingness to address them raise serious questions about Steelman’s fitness for public office and until she finally comes clean, she shouldn’t expect voters to take her seriously.”

Last week it was reported that “key documents” from Sarah Steelman’s tenure as state treasurer have gone missing, even though they are protected from destruction under Missouri state law. Since then, Steelman has refused to answer questions about the whereabouts of the documents.

Shockingly, Steelman herself actually sought to increase penalties for public officials who “purposefully” destroy records protected under Missouri’s Sunshine Law; if Steelman “purposefully” destroyed these records, she could face $5,000 in fines.

MORE BACKGROUND:

Documents from Steelman’s tenure as State Treasurer have gone missing. Last week it was reported that documents that are “routinely retained” under law have gone missing. [Politico, 3/31/11]

Steelman led the charge to increase penalties for public officials who “purposefully” destroyed records protected under Missouri’s Sunshine Law. If Steelman “purposefully” destroyed these records, she could face $5,000 in fines. When discussing the importance of retaining public records, Steelman said “It is the bedrock of democracy to make sure that we have an informed public, and to do that, you have to be able to access your government," Steelman said. . . . The old law allowed a judge to impose a fine of up to $500 for a ‘purposeful’ violation. The new law boosts the possible fine to $5,000. It also creates the category of ‘knowing’ violation, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.” [Associated Press, 6/8/04; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2/17/02]