What’s ahead for Mike Parson? 5 challenges Missouri governor faces after election win

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson celebrated a resounding victory Tuesday night after voters delivered him a full, four-year term. On Wednesday, he awoke to a series of challenges that will demand his attention in the coming months.

The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t going away anytime soon. Kansas City and St. Louis continue to grapple with violent crime and a surge of homicides. Medicaid expansion, a policy he opposed, must be implemented per the wishes of Missouri voters. The state’s medical marijuana program is plagued by accusations of illegal conduct.

And on Thursday, the General Assembly will gavel in for a rare lame-duck special session Parson called, though few details are available about what is planned.

Parson, who was elevated from lieutenant governor in 2018 after the resignation of Gov. Eric Greitens, has now earned a mandate to govern, bolstered by a margin of nearly a half-million votes over Democratic State Auditor Nicole Galloway. But the success of his next four years in office may depend on how well he navigates the problems facing Missouri right now.

Coronavirus pandemic

By far, the pandemic presents Parson with the most urgent challenge.

New cases of the virus are surging. On average, more than 2,300 new cases and 12 deaths are reported each day. The upswing is likely to translate into additional hospitalizations and deaths — often lagging indicators — in the weeks and months ahead.

On a conference call with Parson last week, hospital leaders asked Parson to adopt a mask order. Dave Dillon, a spokesman for the Missouri Hospital Association, which posted a recording of the call online, said in an email that while capacity ebbs and flows, “we are near or at record high rates presently.” He praised Parson for listening.

“The good news is that we’re managing, and that we have a lot more tools than we had in the spring,” Dillon said.

Parson staked his campaign on the premise that Missourians want a wide degree of freedom during the pandemic.

“We continue to take a balanced approach with COVID-19, our economy and many other issues facing our state,” Parson said last week.

He refused to issue a statewide mask mandate in direct opposition to Galloway, who vowed to impose one if elected. He left decisions about restrictions to cities and counties, with the vast majority of jurisdictions opting against imposing a mask rule.

The governor has given no sign he plans to change course.

“You’re under a tremendous amount of pressure to do a lot of things, ‘shut the state down, shut the state down,’” Parson told supporters in Springfield Tuesday night. “Let me tell you, I am not going to shut the state of Missouri down. I’ll tell you that right now.”

Parson has instead emphasized expanded testing. He has hailed the delivery of thousands of rapid tests provided by the federal government, with some sent to schools. While health experts agree testing is important, it does not by itself slow the spread of the virus.

Violent crime in Missouri

Parson will face pressure to resume work on addressing violent crime after making at best modest progress earlier this year.

Homicides are up in Missouri’s two biggest cities, and have broken records in Kansas City. At least 161 people have been killed in Kansas City this year, compared to 125 at this time last year.

During a special session this summer called by Parson, legislators wrestled with seven proposals put forward by the governor, though none that gave cities more power to set their own gun laws. The measures also largely sidestepped the issue of police reform. After weeks in session, the General Assembly passed just two measures: one creating a witness protection fund and another temporarily lifting a requirement that St. Louis police officers live within the city. Parson signed both.

Other bills, such as a measure allowing some otherwise inadmissible witness statements to be admitted into court in cases of witness intimidation, were left hanging. Most controversially, the House declined to give the state attorney general power to intervene in murder cases in St. Louis — a proposal seen as a rebuke of the local prosecutor, Kimberly Gardner.

The General Assembly is likely to take up the topic of violent crime again in the new year.

“The House is committed to continue working with Governor Parson in the next regular session in our fight to reduce the occurrences of violent crime in Missouri,” House Speaker Elijah Haahr, a Springfield Republican, has said.

Medicaid expansion

When voters approved Medicaid expansion in August, they did so over Parson’s objections.

Health coverage for low-income residents and individuals with disabilities will be extended to those earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — about $36,000 for a family of four. Missouri had one of the lowest eligibility rates in the country, at 22 percent of FPL. It could bring an additional 200,000 people under the federal-state program.

Parson warned expansion could be expensive and questioned how the state would cover the cost which he estimated at up to $200 million. Expansion supporters contend the program could eventually save money in the long run by drawing additional federal funding to cover a variety of health services currently paid for with state revenue. Under current law, the federal government would pick up 90 percent of the cost of expansion.

At the time, Parson promised to follow the will of the people. The Missouri Department of Social Services must present an expansion plan to the federal government by March 1, 2021, with residents becoming eligible four months later.

Still, the expanded program will require state funding. Some legislators have suggested the General Assembly could take steps not to provide the dollars necessary. Republicans could also force budget cuts in other areas as a way to pay for the program.

One other element of uncertainty: The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear arguments over the Affordable Care Act, which gave states the option to expand. A ruling that overturns or limits the landmark law could disrupt expansion or stop it altogether.

Missouri medical marijuana

Two years after Missouri voters approved medical marijuana and following the state’s rocky rollout of the program, the first dispensaries recently opened, including one in Kansas City last month.

But allegations of improper conduct are likely to dog Parson’s administration into the coming year.

A memo written by counsel for Missouri House Democrats obtained by The Star in September said the Department of Health and Senior Services, the state agency responsible for regulating medical marijuana, obstructed an oversight committee’s examination of the program. It also alleged Parson’s office was able to influence how applications were scored and a report later used to limit how many licenses would be awarded.

Parson has said there was “absolutely no interference.”

A federal grand jury demanded DHSS turn over all records related to license applications from four individuals, but the names were blacked out. The memo says that in May 2020, “credible allegations” emerged about executive branch interference in the oversight committee’s investigation, but said it would refrain from disclosing details until the committee can discuss the matter.

Separately, filings in a lawsuit from a Sarcoxie family denied a license alleges DHSS and the Missouri attorney general’s office illegally concealed documents and violated open records laws. The Missouri Independent, which first reported on the court filings, reported DHSS and the attorney general’s office both declined to comment.

Special session

Lawmakers will return to Jefferson City Thursday for a special session Parson called last month.

Parson said it would focus on supplementing the state budget to distribute federal virus relief dollars. “COVID-19 has had an overwhelming impact on our state, and while we have made great progress, this additional funding will be critical as we continue to respond and work through the recovery process,” he said in the Oct. 21 announcement.

In Missouri, governors set the scope of special sessions. But as this one approaches, Democrats have voiced concerns over a lack of proposed bills for lawmakers to consider.

“The governor’s special legislative session starts in just three days, yet he continues to hide his agenda from the people of Missouri,” House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat, said Monday.

On Wednesday, Parson spokeswoman Kelli Jones said proposed legislation would be introduced on Thursday. She noted that the U.S. Treasury Department had changed guidance for federal relief aid, known as CARES Act funding.

“As a result, we need additional authority to spend previous appropriations of CARES Act funding, in addition, authority to expend federal grants that have been received by the state since the budget passed,” Jones said in a statement.

This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 10:45 AM.