HB 2300 -- Conflicts of Interest and Lobbying, Ethics, and
Campaign Finance

Sponsor:  Wilson (130)

This bill changes the laws regarding conflicts of interest and
lobbying, ethics, and campaign finance.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND LOBBYING

The bill:

(1)  Prohibits the solicitation of expenditures and fund-raising
activities and events supporting or opposing any candidate,
ballot measure, political party, or political party committee on
any property or in any building owned or leased by the state or
any political subdivision unless the property or building is
routinely used by and made available for rent or for a fee to all
members of the public (Section 8.925, RSMo);

(2)  Prohibits members of the General Assembly from receiving
compensation of any kind as a paid political consultant as
defined in the bill for another member of the General Assembly, a
statewide office holder, or any committee defined in Chapter 130.
The spouse, any dependent children, and the parents of a member
also are prohibited from receiving compensation of any kind on
behalf of a member who acts as a paid political consultant
(Sections 105.450 and 105.456.3);

(3)  Prohibits a member of the General Assembly from acting,
serving, or registering as a legislative lobbyist until after the
first regular session of the general assembly following the
conclusion of the general assembly in which the member served and
prohibits members from soliciting clients to represent as a
legislative lobbyist.  Individuals and business entities are
prohibited from soliciting a legislator to become employed by
that individual or entity as a lobbyist or paid political
consultant while the legislator is holding office (Section
105.456);

(4)  Specifies that the crime of bribery of a public servant
includes when the Governor or an agent of the Governor exchanges
various appointed positions for an official vote on a public
matter by a member of the General Assembly and specifies that the
crime of acceding to corruption by a public servant includes when
a member of the General Assembly exchanges an official vote on a
public matter for an appointment to certain positions (Section
105.456);

(5)  Specifies that any person who intentionally offers or
accepts anything of value from an elected or appointed official
or employee of the state or any political subdivision in direct
exchange for voting for or against or engaging in any action
designed to benefit, delay, or hinder the passage or failure of
any specific state legislation, rule or regulation, or any local
legislation or ordinance will be guilty of a class D felony
(Section 105.465);

(6)  Allows a lobbyist to report the total expenditures for food
or beverages provided to all members of the House of
Representatives or Senate and their staff and employees, all
members of a joint committee of the General Assembly and their
staff, a standing committee of the House of Representatives or
the Senate and their staff, the majority or minority caucus of
the House of Representatives or the Senate, and all statewide
elected and appointed officials and their staff and employees
when they are invited in writing (Section 105.473.3);

(7)  Requires lobbyists and lobbyist principals to maintain
accurate records relating to lobbyist receipts and expenditures
for elected officials for three years and to make those records
available to the Missouri Ethics Commission for inspection upon
an investigation by the commission (Section 105.473.6);

(8)  Specifies that any person who engages in lobbyist activities
as defined in Section 105.470 and knowingly fails to register as
a lobbyist will be guilty of a class B misdemeanor for the first
violation and a class D felony for any subsequent violation
(Section 105.478);

(9)  Prohibits a member of the General Assembly or the member's
spouse or dependent child from accepting or receiving cumulative
expenditures, as defined in Section 105.470, from lobbyists in
excess of $1,000 per calendar year per member.  If the report
provided to a member by the commission indicates that the member
has exceeded this limit, the member has 60 days to reimburse the
lobbyist for the excess amount (Section 105.479); and

(10)  Changes the reporting period for required personal
financial disclosure statements by candidates and certain
appointed officials and employees from for the 12 months prior to
the closing date for filing to for the previous calendar year
ending the immediately preceding December 31 to be consistent
with the required time period for public officers.  Certain
reports will be considered timely filed if they are postmarked on
the day due for filing rather than the day before that date
(Sections 105.487 and 130.046).

ETHICS

The bill:

(1)  Authorizes the term of a member of the Missouri Ethics
Commission to be extended one time for up to 120 days and allows
the executive director of the commission, who serves at the
pleasure of the commission, to serve for up to eight years
instead of up to six years (Section 105.955);

(2)  Authorizes the commission to conduct investigations and
clarifies the commission's authority to issue subpoenas (Section
105.955);

(3)  Requires a complaint to be signed and notarized and include
the facts that are within the commission's jurisdiction before
acceptance of the complaint by the commission.  Language that
states a separate and distinct standard inapplicable to the
frivolous complaint procedure is repealed (Section 105.957.2);

(4)  Authorizes the executive director of the commission to
conduct independent investigations without receipt of a complaint
if there are reasonable grounds to believe a violation has
occurred that could be the subject of a complaint and four
members of the commission vote to proceed (Section 105.959.2);

(5)  Clarifies complaint investigation procedures, investigation
time frames, and the appeal process (Sections 105.961 and
105.966);

(6)  Sets the late fees that may be assessed for delinquent
reports to the commission at consistent rates for all report
types with a maximum of $3,000 per report (Section 105.963);

(7)  Authorizes the commission, after receiving a judgment for
unpaid late filing fees, to use garnishment of and execution upon
a committee's official depository account to collect the judgment
(Section 105.963.5);

(8)  Requires a candidate, in the required written declaration of
candidacy, to affirm that the candidate is not a sham or feigned
candidate (Section 115.349.3); and

(9)  Creates a class three election offense for giving, lending,
agreeing to give or lend, offering, promising, or endeavoring to
procure money or anything of value with the intent to induce a
person to run for any office in this state if the person has the
same or a similar name as another candidate for that office and
would not otherwise run for office but for the inducement.
Legally made campaign contributions will not be construed as an
inducement to run for elective office under the provisions of the
bill (Section 115.635(12)).

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

The bill:

(1)  Moves the definitions regarding committee formation and
termination to the proper section (Sections 130.011 and 130.021);

(2)  Revises the definition of "political party committee" to
include only a state, Congressional district, or county party
committee (Section 130.011);

(3)  Prohibits a candidate from forming a new committee or
serving as a treasurer or deputy treasurer for a committee until
all required campaign disclosure reports have been filed (Section
130.021.3);

(4)  Prohibits a committee from transferring any funds received
by the committee to any other committee.  Any person who violates
this provision will be notified by the commission within five
days of determining that the transfer is prohibited and the
person must notify the committee to which the funds were
transferred that they must be returned within 10 days.  For a
second violation, the person transferring the funds will be
subject to a civil penalty of $1,000.  For a third and any
subsequent violation, the person transferring the funds will be
subject to a civil penalty of $5,000, will be removed as
treasurer for all committees served, and will be forever barred
from acting as a treasurer for any committee.  The prohibition
will not apply to any transfer of funds from any committee to a
campaign or candidate committee or from a candidate committee to
a continuing committee unless the funds were transferred with the
intent to conceal the identity of the actual source of the funds
(Section 130.031.13);

(5)  Limits campaign contributions from any one person other than
the candidate in any one election to candidates for statewide
office, state senator or representative, and all other offices at
$5,000 and requires contributions from a child younger than 14
years of age to be counted equally toward each parent's
contribution limits or, in the case of a single parent, counted
fully against that parent's contribution (Section 130.032);

(6)  Specifies that disclosure reports must be available for
inspection by the commission instead of the Campaign Finance
Review Board which no longer exists (Section 130.036.8);

(7)  Decreases the amount of a single contribution from $5,000 to
$2,000 that must be disclosed electronically to the commission
within 48 hours of receipt.  Individuals and committees required
to file disclosure reports who receive a single contribution of
$2,000 or more that must be reported under Section 130.044 must
include that contribution on the current and all subsequent
required disclosure reports or statements of limited activity.
The contribution reportable under Section 130.044 will not be
counted in the aggregate limit for a statement of limited
activity filed under Section 130.046 (Sections 130.041, 130.044,
and 130.046);

(8)  Requires electronic filing for all campaign finance
committees that must file with the commission (Section 130.057);
and

(9)  Prohibits a successful candidate from taking office until
all delinquent reports are filed and assessed fees have been paid
(Section 130.071).

The bill becomes effective January 1, 2011.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:13 pm