HCS HB 1170 -- ETHICS

SPONSOR:  May

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Elections
by a vote of 8 to 0.

This substitute changes the laws regarding campaign finance,
lobbying, and the Missouri Ethics Commission.  In its main
provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Requires most candidates for elective office to file their
financial interest statements by March 31 or within 10 days of
filing for office, whichever is later.  Candidates required to
file for an April election must file by January 31 or within 10
days of filing for office, whichever is later.  When a candidate
receives a political party nomination for an office, he or she
must file within 10 days of the nomination;

(2)  Allows a lobbyist to appeal late fee charges for disclosure
reports under Section 105.963, RSMo;

(3)  Requires complaints filed with the commission to contain
allegations that are within its jurisdiction;

(4)  Requires the first appeal on a ruling from the commission to
be heard by the circuit court of Cole County rather than the
Administrative Hearing Commission.  Appeals may involve all
matters except referrals for criminal prosecution;

(5)  Allows a candidate committee to omit account numbers from
its statement of organization required under Section 130.021 if
it is presented to an appropriate officer rather than the
Missouri Ethics Commission;

(6)  Requires the treasurer of a committee, other than a
candidate committee or a political party committee, to file a
committee's fictitious name registration or incorporation
registration together with the statement of committee
organization with an appropriate officer specified under
Section 130.026;

(7)  Requires an out-of-state committee to file continuing
expenditure reports, after its initial expenditure report that
must be filed 14 days prior to contributions or expenditures in
Missouri, using the same reporting periods in Section 130.046.
Requirements for the expenditure report are specified in the
substitute;

(8)  Lowers the electronic or paper copy reporting requirement in
Section 130.057 so that all continuing committees, political
party committees, and campaign committees with contributions in
excess of $5,000, instead of $15,000, must file reports with the
commission; and

(9)  Removes the requirement that the commission publish a
summary of all ethics laws over which it has jurisdiction and the
requirement that a candidate sign a statement verifying the
receipt of the summary when filing for office.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2008, FY 2009, and
FY 2010.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill will clarify and update
various ethics laws to conform to current practice.

Testifying for the bill were Representative May; and Missouri
Ethics Commission.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:21 am