KBIA Local
(2010-02-11)
JEFFERSON CITY, MO
(KBIA) -
Passing an ethics reform bill out of the Missouri General Assembly won't be easy, based on today's first round of debate in the State Senate. The main ethics bill sponsored by President Pro-tem Charlie Shields would make it a crime for one lawmaker to work for another as a political consultant, expand the definition of a lobbyist, and bar most committee-to-committee money transfers. Democratic Senator Joan Bray of St. Louis argued that real reform can't take place without placing limits on campaign contributions."Because we don't have limits, I think that's where you're going to see a lot of big numbers moving (Shields) I, I, I (Bray) I think candidate committees will become laundering committees."
Shields disagreed. He maintains that limits don't add transparency to politics. Debate on the bill stalled after fellow Republican Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau announced his intent to file multiple amendments. One would bar lawmakers from working as lobbyists for two years after leaving office. © Copyright 2012, KBIA