Lawmaker pays money back in light of state limits

The Associated PressJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Republican legislator and two former GOP candidates have returned political party campaign contributions that exceeded Missouri's limits in the 1998 elections.

Rep. Mike Reid, R-Hazelwood, returned $7,100 to the Missouri Republican Party in February. David Broach of Jefferson County, who ran for state Senate, paid back $5,125, while Greta Forester of St. Louis, who ran for the House, returned $50.

The money from the two former candidates was returned after the Missouri Ethics Commission voted Feb. 15 to send notices to several candidates who were identified as receiving excess contributions. The notices provided 10 days to return the money.

Attorney General Jay Nixon said Friday he was pleased that Reid had paid up but was concerned that two others, Chuck Pierce, a former candidate for state auditor, and Eric Zahnd, a candidate for state Senate, have not.

"Those whose time has run out also need to face the fact that the courts have spoken and pay their surcharges without engaging in further time-consuming and costly litigation," Nixon said.

The Ethics Commission has threatened legal action against the Missouri Republican Party if it does not meet a deadline to pay nearly $400,000 in fines stemming for excessive party contributions.

Ethics commissioners voted last month to give the GOP and several of its candidates 45 days to pay the fines before referring their cases to Nixon. It is also seeking fines of $126,750 against Pierce and $63,875 against Zahnd.

The Republican Party unsuccessfully challenged Missouri's limits in federal court and lost. It has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal.

Enforcement of the fines and contribution limits had been on hold while the lawsuit was pending. But the Ethics Commission moved ahead after Nixon's office said there no longer were any court orders prohibiting enforcement.

The state GOP contends that individual contribution limits were not in effect during the 1998 election cycle, and that the political party limits also should have been null. That point is being argued in the appeal to the Supreme Court.

If the Republican Party loses in court and decides the fines must be paid, it intends to cover the fines levied against candidates.

Current political party limits are $11,675 to statewide candidates, $5,850 to state Senate candidates and $2,925 to state House candidates.

------On the Net:

Ethics Commission: http://www.moethics.state.mo.us

Missouri Republican Party: http://www.mogop.org

Attorney General Jay Nixon: http://www.ago.state.mo.us