NEW CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW PRODUCES FLURRY OF REPORTS

Political campaign finance people will be completing reports this week to meet the new deadline for campaign finance reports. All state officeholders must file their quarterly report by Saturday.

The law, passed during the last November general election, said candidates for statewide office could only accept $300 from individuals and group contributors, candidates for the state senate can accept $200 and candidates for state representative can accept $100.

In addition, the law says campaign finance personnel must report every contributor, dollar amount, employment or occupation of the contributor and whether the contributor has "a contractual relationship with the state in excess of $500."

Before, contributors of less than $100 didn't have to be identified and didn't have to tell their occupations or their business relationship with the state.

What it all means and how it is listed in the report are questions for the Missouri Ethics Commission personnel.

"We've gotten a tremendous number of calls," said Marion Sinnett with the commission. "The questions consist of 'how do I report,' and 'what are my contribution limits,' and that sort of thing."

Sinnett said people with active campaign committees must file reports. The quarterly filing deadline in April didn't produced many reports because Missouri's campaign laws say candidates can't solicit funds during the General Assembly, which is in session during the first five months of the year.

June was the first full month candidates could solicit funds, and for many candidates, the money raised during June determines their viability for the 1996 election.

The St. Louis attorney handling Bob Holden's campaign finance reports since June 1993, Mark Grimm, said the state treasurer always has listed every contributor regardless of the dollar amount.

What has bogged down staff working on this report, he said, is listing the occupation and the contributor's business relationship with the state.

"I've called the ethics commission every couple of weeks to ask a question," he said. "It's hard to know whether they (contributors) have a contractual relationship with the state."

Grimm said when candidates couldn't solicit funds -- during the General Assembly -- the campaign staff took the opportunity to upgrade the computer system and revamp how campaign donations are processed.

"We developed our system," he said. "When we send out invitations to fund-raisers or direct mail, we asked that contributors fill out a card and that the information on the card is mandated by state statute. We put that information in the computer and do our best to comply with the law."

Grimm said the new reporting guidelines are good for Missourians regardless of the increased time and amount of paperwork staffs must devote to the reports, adding that large contributors no longer have the influence on campaigns.

He said knowing who is contributing to a campaign is important for the people to know.