Senate sends another bill to limit gifts for candidates

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Senate tried again Wednesday to remove limits on individuals' contributions to candidates, sending the idea to the House for a second time this session.

Supporters say a repeal of the contribution limits would make campaign spending clearer to the public, but critics say it would be a move in the wrong direction.

In 1994, Missourians voted to limit contributions to House, Senate and statewide candidates, though the measure was tossed out by the courts, and higher limits legislators had passed kicked in.

Contributors to candidates for Missouri statewide offices are limited to giving $1,275 per election. The limit is $650 for state Senate candidates and $325 for state House candidates.

But political party committees can give candidates much larger contributions -- $12,750 each in cash and in-kind donations for statewide offices, $6,400 for senators and $3,200 for representatives -- and there are no limits on what party committees can receive.

The result has been a huge increase in the number of political party committees. Donors who wish to give additional money to candidates often give the money to those political committees, which then pass it along to candidates. The tactic has been upheld by the Ethics Commission but makes it hard for the public to track who really contributes to whom.

"All of a sudden, political party committees became funding sources. That was not my view of what they ought to be," said Senate sponsor Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph.

The bill removes limits on individual campaign contributions, but also bars party committees from contributing to candidates.

"The money shuffling that goes on committee to committee to committee ends," Shields said.

But others said it would be wrong to remove the limits.

"By not having contribution limits, it's proven to have a negative effect on the candidacies of women and minorities," said Sen. Joan Bray, D-St. Louis. "I don't care what kind of transparency you have, the money's the issue."

Time is running short to overhaul campaign finance laws. The bill must pass the House, or negotiators would have to come up with a compromise version that would pass both chambers, by 6 p.m. Friday to reach the governor's desk.

The Senate rejected an attempt Wednesday to prohibit relatives of elected officials from running vehicle license offices. The offices have been political patronage plums for years but have raised more attention lately with revelations of a federal investigation into how license offices are being managed under Gov. Matt Blunt's administration.

"I do not think it looks good when there's a relative of an elected official who receives those fee offices," said Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis, who said he has pushed for that change under Democrat and Republican administrations.

The bill passed by the Senate is weaker than a version that cleared the chamber earlier this year, but still goes further than the campaign finance bill that the House passed.

For example, the Senate bill passed earlier this year would have barred lobbyists from providing lawmakers or their staffs or families with travel, lodging or tickets, such as to sporting events or concerts, without prior approval by the House or Senate administration committees. The House bill didn't include such restrictions. The latest Senate version would bar out-of-state travel and lodging without prior approval and would require disclosing more details about entertainment, such as when and where the event was.

"It sends a message that we're serious about ethics reform, we're serious about campaign finance reform," Shields said.

The Senate bill also includes a provision barring candidates for the House, Senate or statewide office -- lawmakers or challengers -- from accepting campaign contributions during the legislative session.

Sen. Pat Dougherty, D-St. Louis, said the change would hamper the ability of newcomers to get elected and unsuccessfully proposed returning to current law, which allows such fundraising.

"This particular section of the bill is 100 percent incumbent protection," Dougherty said.

Shields said courts have determined it's unfair to allow challengers to raise money, but not incumbents.

"What we are trying to end here is a perception problem," he said.

The Senate also amended the bill to prohibit lawmakers from working for firms whose exclusive work is lobbying, though it's unclear how many people it would affect. House Speaker Pro Tem Carl Bearden, R-St. Charles, works for DK Government Solutions, a lobbying firm run by a former lawmaker, though he has said he focuses on county, not state, government matters.