Steelman: Senators 'cowards' for late-night ethanol vote

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Sarah Steelman called senators "cowards" Wednesday for voting in the darkness of night to overturn her treasurer's office policy blocking financial aid for ethanol plants whose investors include elected officials.

The treasurer's office oversees a program providing state money for banks to offer below-market interest rates to ethanol, biodiesel plants and other value-added agricultural cooperatives.

But Steelman's conflict-of-interest policy prohibits businesses from getting incentives if they have even a single investor who is an elected state official, department director or a parent, sibling, spouse or child of any of those officials.

The policy has outraged some lawmakers who are investors in ethanol and biodiesel plants.

It also has prevented incentives from going to the $82 million Show Me Ethanol plant because its investors include Rep. John Quinn, R-Chillicothe; his wife, Mary; and Andy Blunt, the brother of Republican Gov. Matt Blunt.

Senators voted around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday for a provision intended to overturn Steelman's policy by allowing state tax credits, exemptions and loans as long as state officials own less than 2 percent of the business. They added the amendment to a broad economic bill by a head-count vote -- avoiding a written record of who voted "yes" or "no" that would have been kept had they taken a roll call.

"They were cowards, and didn't want to do what they did in the light of the day because they didn't want the people of the state to realize they were protecting their personal interests," said Steelman, a former senator.

But some senators said Steelman was out of line by insisting on an unreasonable conflict of interest policy.

"Our esteemed treasurer has been taking shots at 700 people because of the actions of two," said the amendment's sponsor, Sen. Dan Clemens, R-Marshfield, referring to the hundreds of other investors who would be hurt by denying incentives to Show Me Ethanol.

Missouri has several different types of incentives for ethanol and biodiesel plants. Besides the treasurer's office program, the Agriculture Department oversees production subsidies to the facilities and income tax credits to farmers who invest in ethanol, biodiesel or other value-added agricultural cooperatives.

In contrast to Steelman, the Agriculture Department does not consider it a conflict of interest unless an elected state official, his or her spouse or child owns at least a 10 percent stake in the business.

About 20 past or present state officials or members of their households have received more than $400,000 in tax credits for investing in value-added agricultural initiatives such as alternative fuels, according to state records provided to The Associated Press under a Sunshine Law request

Among those receiving the tax credits is Sen. Wes Shoemyer, D-Clarence, who spoke in favor of nullifying Steelman's strict conflict-of-interest policy for financial incentives to ethanol and biodiesel plants. Shoemyer contends it's unfair to target farmers who happen to also be legislators.

"The state treasurer has taken aim at certain investors and entities. We in the state of Missouri have a citizen Legislature, and that means a lot of us have other occupations that we derive our living from," Shoemyer said.

Steelman defended her policy.

"We maintain a strict conflict-of-interest policy in the treasurer's office because of one simple reason -- it's the people's money, and we need to protect the taxpayers of the state," she said.