LIMITS ON CAMPAIGN DONATIONS ARE BACK, AND ETHICS COMMISSION HOLDS SECRET SESSION

The business of campaign-finance limits for donations by political parties is back in the news. A federal judge reinstated Missouri's caps after initially limiting its enforcement.

The Missouri Republican Party, which brought suit against the limits, says it will appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The result, for now, pending appeal: Missouri's political parties are once again limited to donating to candidates roughly 10 times the amounts that individuals can give instead of being able to give without limits. The arcane and confusing restrictions on how much can be given are back in force.

Another issue that must be mentioned is the decision of the ethics commission -- the ethics commission! -- to go into executive session, excluding the news media (and thus the public) from its deliberations as to what the contribution limits should be. The commission claimed exemption from the Open Meetings Law because it received legal advice from the attorney general. This is a spurious claim that violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the law.

The matter at issue isn't some privileged and sensitive information where it might be proper to close the meeting, but rather a simple and straightforward policy question. Of all governmental entities, the ethics commission, for goodness sake, should know the difference. Their decision to close the meeting is a bad one, and we hope more news media will join us in calling them on it.