St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson has requested the Board of Elections postpone the special elections currently scheduled for May 19.

The elections are to fill two vacancies on the Board of Aldermen.

The death of Ward 4 Alderman Sam Moore on February 25, and the resignation of Ward 12 Alderman Larry Arnowitz on March 3 caused, the two vacancies.

The Senate confirmed the appointment of Robert C. Cook of Ashland to the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Confirmation happened on April 8, ending three weeks of limbo.

The commission had been unable to meet or take any action after the terms of three of its six members expired on March 15 because commissioners cannot serve once their terms expire.

Gov. Mike Parson issued Executive Order 20-03, postponing the April 7 municipal elections to June 2.

The order comes after the state of emergency he declared on March 13 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is May 20, while in-person absentee ballots may be cast until 5 p.m. on June 1.

Senate Majority Leader of Missouri Caleb Rowden announced, due to concerns over spreading the COVID-19 illness, the Senate will not meet next week.

The legislative spring break was set to begin on March 19, meaning the Senate is not scheduled to reconvene for the rest of the month.

The House will meet next week to work on the budget.

The Missouri Ethics Commission increased contribution limits for state House and Senate candidates.

The per election limits have increased from $2,000 to $2,046 for House candidates and from $2,500 to $2,559 for Senate candidates.

The inflationary adjustments are the first under a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2018.

The $5 lobbyist gift limit for members of the General Assembly remains unchanged.

There are several bills pending in the House and Senate that would lower contribution limits.

Sen. Dan Hegeman, a Republican from Cosby, is sponsoring a Joint Resolution for a constitutional amendment which would ban all gifts from lobbyists or lobbyist principals.

Additionally, the bill will reduce contributions made to or accepted by any candidate or committee from $2,500 to $2,000.

The proposed constitutional amendment also repeals the redistricting system approved by voters in 2018 through Amendment 1.

If passed, the proposed amendment would be voted on by the state on November 3, or at a special election to be called by the governor for that purpose.

Lawmakers officially passed a legislative fix to an issue regarding vehicle sales during Gov. Mike Parson’s special session.

The session took place from September 9 to September 16, 2019.

Currently, the value of one previously owned motor vehicle, trailer, boat, or outboard motor may be used as a deduction against the sales tax owed on the purchase of any such vehicle within 180 days before or after a taxpayer sells a previously owned vehicle.

House Bill 1 expands the deduction to include the values of one or more previously owned motor vehicles, trailers, boats, or outboard motors.

Parsons stated if he hadn’t called lawmakers to Jefferson City, thousands of people would have suffered financial loss.

The bill will take effect 90 days after receiving Gov. Parson’s signature.

Missouri lawmakers are back in Jefferson City for the annual veto session, beginning September 11 at 12 p.m. at the Missouri State Capitol.

The veto session gives lawmakers the ability to overturn any of Gov. Mike Parson’s six vetoes.

Two widely debated vetoes include outdoor cremations and whether to let motorcyclists ride without a helmet.

A two-thirds vote in the House and the Senate is needed to overturn a veto.

The veto session is running at the same time as a special session, which Gov. Parson called to address a vehicle tax credit issue.

Gov. Mike Parson has scheduled a special legislative session to begin on September 9.

Parsons hopes to see legislation passed allowing individuals to count the sales earning of multiple vehicles as credits against the sales tax of a replacement vehicle.

Revenue officials had allowed this until a June Missouri Supreme Court ruling said current law only permits a single vehicle to count for the tax credit.

The session is unlikely to cost the state much as it coincides with an already scheduled annual veto session on September 11.

Four more states making campaign finance and lobbying changes. Check out which states are passing legislation in this week’s NYCU Video Digest!

Gov. Mike Parson signed procurement lobbying legislation on July 10, bringing changes to the state’s bid solicitation process.

House Bill 1088 provides that solicitations and subsequent purchases must be publicly advertised only if a contract is worth more than $100,000. The previous threshold was $25,000.

The bill further provides that all purchases in excess of $10,000 must be based on competitive bids. The previous threshold was $3,000.

Additionally, information technology purchases estimated not to exceed $150,000 may be completed under an informal process. The previous threshold was $75,000.

The bill becomes effective on August 28, 2019.

The first regular session of the 100th General Assembly adjourned May 17 at 6 p.m. after four months in session.

Several lobbying bills were introduced, including House Joint Resolution 48 which made its way to the Senate Fiscal Oversight Committee.

The committee voted do not pass on May 13. The bill would have banned all lobbyist gifts to lawmakers instead of the current $5 maximum limit.

Similarly, House Bill 1199 was introduced to amend the definition of a lobbyist principal to add an entity with authority to direct the lobbyists’ activities. The bill made its way through the Legislative Oversight Committee but did not pass either chamber.

The General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on January 15, 2020.

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will introduce three city charter amendments on May 17 addressing ethics and campaign finance restrictions.

The proposed reforms would ban lobbyists from giving gifts of more than $5 to city elected officials.

The amendments would also restrict individuals or entities seeking city contracts from donating to a candidate for a city elected office between 90 days before the city seeks bidders and 90 days after the contract has been awarded.

The package would further bar contributions to candidates for city office made with the intent to conceal the identify of such donations’ actual source.

This restriction would apply to contributions made to committees that donate to a candidate’s campaign.

If endorsed by the board, the three city charter amendments would go before voters who must approve by a three-fifths majority at the November 2020 election.

A special election will take place on November 5 to fill vacancies in House Districts 99 and 158.

Rep. Jean Evans resigned from District 99 to become executive director of the Missouri Republican Party.

Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick left District 158 to serve as state treasurer.