St. Louis Public Radio and NPR joined together to form a partnership recently. The result was a project aimed at educating the public regarding state lobbying.

Using information gathered from the Missouri Ethics Commission, they created an online database with the names of lobbyists, lawmakers, gifts, and transaction details. Also accessible are easy to understand charts and graphs.

See it all at LobbyingMissouri.org.

The Legislature convenes its annual veto session on Wednesday, September 11, 2013. Among the vetoed bills eligible for an override vote are House Bill 110 and Senate Bill 29.

House Bill 110 requires a special election to fill the lieutenant governor’s office if there is an early vacancy due to resignation, death, or impeachment. Senate Bill 29 requires certain public labor unions to obtain annual consent from members before withholding dues and fees from their paychecks for political contributions or expenditures.

Gov. Jay Nixon has declined to call a special session to allow lawmakers to craft a new version of a vetoed income-tax bill. Override votes require a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

Photo of the Missouri State Capitol by RebelAt on Wikipedia.

The Missouri Ethics Commission has announced James Klahr as the new executive director for a six-year term beginning September 13, 2013. Klahr has worked for now-Governor Jay Nixon since 1997, most recently as the administration’s legislative liaison in the Department of Public Safety.

Klahr replaces Julie Allen, who became the elections director for Secretary of State Jason Kander in January. Stacey Heislen will remain on the commission’s staff after serving as acting director.

City Council approved changes to the ethics code setting limits on gifts to city officials and employees on Thursday, May 30, 2013. Ordinance No. 130249 prohibits an official or employee and their immediate families from knowingly accepting any gift having a value in excess of $1,000 from any person or business with a substantial interest in legislative or administrative actions.

Gifts worth more than $200 must be reported quarterly by the city official or employee. Previously, reports were due annually and there was no limit on gifts.

The bill becomes effective in 10 days unless vetoed by the Mayor.

Lawmakers have ended the 2013 legislative session. Although both chambers are scheduled to convene on May 22, 2013, for a technical session, the House marked the conclusion with the traditional and celebratory paper toss on Friday, May 17, 2013.

Several bills aimed at reinstating or expanding the ethics reforms of Senate Bill 844 failed to pass. The major 2010 ethics reforms in Senate Bill 844 were found to be unconstitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court because they were joined to a procurement bill.

Photo of the Missouri State Capitol by RebelAt on Wikipedia.

This year’s push for ethics reform in several state legislatures could not happen fast enough for some elected officials. Georgia’s Senate and Missouri’s Secretary of State, Jason Kander, decided on day one to take matters into their own hands by adopting new gift rules for their respective offices.

The Georgia Senate imposed a $100 limit on gifts from lobbyists. Senators approved the gift cap on the opening day of the 2013 General Assembly session as part of new rules governing the chamber’s operations for the current two-year term. The new rule does not apply to travel costs or to gifts provided to groups of senators, including committees. The rule does allow lobbyists to give $100 gifts on multiple occasions. Meanwhile, House Speaker David Ralston has unveiled an ethics reform bill aimed at expanding the definition of a lobbyist and restricting lobbyist gifts. House Bill 142 would ban even the smallest expenditure of a lobbyist if for the benefit of a single member of the General Assembly. Lobbyists would still be permitted to spend on committees, caucuses, and expenses to public officers for trips to conferences and meetings.

Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, sworn in on January 14, 2013, announced a new ethics policy as part of his “Day 1 Achievements.” The new policy prohibits the staff in his office from accepting gifts from lobbyists. State administrative policy already curtails what state employees may accept from lobbyists, but agencies are free to adopt stricter guidelines. Additionally, Missouri’s House and Senate are both considering bills to curb lobbyist spending. House Bill 139 would prohibit General Assembly members, family, and staff from accepting more than $1,000 per calendar year from lobbyists. Senate Bill 181 would prohibit statewide elected officials, legislators, staff, employees, and family from accepting gifts over $50 from a lobbyist.

Governor Jay Nixon is set to announce June 4, 2013 as the date of a special election to fill Missouri’s Eighth Congressional District. Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson submitted a letter of resignation to become president and CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

The Eighth District will not have voting representation in the House until June due to state law and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act. The MOVE Act requires local election authorities to begin transmitting ballots to military and overseas voters 45 days before a general, primary, or special election for federal office.

State law allows independent candidates to file for special elections up to the midway point between when an election is called and when it is actually held. Republican and Democratic party committees will nominate their candidates for the special election.

Governor Jay Nixon has set April 2 as the date for a special election to fill the vacant seat in House District 157.

The seat became vacant after State Representative Don Ruzicka was appointed to serve on the Board of Probation and Parole.

The governor has also issued an April 2 writ of election for House District 76.

Photo of Governor Nixon by Bernard Pollack on Wikipedia.

Secretary of State Jason Kander, sworn in on January 14, 2013, has adopted a new ethics policy barring the staff in his office from accepting gifts from lobbyists.

Kander’s stated purpose was to give the public confidence that the office is being run in a nonpartisan and fair way.

State administrative policy already curtails what state employees may accept from lobbyists, but agencies are free to adopt stricter guidelines.

Julie Allen, the executive director of the Missouri Ethics Commission, will be leaving to work at the Secretary of State’s office as the director of elections and information technology.

For full news coverage, be sure to read:

“Missouri ethics chief headed to Kander’s office” by The Associated Press in Connectmidmissouri.com.

“Kander hires executive director of Missouri Ethics Commission to oversee state elections” by Jo Mannies in the St. Louis Beacon.

Lobbying

Via Eric Brown’s Political Activity Law blog – Missouri:“Mo. Sen. candidate wants ban on all lobbyist gifts to state lawmakers” by Marshall Griffin in St. Louis Public Radio.

Wisconsin: “Former Assembly speaker now a lobbyist” by Jason Stein in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Campaign Finance

“Rules of the Game: Shining a Light on Political ‘Dark Money‘” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

Arizona: “Probe into Horne’s campaign finances leads to report over alleged hit-and-run” by Howard Fischer in the East Valley Tribune.

Social Media

“Mashable Special Report: How Digital Is Transforming Politics” by Josh Catone in Mashable.

“How the Internet will Change the Government” by Henry Brown in Govloop.

Florida: “Ethics commission wants power to collect fines – and respect” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.

Georgia: “Former director, assistant file lawsuits against ethics commission” by Aaron Gould Sheinin and Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Missouri: “Ethics Commission wants state ethics laws modernized” by Mike Lear in Missourinet.

South Carolina: “Haley ethics probe shines light on dark side of S.C. politics” by Gina Smith in The State.

“Ethics Commission offers new campaign finance search tool” by Mike Lear in MissouriNet.

“2 Campaigns Chasing Funds at Frantic Pace” by Ashley Parker and Helene Cooper.

“Entrepreneurs, small lobby shops challenging K Street’s old guard” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Arkansas:  “Backers optimistic about ethics measure; GOP lawmaker questions proposal” by Jeff Arnold in the Arkansas News.

Connecticut: “Connecticut lawmakers return for special session” by Susan Haigh (Associated Press) in the Norwich Bulletin.

“Sunlight Foundation Unveils New Legislative Alert Service, Monitoring Action On Capitol Hill And All 50 States” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.

“More on Legislative Turnover” by Karl Kurtz in NCSL’s The Thicket.

Arizona: “Fewer candidates vie for Arizona Legislature” by Mary Jo Pitzl in The Arizona Republic.

Maryland: “Maryland Becomes 40th State to Ratify 17th Amendment” by Karl Kurtz in The Thicket.

Redistricting

Alabama: “Inside the Statehouse: New district lines won’t change legislature” by Steve Flowers in the Jacksonville News.

Alaska: “Lawsuit claims redistricting procedure violates federal law” by Becky Bohrer in the Anchorage Daily News.

Illinois: “Ill. Supreme Court rejects GOP challenge to state legislative remap” by Dave McKinney in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Kansas:  “In Kansas redistricting, new boundaries quickly bring new faces” by Dave Helling in the Kansas City Star.

Missouri: “Missouri senator will pursue redistricting changes” by The Associated Press in the Kansas City Star.

Photo of the Illinois State Capitol by Nikopoley in Wikipedia.