Missouri voters approved Constitutional Amendment 2 with nearly 70 percent of voter support. The ballot measure is effective December 8, 2016.

The amendment establishes the Missouri Campaign Contribution Reform Initiative, reinstating campaign contribution limits for individuals or entities contributing to political parties, political committees, or committees to elect candidates for state or judicial office. The initiative also prohibits individuals and entities from intentionally concealing the source of such contributions, and bans direct corporation and labor union contributions to candidates.

State contribution limits, originally approved by voters in 1994, were repealed by the General Assembly in 2008. Constitutional Amendment 2 limits contributions to statewide candidates to $2,600 per election. Contributions to political parties are capped at $25,000 in the aggregate per election at the state, county, municipal, district, ward, and township levels combined.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay recently signed Board Bill No. 53CSAA, establishing contribution limits for municipal candidates.

Effective November 25, 2016, no person, entity, or committee may contribute more than $10,000 to any local candidate during the general election period. The bill also establishes an ethics commission to investigate alleged campaign finance violations.

Any person violating campaign finance law will be subject to a fine of at least $100 but not more than $500 per violation, a term of imprisonment for 90 days per violation, or both.

Photo of Mayor Francis Slay by Astuishin on Wikimedia Commons.

The Missouri Ethics Commission has fined a citizen activist for failing to register as a legislative lobbyist.

Registration is required for legislative lobbying if an individual attempts to influence official action and is designated to act as a lobbyist by any person, business entity, or other entity. Ronald Calzone was never paid to communicate with legislators and has never been formally designated to lobby on behalf of any person or entity. The commission believes Calzone, who frequently shares his opinions with state legislators, has self-designated himself as a legislative lobbyist within the meaning of state law.

Calzone filed suit last week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri claiming the commission is violating his first amendment rights absent a legitimate state interest. He also claims the word “designate” is unconstitutionally vague, facially and as-applied in his case.

The Board of Aldermen passed two bills on October 7 to establish campaign contribution limits and clarify gift reporting.

Board Bill 53 limits campaign contributions in city elections to $10,000 per election cycle. Violations could result in 90 days of jail and a $500 fine. If signed by Mayor Francis Slay, the bill would be effective April 6, 2017, just after the spring mayoral election.

Board Bill 126 requires elected officials to report gifts and travel expenses valued at $375 or more when given by interested persons. Violating the reporting requirement would result in docked pay. Currently, the code requires reporting of gifts exceeding $250, but it is not clear whether public officials are reporting gifts as required.

Photo of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis by Daniel Schwen in Wikimedia Commons.

St. Louis aldermen advanced Board Bill 53 out of committee on Tuesday, September 20.

The bill would limit contributions to municipal candidates to $10,000 per city election cycle. Such a limit is nearly four times the proposed state candidate contribution limit currently slated for the November ballot.

A final vote on the municipal measure is expected as early as October. The board bill, if passed, would take effect April 6, 2017.

Photo of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis by Daniel Schwen in Wikimedia Commons.

With the Missouri Supreme Court denying an appeal of two lower court rulings, a constitutional amendment reinstating campaign contribution limits will appear on the November ballot. State contribution limits, originally approved by voters in 1994, were repealed by the General Assembly in 2008.

If passed, the 2016 ballot measure would ban direct corporate and labor union contributions and limit individual and committee contributions to statewide candidates to $2,600 per election. Contributions to political parties would be capped at $25,000 per election.

The Missouri General Assembly held its annual veto session on Wednesday, September 14. Lawmakers were successful in overriding some of Gov. Jay Nixon’s vetoes, including the vetoes of two highly controversial bills.

One bill abolishes a state law requiring permits, training, and background checks for those seeking to carry concealed weapons. The other requires voters to show a photo identification before casting a ballot. The voter ID law will take effect in 2017 only if voters pass a state constitutional amendment in support of it.

Photo of the Missouri State Capitol by Nickbigd on Wikimedia Commons.

A judge has ordered a special election for House District 78 after a candidate lost the Democratic primary by roughly 90 votes. Although Bruce Franks won the in-person vote, his opponent’s margin of victory came solely from absentee ballots. Franks filed suit alleging people who cast absentee ballots did not qualify to apply for them.

Circuit court judge Rex Burlison ordered a special election be held September 16 because the board of elections violated state law by failing to require all absentee votes be in the proper absentee ballot envelopes.

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway issued a report Monday revealing a potentially illegal checking account used by legislators to collect contributions from lobbying firms.

The account is purportedly used by the Senate to fund late-night meals during the legislative session. According to Galloway’s report, actively soliciting contributions from lobbyists is a conflict of interest.

Since the audit, Senate officials have vowed to find other ways to purchase meals as necessary.

Photo of State Auditor Nicole Galloway by Nicole Galloway for Missouri on Wikimedia Commons.

Missouri Sen. Bob Dixon wants Gov. Jay Nixon to call a special session to close a loophole in the state’s drunk driving law and to ask the Legislature to support a pilot program for the Missouri Public Defender System.

If the drunk driving loophole is not addressed, thousands of drunk drivers could be released on a technicality or given a lesser charge because of a mistake in the law regarding how breathalyzer equipment is calibrated.

Dixon is asking for the special session to occur next to the Legislature’s veto session. The veto session begins September 14.

Gov. Nixon has not yet commented on whether he will call a special session.

Photo of the Missouri State Capitol by Nickbigd on Wikimedia Commons.

Gov. Jay Nixon issued a writ of election to fill the vacancy for Missouri Senate District 4. Joseph Keaveny vacated the seat on July 7, 2016, to become an administrative law judge at the Department of Labor.

Interested candidates must file declarations of candidacy with the Office of the Secretary of State by September 7, 2016, for the special election on November 8, 2016.

St. Louis Alderman Scott Ogilvie recently introduced legislation to limit campaign contributions to local candidates.

Board Bill No. 53 prohibits candidates from accepting contributions exceeding $10,000 per city election from any person, entity, or committee. The amount would increase in April in each odd numbered year to coincide with any increase in the consumer price index.

Ogilvie’s proposal also defines election periods for the purposes of contribution limits, creates a Municipal Officials and Officers Ethics Commission, makes contributions from minors age 16 or younger attributable to parents or guardians, and sets penalties for violations of the bill.

If passed, the ordinance would be effective April 6, 2017.

Photo of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis by Daniel Schwen in Wikimedia Commons.

The 98th General Assembly adjourned Friday, May 13.

Although ethics reform was a top priority this session, lawmakers fell short of passing bills creating political contribution limits or prohibiting lobbyist gifts. The Legislature did approve a 6-month waiting period for public officials seeking to become lobbyists as well as prohibit legislators from serving as paid political consultants.

Both houses stand adjourned until Wednesday, May 25. They will convene for a technical session and then adjourn sine die on May 30 pursuant to constitutional mandate.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed two ethics bills on Friday, May 6.

One bill creates a revolving door provision for lawmakers and statewide elected officials seeking to become lobbyists. They must wait at least six months after their terms end before engaging in lobbying. The second bill requires candidates to dissolve their campaign committees and either refund or donate the remaining funds upon registering as lobbyists.

Both bills are effective August 28, 2016.