Restricting lobbyist gifts next target for state lawmakers

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers pushing to change the state's loose ethics laws next will turn to ways to clamp down on the flow of unlimited gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers.

Lobbyist gifts "are probably going to be the biggest meat" of upcoming discussions, Republican House Speaker Todd Richardson said after four other ethics-related bills passed last week. One of the chamber's committees will review an outright ban on gifts Tuesday.

"I'm hopeful that those bills will move out of committee. Hopefully we'll have them very soon," he said.

Lobbyists can spend whatever they want on sports tickets, dinners, drinks and other expenses for lawmakers. Lobbyists doled out nearly $220,000 in gifts to lawmakers last year, examples of which include more than $800 worth of St. Louis Cardinals baseball tickets for a House member. The year before, House and Senate members raked in more than $209,000 in gifts.

Missouri's practice is in contrast with states to its west and east, where gifts are capped at $40 a year per lobbyist in Kansas and gifts are banned in Illinois -- although there are exceptions for meals and travel.

Recent scandals have fueled a wave of ethics-related bills in the House and Senate. Passage of such measures is a top goal this session for Richardson, who took over as speaker after John Diehl stepped down on the final day of the 2015 session while admitting to exchanging sexually suggestive texts with a Capitol intern.

Months later, former state Sen. Paul LeVota left office amid allegations he sexually harassed interns. He denied those claims.

Disagreement between the House and Senate, dominated by Republicans, derailed a package bill of ethics changes last year. But Richardson and Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard said they have been communicating for months, and Richard joined Richardson on the House dais in a gesture of unity when the chamber took up ethics bills.

And there's bipartisan support, with Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon calling for a ban on lobbyist gifts, along with a number of other changes to ethics laws.

A measure aimed at closing the loophole of lawmakers becoming lobbyists immediately after leaving office was among several passed by the House on Thursday, the first day final approval could be given to bills.

Elected officials would be banned from lobbying for a year after their terms end.

All four measures are in the Senate's hands, where Richard has said they will be addressed promptly.

Those proposals were criticized primarily by Democrats as not going far enough.

A Senate committee also reviewed an ethics bill that would require former lawmakers to dissolve their campaign coffers before becoming lobbyists and wait two years before lobbying. It also would ban lobbyist gifts.

Recent examples of prominent lobbyist spending include a $3,000 dinner at a Dallas steakhouse in 2014 that involved a former House speaker and Diehl, who was House majority leader.

At that dinner, a dozen lobbyists representing Missouri-based businesses such as Hallmark Cards and Ameristar Casino split the tab for lawmakers who attended a conference with the American Legislative Exchange Council.

That group brings together lawmakers and big-business backers who support limited government to craft model legislation and public policies.

That dinner also highlighted discrepancies in how lobbyists report gifts, as some disclosed the dinner as going to individual lawmakers; others reported it as a group expense.

None of the bills debated in committees or on the House floor have included limits on campaign contributions.