Ethics commission seeks an outside lawyer in Jetton-Crowell arrangement

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Ethics Commission will ask an outside lawyer to look at a consulting arrangement between Speaker of the House Rod Jetton and state Sen. Jason Crowell.

A company registered to the wife of Jetton, R-Marble Hill, has earned $33,000 from the campaign of Sen. Jason Crowell since 2004. The money was paid in return for campaign consulting provided by the House speaker.

Jetton subsequently asked the ethics commission for an advisory opinion on whether the arrangement was legal. At a meeting Tuesday, commissioners voted to seek a legal opinion from an outside counsel. An opinion issued by the commission staff, though, indicated details of the arrangement might have been reported incorrectly.

The staff opinion, for example, pointed out that legislators must disclose whether they receive more than $1,000 from any particular source. While Jetton's most recent personal financial disclosure statement reported his wife's role in the consulting firm, the firm was not included in a section that reports sources of income.

Jetton met Tuesday with Mike Reid, the commission's director of compliance, and said he simply reported the company on the wrong section of his disclosure statement.

The opinion also cited a state law that says when campaigns make a payment, they must give more detail than simply saying the payment is for consulting services. While Jetton told the Tribune he has helped Crowell with fundraising, advertising and communications, Crowell's campaign reports often described the work simply as "campaign consulting."

At Tuesday's meeting, Joe Carroll, ethics commission director of campaign finance, said the "big problem" is that the commission has been asked for an official opinion on an action already taken.

The preliminary opinion issued by commission staff said the agreement doesn't violate state law as long as the consultant "provides actual services ... and the payments are for actual services rendered."