Mo. GOP plans campaign finance, ethics bill

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri House Speaker Tim Jones said Thursday his chamber would seek ethics and campaign finance legislation that includes requiring more organizations to disclose their donors.

Jones said Republicans would add improving accountability in Missouri's political process to an agenda that includes economic development, energy and education. The 2013 legislative session begins in January and continues until mid-May.

"We also will focus some time and attention on ethics reforms that are necessary to give Missourians the level of transparency they need and deserve from our political system," he said.

Among the proposals is an effort to make it easier to track campaign contributions by requiring not-for-profit organizations involved in politics to report information about donors. Earlier this year, there were examples of a political action committee that is required to report finances receiving contributions from a not-for-profit group that is not required to report its donors. That made it difficult to determine the source of the money.

Jones also said he would like to see bans on lawmakers serving as political consultants, solicitation of campaign contributions on state property and elected officials offering jobs or appointments to influence public policy decisions.

Reps. Jay Barnes of Jefferson City and Todd Richardson of Poplar Bluff have been working on possible legislation.

Earlier this week, House Democrats unveiled their own proposals for tightening Missouri's campaign finance and ethics rules. They called for capping campaign contributions for legislators and statewide elected officials at $5,000 per donor for each election and limiting gifts lawmakers and immediate family members can accept from lobbyists to $1,000 annually.