JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – One ethics bill made was signed into law by Gov. Jay Nixon and another House bill was approved overwhelmingly, but Nixon said more work still had to be done.
HB 1983 into law Thursday afternoon. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin, prevents statewide elected officials and members of the General Assembly from being paid as political consultants for other state elected officials or candidates, as well as committees that support a candidate, issue or ballot measure.
“Members of the General Assembly are here to represent their taxpaying constituents, not cash in on their political connections,” Nixon said. “Banning officeholders from paying each other for political advice is an important step in the right direction.”
For Dogan, it was his first bill as a representative to be signed into law, and an issue he’s been working on since day one.
“It’s essential that we restore the public’s trust in their elected officials, and this bill is an important first step in doing that,” he said. “I’m very hopeful we can pass a full complement of ethics reform legislation. I know that we just passed the final version of the revolving door legislation in the House. I hope that’s not the last step this legislature takes to introduce comprehensive ethics reform.”
Nixon also spoke about the need to continue working on ethics reform, where he says there’s still a lot of work to be done. Among the measures Nixon wants to see cross his desk are a ban on lobbyist gifts, limits on campaign contributions and a cooling-off period before elected officials can become lobbyists.
He can probably look forward to another bill signing on the latter issue. HB 1979, a conference committee substitute, passed the House on Thursday morning with 131 votes in support. That bill institutes a six month cooling-off period for legislators after their elected term ends before they can lobby. It had been negotiated down in conference committee from the one year period that previously passed the House.
While the bill passed overwhelmingly, even those in support thought Missouri needed stronger ethics laws.
“It’s important to note that the bill I signed today is just the first step,” Nixon said. “There is much more work to do and I have been very clear about the measures I believe are necessary to restore the public’s trust.”
He also said there’s still time for the legislature to act and “incremental reform should not be an excuse for inaction.”
“There’s plenty of time left to get additional ethics reform to my desk and I’m counting on the General Assembly to stay focused and finish that job. I expect it, but more importantly the people of Missouri expect and deserve more.”
