House Democrats are backing legislation they say would toughen Missouri’s ethics standards. As Marshall Griffin tells us from Jefferson City, the bill would restore many provisions recently struck down by the State Supreme Court.
Those provisions include banning committee-to-committee money transfers and giving the Missouri Ethics Commission the authority to launch its own investigations. The High Court struck them down because they were tacked onto another bill that had nothing to do with ethics. House Democrat Tishaura Jones of St. Louis says she’s filing a new bill because GOP leaders have so far done nothing following the Supreme Court ruling.
“Insuring integrity and accountability in state government should be a priority for all lawmakers, and if Republicans won’t act, then Democrats will,” Jones said.
The bill would also cap campaign contribution limits, something GOP leaders oppose. But the Republican Speaker of the House says he’ll bring the bill up for debate if it makes it through the committee process.