Kraus: Ethics Reform Bill

Lee’s Summit, MO – Rep. Will Kraus, R-48, on the Ethics Reform Bill, HCS SB 844 that passed the House of Representatives today. “While I voted for the bill because I think ethics reform is necessary and important, we in the House could have taken the opportunity to address comprehensive ethics reform, and we failed to do so.”

Rep. Kraus pointed to three provisions lacking in the bill. First, it truly does not stop committee to committee transfers. While it makes it a crime to move funds around “with the intent to conceal the identity of the actual source,” it doesn’t specifically prohibit transfers. It would be very difficult to prove the intent when funds were specifically transferred from one committee to another, making it hard to prosecute.

Second, the legislation, if passed, won’t prohibit elected officials from acting as a campaign consultants and receiving compensation from campaign committees. Part of the impetus for ethics reform came from the actions of a former Speaker of the House, who ran a campaign consulting business on the side while directing the progress of legislation in the House. This ethical dilemma is not addressed.

Third, the bill does not provide any transparency that could shed light on state office staff who receives state compensation while in reality working on campaigns. For example, if campaign staff were required to turn in an official time sheet with time and place of duty to the Missouri Ethics Commission for display on the internet, it would help differentiate time spent serving the public vs. time spent serving the candidate.

“As I have been saying all along, these are critical components of an effective ethics reform bill,” said Rep. Kraus, “and I am disappointed that none of these were in the bill.”