State Rep Sues Over Ethics Commission’s Closed Hearings

A State Representative who is running for Attorney General has followed through on a threat to go to court over the plan by the Missouri Ethics Commission to hold close door "hardship" hearings from candidates or committees that have accepted campaign contributions in excess of legal limits.

State Representative Margaret Donnelly (D-Richmond Heights) has filed suit in Cole County Circuit Court to stop the Commission’s plan. Donnelly says voters should have access to the hearings, adding, "There should be no mystery about what is happening in these hearings."

The Ethics Commission’s action follows a State Supreme Court ruling that reimposed campaign contribution limits. Candidates and committees are required to return contributions received in excess of the limits, unless they claim a "hardship" and an inability to repay the money.