Governor Jay Nixon (D) says Missouri needs comprehensive ethics reform but Representative Justin Alferman (R-Hermann) thinks individual bills related to ethics aren’t as complicated.
“I think it’s just a different approach versus a difference in necessity,” said Alferman. “I think we both realize that there needs to be something done next year, but putting it in an omnibus bill only furthers its demise.”
Alferman said his approach has a better chance of getting passed by the legislature.
“For him (Nixon) calling for comprehensive ethics reform, I do believe that if you tie all those things together that bill will die under its own weight,” said Alferman. “If you take each part of what he (Nixon) wants to accomplish and you make them into individualized bills, I think they have a better chance of passing than tying them into an omnibus bill. I’m not a big fan of omnibus legislation because it just gives people excuses to vote against the entire bill when there’s only one section that they don’t like.”
Alferman is sponsoring legislation next year to ban all lobbyist gifts, which the Governor supports.
Nixon, per a recent op-ed piece, also wants to:
-prohibit lawmakers after they leave office from serving as lobbyists for a designated amount of time.
-shorten the legislative session so that lawmakers stay connected with their communities and families.
-ban legislative committee hearings during the session from being held at places like restaurants and country clubs.
-ban officeholders from hiring fellow legislators as political consultants.
-enact limitations on the campaign accounts of former officeholders so that leftover campaign money isn’t used to influence former colleagues.