Missouri Amendment 1 Alters Landscape for Lobbying Lawmakers

Joanna Kamvouris, JD
Research Associate 

More than 60 percent of Missourians voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to place tighter restrictions on gifts, revolving door provisions, and campaign contributions for General Assembly members and staff.

Amendment 1 prohibits members and staff of the General Assembly from accepting anything of value in excess of $5 from a lobbyist or lobbyist principal. Prior to the amendment, lobbyists were generally permitted to provide gifts.

Amendment 1 also significantly extends revolving door restrictions. Currently, a former member or employee of the General Assembly must wait a period of six months after leaving public office before becoming a paid lobbyist. Under Amendment 1, the waiting period is two years after the conclusion of the legislative session in which the member or employee last served.    

The amendment also brings new contribution limits for lawmakers. Currently, contribution limits for all state or judicial offices are $2,600 per election. Under Amendment 1, contributions to the office of state senator are limited to $2,500 per election, and contributions to the office of state representative are capped at $2,000 per election. Candidates for all offices are prohibited by the amendment from accepting contributions from a federal PAC unless the committee has filed the same reports required for a Missouri PAC.      

Regarding aggregation rules, Amendment 1 creates a rebuttable presumption that a contribution to a candidate for public office is made or accepted with the intent to circumvent the limitations on contributions when a contribution is received from a committee or organization primarily funded by a single person, individual, or other committee that has already reached its contribution limit. A committee or organization is deemed to be primarily funded when the committee or organization receives more than 50 percent of its annual funding from that single person, individual, or other committee.   

Amendment 1 is effective December 6, quickly bringing changes into force. 

[The details for this article will be updated on our website in the Lobbying Compliance Laws
and Procurement Lobbying Compliance Laws for Missouri.]

Summary of Changes UPDATE
Note Recent Changes to Compliance Regulations 

Michael Beckett, Esq., Research Manager

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND: Executive Steve Schuh signed an ethics bill passed on October 15 by County Council. Bill No. 80-18 increases late filing fees for lobbyists and employees, adds a revolving door provision, modifies certain definitions, requires employee ethics training, and creates changes to comply with state ethics laws. The bill was signed by Schuh and will be effective on December 6, 2018. 

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Mayor Marty Walsh signed an ordinance requiring lobbyist registration and reporting for individuals and entities attempting to influence city action. The ordinance was passed by City Council in late September and requires registration by every person retained, employed, or designated by any client or lobbying entity to engage in lobbying or lobbying activities. In July, Mayor Walsh vetoed a lobbying ordinance passed by council as it failed to define and regulate lobbying and did not create an adequate enforcement mechanism. The new ordinance, effective April 13, 2019, creates a quarterly reporting requirement and penalties for late registration and reporting.

CALIFORNIA: On November 15, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) approved proposed regulations to make biennial cost of living adjustments to campaign contribution and gift limits applicable from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2020. The updated regulations change the gift limit from $470 to $500 per calendar year and make increases to campaign contribution limits for candidates. Adjusted contribution limits for gubernatorial candidates increase from $29,200 to $31,000 per election.

NEW YORK: The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) has launched a new lobbyist reporting system. The organization profile section is live. All organization profiles from the previous system have been transferred to the new lobbying application and require an update to ensure all the information is correct. JCOPE has created an informational page to help users navigate the new system and staff is working to purge duplicate organization profiles. The website is available at https://jcope.ny.gov/jcope-lobbying-application-information. 

WASHINGTON D.C.: Act 22-0442, which included the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Amendment Act of 2018 passed congressional review. The Act expands the scope of procurement lobbying in the District of Columbia to include action by an executive agency or official in the executive branch to contract, grant or procure goods or services. The lobbyist reporting periods change from semiannual to quarterly reporting in January 2019. Additional registration requirements were added including the precise description of the subject matter, including any bill, proposed resolution, contract, or other legislation of all writing or oral communications related to lobbying activities conducted with an executive or legislative member or official’s staff.

Legislation We Are Tracking

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in State and Federal Communications' digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying and can be found in the client portion of our website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly email updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regard to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

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Elizabeth Z. Bartz with Ilene Shapiro, Summit County Executive and Connie Krauss, Director, Community and Economic Development as we celebrated the 2018 holiday season.

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