by Jason Rosenbaum
Missouri Lawyers Weekly

ST. LOUIS, MO — While lawmakers spent part of the year deliberating pertinent issues, focus shifted in the offseason to legislators’ ethical conduct.

Two state representatives and one state senator from the St. Louis area resigned in 2009. And a former speaker of the house made news in December when he exiled himself from politics after being charged with felony assault on a woman.

The first wave of resignations came in late August when Sen. Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis, and state Rep. Steve Brown, D-Clayton, stepped down. Both pleaded guilty to lying to federal authorities regarding illegal activities during Smith’s 2004 congressional campaign.

Even though he served in a heavily Republican chamber, Smith managed to get a bill setting up “fathering courts” to assist men having trouble paying child support signed by the governor. He was also a prominent opponent of restricting the Historic Preservation Tax Credit, a measure used to rehabilitate old buildings.

And while he was only in the Missouri House for less than a year, several lawmakers credited Brown with taking a key role in shaping policy on issues regarding the judiciary. He was active in assisting the House Democratic Campaign Committee, an entity that helps Democratic state representative candidates get elected to office.

Shortly after Smith and Brown departed from the legislature, Rep. T.D. El-Amin resigned after pleading guilty to bribery charges. El-Amin – who was elected in 2006 to represent a St. Louis City House district – admitted to asking a gas station owner for a bribe in order to settle a dispute with a city official.

Former House Speaker Rod Jetton was in the news in December when he was charged with felony assault against a Sikeston woman. Jetton chose to leave Missouri politics by shutting down his political consulting business.

Before he was charged, Jetton was the subject of a Kansas City Star series about his role and influence as a political consultant. Democrats and some Republicans criticized the Marble Hill Republican for running the business while in office.

Several lawmakers cited the lawmaker resignations and arrests as the rationale behind overhauling campaign finances, lobbyist gifts and disclosure requirements.

Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, proposed a bill that includes a ban on lobbyists from making contributions during the legislative session. Reps. Tim Flook, R-Clay County, and Jason Kander, D-Kansas City, introduced a package that would, among other things, make it illegal for independent committees to shuffle money between each other and make it a state crime to go through with a legislative action in exchange for campaign contributions. And House Majority Leader Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, pitched a ban on lobbyists giving meals, travel or entertainment to lawmakers.

George Connor, a political science professor at Missouri State University, said Missouri is one of the least restrictive states when it comes to lobbying and transparency. And while Connor said the ethics bills might be meritorious, he questioned whether they would significantly alter that status.

“In large part, I think it’s really two things,” Connor said. “It’s the basic part-time nature of Missouri’s legislature. They rely on interest groups and lobbyists for information and support. That’s just the nature of the game.”

Connor also said term limits compound things even more because there’s a lack of institutional memory.

“You can’t turn to the guy in the office next to you and say ‘do you know how they did this last year?’ ” Connor said. “Because he doesn’t know either. So they turn to lobbyists and interest groups and so on. I’m skeptical that any measure of ethics reform is going to address those underlying reasons that legislators get friendly with lobbyists and interest groups.”

But while Kander said his legislation isn’t the “permanent fix” to any real or perceived ethical ailments, he said it’s good to get the process moving.

“Fighting public corruption is like fighting any other type of crime,” Kander said. “If people are going to take criminal actions, they’re going to find a way to go around the law as much as they can. My argument is simply you have to stay one step ahead whenever possible. And when you haven’t been able to stay one step ahead, you need to look at what needs to be fixed.”