By STEVE KRASKE
The Kansas City Star
Much bipartisan talk can be heard in the Missouri Capitol these days about the need for ethics reform — but bipartisan only to a point.

And that point of sharp disagreement is limits on campaign donations.

Missouri is now one of four states without some form of limits on its books.

That must change, say some but not all of the Democrats in the General Assembly — without limits in an ethics package, meaningful reform will be an illusion.

“To make it look as though they’re fixing something and not include campaign donation limits would be pretty disgusting to me,” said Rep. Trent Skaggs, a four-term Democrat from Kansas City.

Big donations and their timing often suggest a link between the money and how particular bills are handled, Skaggs said. That “pay to play” perception must end, he added.

But some Republicans, including Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields of St. Joseph, are equally adamant that donation limits don’t work.

Missouri had limits for years, Shields said, and they not only didn’t limit the amount of money flowing into the political process, but also made tracking that money more difficult. That’s because some lawmakers laundered money through obscure political committees to get around the caps.

He said lawmakers probably would agree on several less dramatic ideas, such as Shields’ idea of hiring an investigator for the Missouri Ethics Commission or demanding more financial disclosure for legislative staff members.

An idea proposed by Rep. Jason Kander, a Democrat from Kansas City, and Rep. Tim Flook, a Republican from Liberty, would crack down on transfers between campaign committees to end political money laundering.

Lawmakers did away with limits in 2008. Since then, individual donations of $5,000, $50,000 and even $1.1 million have rolled into campaign accounts.

“The standard across the country at the state and federal level is that some sort of limit is put in place,” said Dave Levinthal at the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group. Not placing limits on donations, he said, “basically games the process and allows the people with the most money to have the most influence.”

Skaggs contends that Republicans get most high-dollar donations, so Republican leaders aren’t likely to allow a return of contribution caps.

Missouri has had its own brush with political corruption. Late last year, three St. Louis area Democrats pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice or bribery. Meanwhile, former House speaker Rod Jetton, a Republican, is believed to be at the center of a federal investigation into pay-to-play politics.

The aftermath has included a blizzard of ethics bills from both parties. Gov. Jay Nixon has offered his own package, which includes donation limits.

On the first day of the 2010 session, House Speaker Ron Richard named an ethics committee to develop one comprehensive bill.

Richard, who has opposed donation limits, said he would not stop a bill his ethics committee introduces, even if that bill includes donation caps.

Caps concern some Democrats, such as Senate Minority Leader Victor Callahan.

While saying he supports the concept, he expressed worry about major loopholes, such as unlimited spending to attack or support candidates by independent groups outside the legislative process.

Candidates strapped with donation limits sometimes can’t respond effectively, he said. To let that happen, he said, “I don’t think you really solve anything.”

Posted Jan 14, 2010.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.