HCS#2 SB 844 -- PUBLIC OFFICIALS

SPONSOR:  Shields (Jones, 89)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
General Laws by a vote of 9 to 2.

This substitute changes the laws regarding elections, competitive
bidding, ethics and lobbying, campaign finance, fee office
regulations, labor organizations, lawsuits on behalf of the
state, and political subdivision referendums.

ELECTIONS (Sections 21.860, 26.016, 28.190, 29.280, 30.060,
30.080, 105.009, 105.030, 105.040, 105.050, 115.156, 115.276,
115.278 - 115.292, 115.427, 116.160, 116.190, 116.240, and
116.334, RSMo)

The substitute:

(1)  Establishes the Joint Committee on Ballot Statements to
prepare and review ballot summary statements for all petitions
and referendums submitted to the voter by either the General
Assembly or the petition process instead of the Secretary of
State who currently has these responsibilities.  The nine-member
committee will consist of non-elected officials with three
members appointed by the Governor, three by the President Pro Tem
of the Senate, and three by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.  A majority of the committee will be required to
approve a ballot statement.  Subject to appropriations, the
committee may be staffed by legislative personnel.  The committee
members will not receive compensation but may be reimbursed for
actual and necessary expenses;

(2)  Requires special elections to be held for vacancies in the
offices of United States Senator, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney
General, Secretary of State, State Auditor, and State Treasurer.
Currently, the Office of United States Senator and most statewide
offices, except for the Office of the Governor, may be filled by
a gubernatorial appointment when there is a vacancy.  If there is
an impeachment proceeding for one of these officers, the Governor
will temporarily administer the duties of the office until the
trial; and if there is a conviction, the special election process
will be used to fill the vacancy.  In the case of a vacancy in
the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the State
Auditor, or the Office of a United States Senator, the Governor
will appoint a temporary acting attorney general, auditor, or
senator who will serve until a special election for the office is
held;

(3)  Requires all state elected officials, executive branch
managerial staff, state department heads, General Assembly
members, and officers and leadership staff of the General
Assembly to submit to chemical testing for determining the drug
content of the blood before taking office and once every two
years thereafter.  The person tested will be responsible for the
cost of the test and, upon request, will have access to the
results.  To be considered valid, the test must be administered
according to methods and devices approved by the Department of
Health and Senior Services and be performed by licensed medical
personnel or by a person possessing a valid permit issued by the
department for this purpose.  Anyone administering the test or
any other person, firm, or corporation with whom the person is
associated will not be civilly liable for damages to the person
tested except for negligence or by a willful or wanton act or
omission;

(4)  Requires the Secretary of State to establish procedures for
absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters to request
voter registration applications and absentee ballot applications.
At least one form of electronic communication for use by absent
uniformed services and overseas voters must be designated for
requesting voter registration applications and absentee ballots.
These voters may request and designate a preferred method of
electronic transmission of these applications and ballots or
request receipt by mail.  The Secretary of State must also
develop, in coordination with local election authorities, a free
access system by which these voters may determine whether an
absentee ballot has been received by the appropriate election
authority.  A sufficient quantity of paper ballots and envelopes
for each general, primary, and special election for federal
office must be printed and available for these voters within 45
days prior to the election.  Registration applications and paper
ballots cannot be rejected by an election authority because of
any restriction on the paper or envelope type.  Missouri is
required to use the special write-in absentee ballot provided in
Section 115.292 for all elections for federal office as
authorized by federal law instead of the federal write-in
absentee ballot;

(5)  Requires each election authority to establish one advance
voting center in each senatorial district in the state or at
least one center in each county in a senatorial district if there
is more than one county in a senatorial district.  Any registered
voter may vote by advance ballot in person at any election for
federal or statewide offices.  Advance voting will begin on the
second Saturday prior to the election until the Wednesday
immediately preceding the election, excluding Sundays, using
absentee ballots and those procedures.  No reason for voting an
absentee ballot will be required as is currently required to vote
by absentee ballot.  All current procedures for casting and
counting absentee ballots and the appointment of election judges
and polling places will apply to advance voting.  The Secretary
of State and each local election authority must provide adequate
public notice of the advance voting centers and voting times
including a posting in their respective offices and on each of
their web sites.  All costs associated with advance voting
centers will be reimbursed by the state.  If there is no state
appropriation, an election authority must not conduct advance
voting;

(6)  Specifies that a person seeking to vote in a public election
must establish his or her identity and eligibility to vote by
presenting a specified form of personal identification containing
a photograph of the individual to election officials.  All costs
incurred by an election authority to implement the photo
identification requirements will be reimbursed by the state.  If
there is no state appropriation, the election authority must not
enforce the photo identification requirement;

(7)  Allows an individual to vote by casting a provisional ballot
after signing an affidavit if he or she does not possess a
required form of personal identification because of the inability
to pay for a birth certificate or other documentation necessary
to obtain the identification;

(8)  Requires the state to provide at no cost at least one form
of personal identification required to vote to an otherwise
qualified citizen who does not already possess the required
identification and desires the identification in order to vote;
and

(9)  Repeals the provision regarding disabled or elderly persons
obtaining a nondriver's license photo identification through a
mobile processing system operated by the Department of Revenue.

COMPETITIVE BIDDING (Sections 34.047, 37.900, 67.314, and
Section 2)

The substitute:

(1)  Requires the Commissioner of the Office of Administration to
give priority as the lowest and best bidder to a Missouri company
with a physical office and employees located in this state.  A
corporation bidding for work in Missouri must be properly
registered to work in this state.  A minority-owned business,
disabled veteran business, and any cost-saving measure
benefitting the state such as data repositories and Go Green
programs will also be given priority.  The Office of
Administration must let bids based on a competitive bid process;

(2)  Allows a statewide elected official to request a
determination of the lowest and best bidder regarding a contract
for purchasing, printing, or services from the Office of
Administration which must respond to the elected official within
45 days after the submission of the request;

(3)  Establishes the Political Subdivision Construction Bidding
Standards Act which regulates the advertising and lowest bidding
practices of political subdivisions that are not currently
governed by state or federal requirements or a local construction
procurement policy when soliciting bids and awarding construction
contracts of $10,000 or more.  Criteria for the construction
projects covered by the substitute are specified.  Certain
contracts for construction or construction management services
are exempt as well as design build projects authorized by local
regulations.  Mandatory regulations for political subdivisions
include a good faith standard for the award of construction
contracts; requirements for making, opening, and accepting bids;
compliance with state statutes or a local construction
procurement policy; and a bonding requirement in Section 107.170.
Electronic bidding that is comparable to the requirements for
written bids will be allowed.  If a contractor is injured by a
violation of the act, he or she may seek equitable relief and
monetary damages in a court of competent jurisdiction.  Attorney
fees may be awarded to the plaintiff if the court finds a
violation or there is a determination of fraud, collusion, or
corruption.  A defendant may receive attorney fees if the court
finds that there is no substantial cause for the action or that
the action was initiated for purposes of harassment or disruption
of the awarded contract.  Any action brought by a contractor more
than 15 business days after the awarding of a contract must be
dismissed by the court; and

(4)  Specifies that the Office of Administration cannot prevent
any state agency or other state entity from purchasing supplies
from an authorized General Services Administrator vendor if the
contract does not exceed the competitive bid limits in Section
34.040.

ETHICS AND LOBBYING (Sections 105.456, 105.459, 105.463, 105.470,
105.473, 105.479, and 105.963)

The substitute:

(1)  Specifies that the crime of bribery of a public servant
includes when the Governor or an agent of the Governor exchanges
various appointed positions for an official vote on a public
matter by a member of the General Assembly;

(2)  Specifies that the crime of acceding to corruption by a
public servant includes when a member of the General Assembly
exchanges an official vote on a public matter for an appointment
to certain specified positions;

(3)  Prohibits a member of the General Assembly from acting,
serving, or soliciting clients to represent as a lobbyist;
providing consulting services to any lobbyist; or registering as
a legislative lobbyist under the Conflict of Interest and
Lobbying Laws, Chapter 105, within two years after the conclusion
of the general assembly of which the person was a member;

(4)  Specifies that any elected or appointed official of this
state or any political subdivision who is found guilty of or
pleads guilty to any felony must immediately forfeit all benefits
provided to him or her by the state or political subdivision;

(5)  Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
President Pro Tem of the Senate to publicly disclose the name of
any nonmember appointee and the amount of any contribution made
by the appointee, the appointee's spouse, or any business in
which the appointee or the appointee's spouse holds a substantial
interest to any committee for the benefit of the legislator
during the four years immediately preceding the appointment;

(6)  Requires the Governor to publicly disclose the name of any
appointee, the amount and date of any contribution made by the
appointee to any committee during the four years immediately
preceding the appointment.  The disclosure must be included in
the letter of transmittal to the Senate announcing the
appointment, printed in the Senate journal, and accessible to the
public on the Governor's and the Senate's web site;

(7)  Prohibits the Governor from appointing a legislator to
certain positions until 365 days after the conclusion of the
general assembly of which the person was a member;

(8)  Specifies that the definitions used in Section 105.470
regarding lobbying will also apply to Section 105.456.
Currently, the definitions only apply to Section 105.473;

(9)  Specifies that anyone who attempts to influence an elected
official other than the elected official who represents the
legislative district where that person resides and who meets
other specified requirements will be deemed a "legislative
lobbyist" as defined in Section 105.470, except for a person
testifying before any legislative, executive, or administrative
committee;

(10)  Specifies that a lobbyist found to knowingly omit, conceal,
or falsify information required on the monthly lobbyist report
will be guilty of a class D felony;

(11)  Repeals the provisions requiring the Missouri Ethics
Commission to provide the monthly lobbyist spending report to
legislators, judges or judicial officers, and state and local
elected officials;

(12)  Prohibits members of the General Assembly, statewide
officials, and persons acting on their behalf or at their request
from accepting or receiving any cumulative expenditures in excess
of $2,500 from a lobbyist, except for certain specified
expenditures and items valued at less than $10;

(13)  Sets the late fees that may be assessed for delinquent
reports to the commission at consistent rates for all report
types with a maximum of $3,000 per report; and

(14)  Allows an appeal of late filing fees by lobbyists,
individuals, and treasurers of committees who receive notice of a
violation related to disclosure statements or statements of
limited activity.  Currently, only candidates are allowed to
appeal matters related to campaign reports using the procedures
of Section 105.963.

CAMPAIGN FINANCING (Sections 130.021, 130.031, 130.032, 575.021,
and Section 1)

The substitute:

(1)  Prohibits a person from forming a new committee or serving
as a treasurer or deputy treasurer of any committee until he or
she or the treasurer of any committee previously formed by the
person or on which he or she served as the treasurer or deputy
treasurer has filed all required campaign disclosure reports or
statements of limited activity for all prior elections and paid
any outstanding fees.  The treasurer or deputy treasurer must
file a statement of organization with the appropriate officer
within 20 days after the person or organization becomes a
committee but no later than 30 days prior to an election for
which it receives contributions or makes expenditures with the
exception of a continuing committee.  Currently, the statement
must be filed no later than the date required in Section 130.046;

(2)  Prohibits a person authorized to transfer committee funds
from transferring any funds received by the committee to any
other committee with the intent to conceal the identity of the
fund's actual source.  Any person who violates this provision
will be notified by the commission within five days of
determining that the transfer is prohibited, and the person must
notify the committee to which the funds were transferred that
they must be returned within 10 days.  For a second violation,
the person transferring the funds will be guilty of a class C
misdemeanor and a class D felony for any subsequent violation;

(3)  Prohibits statewide office holders from accepting or
soliciting contributions or fund-raising activities from any
person whom the statewide holder appoints with the advice and
consent of the Senate, the appointee's spouse, or any business in
which the appointee or the appointee's spouse holds a substantial
interest during and for 180 days after the appointment ends;

(4)  Prohibits persons appointed by the Governor with the advice
and consent of the Senate, the appointee's spouse, or any
business in which either of them holds a substantial interest
from being solicited by a statewide office holder to make any
contribution to or engage in fund-raising activities or events
for the statewide office holder during and for 180 days after the
appointment ends;

(5)  Prohibits a person or business from making a gift, donation,
or contribution of any kind to a candidate committee or state
political party committee that makes expenditures on behalf of a
statewide office holder, executive branch official, or state
agency when that person or business has certain matters requiring
a decision or determination pending before the statewide office
holder, executive branch official, or state agency;

(6)  Prohibits statewide office holders from soliciting
contributions from any person or business while that person or
business has certain specified matters requiring a decision or
determination pending before the statewide office holder,
executive branch official, or state agency;

(7)  Limits the amount of contributions made by or accepted from
any person other than the candidate in any one election to
$20,000 for all elective statewide offices, elected judicial
offices, or an elected political subdivision or special district
position;

(8)  Creates the crime of obstruction of an ethics
investigation, a class D felony.  A person who knowingly confers
or accepts anything of benefit to any person in direct exchange
for that person's concealing or withholding any information
concerning a violation of the provisions regarding conflicts of
interest and lobbying or the provisions regarding campaign
finance disclosures or makes or submits a false statement or
submits inaccurate documentation to any commission member or
employee or to any investigating official will be guilty of the
crime.  Retraction of the false statement, writing, or
documentation is a defense in certain specified circumstances;
and

(9)  Specifies that if a candidate committee fails to pay its
outstanding debts within 18 months after the termination of the
committee, the candidate will become responsible for the debt.
Failure to pay the debt will be a class D felony for conversion
of campaign funds.

FEE OFFICE REGULATIONS (Section 136.055)

The Department of Revenue is required to use only county or city
collectors or treasurers or their agents as fee office agents.
The department is given discretion in determining the number and
geographic distribution of fee offices.  Fees collected under
this provision must be deposited into the general revenue fund of
the appropriate county and will be distributed according to local
regulation, ordinance, or charter.  Administrative costs will be
granted to county or city officials collecting the fees.

LABOR ORGANIZATIONS (Sections 3 and 4)

The substitute guarantees the right to vote by secret ballot in
elections involving the formation of a union or labor
organization.  Union dues may not be used for any political
activity if designated as not for political use by the member
contributing the dues.  Any person whose dues are actually
diverted in violation of this provision may bring a suit in a
court of competent jurisdiction for compensatory damages of up to
$10,000 per violation, attorney fees, and injunctive relief.
Anyone knowingly violating the union dues requirements by
diverting funds to unauthorized political activities will be
guilty of a class D felony.

LAWSUITS ON BEHALF OF THE STATE (Section 5)

In addition to the Attorney General, the substitute allows the
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, President Pro Tem of the Senate,
or Speaker of the House of Representatives to file a lawsuit
defending the constitutional rights of Missouri residents and to
bring the suit in the name of and on behalf of the state.  All
officials will be notified upon the filing of a lawsuit by the
official filing the suit.

The Commission for the Defense of the Natural and Constitutional
Rights is established to approve any rule of procedure and to
adopt the single lead position to represent the state in cases.
If there is no objection on the single lead position within 10
business days, the lawsuit may proceed.  If there is an
objection, a majority of the four officials acting as the
commission will determine what, if any, legal position may be
brought on behalf of the state.  Any dispute will be resolved by
the Missouri Supreme Court which may order the termination of any
suit not in conformity with these provisions or may order the
termination of multiple lawsuits in the instance that the
commission has approved inconsistent legal positions.

POLITICAL SUBDIVISION REFERENDUMS (Section 6)

No political subdivision is allowed to submit any question as an
advisory referendum to the voters if the referendum does not have
the force and effect of law.

The provisions of the substitute regarding procedures for absent
uniformed services voters and overseas voters, advanced voting
centers, and photo identification will become effective only upon
the passage and approval by the voters of a constitutional
amendment.  These provisions will be nonseverable; and if any of
these provisions are held invalid, all of these provisions will
be invalidated.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Effect on General Revenue Fund of a cost
of Unknown greater than $4,935,762 to an income of Unknown in FY
2011, a cost of Unknown greater than $4,935,762 to an income of
Unknown, and a cost of Unknown greater than $6,867,750 to an
income of Unknown in FY 2013.  Estimated Effect on Other State
Funds of an income of Unknown to a cost of Unknown in FY 2011, FY
2012, and FY 2013.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill allows state officials
to use the Office of Administration to determine the lowest and
best bids for projects.  There needs to be a transparent process
for the hiring of legal counsel.

Testifying for the bill were Senator Shields; and Office of the
Attorney General.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that the open access to
the dome of the State Capitol Building should be removed because
it is a safety concern and exposes the state to liability.

Testifying against the bill were Office of Administration; and
Missouri Capitol Police.

OTHERS:  Others testifying on the bill say that Missouri
corporations should be given preference in the bidding process.

Testifying on the bill was Betty Weaver, Missouri Litigation
Services.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:15 pm