JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - As the Missouri House on Tuesday advanced more legislation to change the state's loose ethics laws, some lawmakers raised doubts about whether the proposals go far enough.
House members gave initial approval to a ban on gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers and other elected officials, who now can receive unlimited meals, sports tickets and other presents.
Under the new proposal, lobbyists could pay for events only if they invite all lawmakers and all statewide elected officials in writing.
"This is, I think, the most meaningful thing that we could do," Columbia Republican Rep. Caleb Rowden said.
While supporters tout the gift ban and other ethics legislation as a step forward, some House Democrats and senators are skeptical that enacting the policies will bring change.
Lawmakers, led primarily by Republican House Speaker Todd Richardson, this year filed a wave of ethics-related legislation in an effort to clean up the Capitol's image.
The Legislature last year was marked by the resignation of two lawmakers, including the former House speaker, John Diehl. The Town and Country Republican admitted to exchanging sexually suggestive text messages with a Capitol intern and then stepped down from office on the last day of the 2015 legislative session.
Months later, Paul LeVota, a Democratic senator from Independence, resigned amid allegations that he sexually harassed interns. He denied those claims.
Democrats in particular have called to enact campaign contribution limits, a proposal that hasn't yet received a hearing in either chamber.
"Unless we deal with the serious issue of tens and tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars pouring into campaign coffers," Kansas City Democrat Rep. Jeremy LaFaver said Tuesday, "restoring the people's trust is a talking point, and it's not really a cause of action."
The House vote also came after some members of a Senate panel reviewing other House ethics bills questioned the effectiveness of some of the proposals on the table this year.
"If we passed every ethics bill that's been introduced this year, I don't believe that we would have solved the problems that occurred at the end of last session," said Republican Sen. Bob Dixon, of Springfield. "I want to make sure that in an attempt to assure the public, we don't give them false hope."
Still, Republican Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard during the Senate hearing again said he's committed to moving ethics legislation.