SB 976: Relating to Candidate Committees
Sponsor: Rusty Black
OPPOSE
Weakens anti-corruption safeguards
SB 976 weakens an existing ethics restriction that requires registered lobbyists to dissolve any candidate committee they have. It creates a carve-out allowing a registered lobbyist to keep a candidate committee if it is designated for county, municipal, or school board office, as long as the lobbyist is not registered to lobby that same jurisdiction.
What Does This Bill Do?
- Lobbyist Carve-Out: Allows registered lobbyists to maintain fundraising committees for local offices (county, city, school board) while remaining active in the influence industry.
- Registration Loophole: The exception applies as long as the lobbyist is not registered to lobby that specific local jurisdiction, ignoring other business conflicts.
- Fundraising Protection: Permits lobbyists to continue using their political fundraising apparatus rather than being forced to dissolve it upon registration as a lobbyist.
Constitutional or Critical Context
While the bill is narrow, it impacts the integrity of governance at the level closest to families. By allowing the "influence class" to maintain campaign finance vehicles for local seats, it increases the risk of "pay-to-play" dynamics and vendor capture in school districts and municipalities—areas where contracts, taxes, and policy hit Missourians most directly.
Red Flags & Recommended Amendments
Local Office Vulnerability
Lowering ethics barriers for school boards and counties increases the likelihood of professional influence operators capturing local tax dollars and contracts.
Registration-Based Loophole
"Not registered to lobby" is not the same as having no conflict. This invites workarounds and fails to address deep-seated client or vendor relationships.
Act for Missouri Recommendation:
Act for Missouri OPPOSES SB 976. The beneficiaries are primarily the political influence class—not Missouri families seeking transparent, accountable local government. We do not see a way to fix this legislation in a way that we could support.