The Daily Dish, May 4, 2012

Missouri governor candidate backs limits on lobbyist gifts By David A. Lieb, The Associated Press, Kansas City Star

Missouri gubernatorial candidate Dave Spence outlined an ethics proposal Thursday that would limit lobbyist gifts to public officials and require greater financial disclosure by nonprofit groups running ads in Missouri and companies seeking state contracts. The proposal would also require certain nonprofit groups who spend money in Missouri politics to file financial disclosure reports and mandate that companies seeking state contracts disclose the political contributions they have made in past three years.

Schaefer in the middle of state budget battle By Rudi Keller, The Columbia Daily Tribune

The state budget for next year is stalled because of an intramural struggle among Republicans that features testy exchanges between the House and Senate leadership and criticism of Sen. Kurt Schaefer from the man who put him in charge of the Senate’s budgeting team. The holdup comes from a mix of issues including a budget boost for one university, and a political attack on a program at the University of Missouri-St. Louis that has become tied to a bill dealing with how veterans programs are funded. How those negotiations are being handled sparked criticism of Schaefer, R-Columbia and Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, by Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer, R-Dexter. Mayer put Schaefer in charge of the appropriations committee last year.

 

Petition calls for cigarette tax hike By The Associated Press, Springfield News-Leader

Advocates submitted petition signatures on Friday to get a proposed increase in the state’s cigarette tax on the November ballot. The proposal would raise Missouri’s tax on cigarettes to 90 cents per pack up from the current 17 cents, which is the lowest in the nation.