Post by pavel on Mar 23, 2016 5:50:24 GMT -6
A Senate panel has approved a ban on Mississippi politicians spending campaign money on personal expenses and a prohibition on cashing out campaign accounts as a nest egg when they leave office.
The Senate Elections Committee on Tuesday — the deadline for such action — amended an omnibus House elections bill to include the campaign finance measures after Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves recently said he supported such reform. The amended bill, now headed to the full Senate, would prohibit personal use of campaign money, which has been called "legalized bribery" and "a recipe for ethical disaster" by experts and politicians.
"Hallelujah," said Rep. Hank Zuber III, R-Ocean Springs, who has for years pushed for such reforms in the House and attended the Senate committee meeting. Zuber has usually been a lone voice with his bills dying without a committee vote. "... It's not over. We have a long way to go ... But this is a beginning. This could not have been done without citizens getting involved ... and the media, yes, that goes without saying."
The Clarion-Ledger recently ran a month-long installment of an ongoing series, "Public Office/Personal Gain." It outlined how many Mississippi politicians have taken advantage of lax campaign finance laws and reporting regulations and nonexistent enforcement to line their own pockets and to spend money from special interests and lobbyists in ways that could land them in jail in most other states or on the federal level.
Read more: www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/22/school-consolidation-jackson-airport-bills-remain-alive/82111776/
The Senate Elections Committee on Tuesday — the deadline for such action — amended an omnibus House elections bill to include the campaign finance measures after Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves recently said he supported such reform. The amended bill, now headed to the full Senate, would prohibit personal use of campaign money, which has been called "legalized bribery" and "a recipe for ethical disaster" by experts and politicians.
"Hallelujah," said Rep. Hank Zuber III, R-Ocean Springs, who has for years pushed for such reforms in the House and attended the Senate committee meeting. Zuber has usually been a lone voice with his bills dying without a committee vote. "... It's not over. We have a long way to go ... But this is a beginning. This could not have been done without citizens getting involved ... and the media, yes, that goes without saying."
The Clarion-Ledger recently ran a month-long installment of an ongoing series, "Public Office/Personal Gain." It outlined how many Mississippi politicians have taken advantage of lax campaign finance laws and reporting regulations and nonexistent enforcement to line their own pockets and to spend money from special interests and lobbyists in ways that could land them in jail in most other states or on the federal level.
Read more: www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/22/school-consolidation-jackson-airport-bills-remain-alive/82111776/