Late 48 hour reports continue to be filed with Ethics Commission

Required 48 hour reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission for campaign contributions greater than $5,000 are rolling in this year, and an alarming number of them are showing up after the required deadlines.

MPN's analysis in Nov. 2008 identified dozens of campaign committees filing late -- from Democrats and Republicans alike. And that trend doesn't seem to have changed at all since the beginning of 2010.

Through Feb. 25, there are at least 15 more committees that we can add to the delinquent list. And that's alarming because it represents 14 percent of the total large contributions reported so far this year (a total of 106).

In 5 cases, the contributions were actually from the candidates themselves, or committees previously run by the candidate. Those include the following:

Other committees with late reports this year include both Republicans and Democrats, as well as unions and the Stop the Nonsense campaign. Here's a full list:

To date the Ethics Commission has sent no signal to political candidates or the treasurers of various committees that it will pursue penalties for late filings. However, the mere fact that so many of these reports come months after their statutory deadlines suggests transparency isn't what it can be, or was intended to be when the Republican-controlled legislature lifted campaign contribution limits in 2008.

Related Links:
RSMo 130.044
Missouri Ethics Commission 48 Hour Reports

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