Monday, March 06, 2006

Legislators have financial interest in ethanol plants

Seven Missouri legislators with financial interests in ethanol plants will vote on measures that will bring money into those plants, according to an article in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The situation also provides some conflicts for Governor Matt Blunt, who pushed for increased ethanol production in his State of the State message last month.
As noted in recent posts, AGP, the Nebraska-based company which likely will get the lion's share of the money, has poured money into politicians' campaign chests during the past few years. In addition, the company picked up a high-powered lobbyist last month, the governor's younger brother Andrew Blunt.
AGP, which recently announced a major expansion at its soybean processing plant in St. Joseph, has contributed $12,000 to Senator Jim Talent, $6,000 to Senator Kit Bond, $10,000 to Congressman Sam Graves, and $10,500 to Rep. Kenny Hulshof.
Governor Blunt's campaign contribution disclosure forms did not include any donations from AG Processing, but he has received $2,200 over the past two election cycles from the Omaha offices of the national law firm Kutak Rock. According to Kutak Rock's website, the law firm serves as counsel "for the acquisition, construction and financing of ethanol plants."

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