Post-Dispatch article notes Richard's acceptance of insurance industry money

Though falling short of dropping into the corruption or pay-to-play category, an article in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes the money Speaker of the House Ron Richard, R-Joplin, has received from the insurance industry and his moves to kill an autism insurance bill last year:

Other times, the money isn't tied to a specific date. Current House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin, has received thousands of dollars in donations from the medical insurance industry, for instance.

Last year, Richard refused to let a bill mandating autism insurance come to the floor.

As was the case with the 2005 porn bill, the votes were probably there to pass it, but the speaker didn't let the vote take place.

Did the insurance industry donations make a difference? Again, Richard said no.

But that sort of correlation gets speakers of the House in trouble. Former Missouri House Speaker Bob Griffin, D-Cameron, pleaded guilty in 1997 to charges that he accepted bribes from a political consultant to help her get contracts to work on bills before the Legislature. And last year, House speakers in Massachusetts, Florida and Pennsylvania were indicted on state or federal charges.