LeVota: Ethics bill is a sham

Despite the fact that they are constantly dealing with proposed legislation that affects all Missourians, we already have santimonious legislators who refuse to talk to anyone who does not live within their district. Now, thanks to the ethics legislation passed by the House this week, they may have an easy cover for that practice.

As Minority Leader Paul LeVota points out in the accompanying video, the bill would require any Missourian who wants to talk to a legislator other than his or her own about a bill would have to register as a lobbyist.

The bill also allows legislators to accept up to $2,500 worth of gifts from lobbyists and sets campaign finance limits at $20,000, but apparently does not apply the same limit to the legislators themselves.

We already have Missouri legislators who refuse to talk to someone who is a constituent of