As previously reported, Rep. Tim Flook, R-Jackson County and Rep. Jason Kander, D-Jackson County, have prefiled a bill that would also ban the movement of money from one committee to another.
A bill was pre-filed by Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, on the first day of eligibility Dec. 2; that day, Rep. Paul Levota, D-Jackson County, announced his own plans to file an ethics bill in the House. Monday, bipartisan ethics legislation was officially filed by Rep. Tim Flook, R-Liberty, and Rep. Jason Kander, D-Jackson County. Two additional bills pre-filed in the House propose further restrictions on lobbyists.
Reps. Tim Flook, R-Liberty, and Jason Kander, D-Jackson County, pre-filed legislation Monday that would make it a crime to obstruct ethics investigations as well as launder money through political action committees. Although the bill was filed following a number of criminal and ethical violations by some current and former members of the legislature, neither representative was willing to say the body as a whole has ethics problems.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Tim Flook, R-Liberty, would remove the the $60 million per year cap on Nixon's Quality Jobs Act that provides tax credits for technology business projects. Instead, as designated by a Senate substitute, the bill would expand that cap to $80 million a year.
In support of the bill, Rep. Tim Flook, R-Liberty, said, "The government helps those in need," adding that he has supported billions of dollars in entitlement spending in the past.
Republican Representative Tim Flook sponsored the House version of the bill, and says he's open to Senate changes and wants to work with them to pass the bill.
Despite overwhelming support for the bill, it's sponsor, Rep. Tim Flook, R-Liberty, faced accusations that it did not contain enough Democratic amendments.
Rep. Tim Flook, R-Liberty, and Rep. Jason Kander, D-Jackson County, announced they have filed a bipartisan bill that would strengthen existing ethics laws.
Rep. Tim Flook, R-Liberty, and Rep. Jason Kander, D-Jackson County, announced they have filed a bipartisan bill that would strengthen existing ethics laws.
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