With the Missouri Legislature out of regular session, fall is typically a slow season for lobbyist gifts.
But thanks in part to the success of Missouri’s sports teams, lobbyist freebies rose to $71,800 in October — the most spending of any October during the past 10 years, according to Missouri Ethics Commission data.
A large chunk of that spending — about $13,000 worth — was for tickets to Cardinals’ playoff and World Series games. That figure takes into account tickets that officials reimbursed lobbyists for. Nearly all of that went to state legislators.
While several lawmakers did pay back lobbyists, it’s worth noting that by getting tickets through lobbyists, they’re able to avoid paying the heavily marked-up secondary market prices thousands of fans end up paying.
In total, 41 legislators received tickets — either for themselves, staffers or family members — to a Cardinals game in October.
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On the other side of the state, Missouri public officials received $2,940 worth of tickets to watch the then-undefeated Kansas City Chiefs play.
Several legislators and their staffers also caught a couple of Mizzou football games on lobbyists’ dime, receiving $3,070 worth of tickets and parking passes.
Altogether, Missouri public officials received $961,600 in lobbyist gifts through the first 10 months of 2013.
Missouri is the only state in the country that allows unlimited campaign contributions and unlimited gifts from lobbyists. House and Senate members receive a base salary of $35,915 and an additional $104 per diem for food and lodging on days the Legislature is in session.
The biggest share of lobbyist spending typically goes toward meals and beverages, but in October, there was a surge in spending on tickets for sports and other events, and also for trips and hotels:
• Microsoft paid a total of $5,770 for Sens. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, and Kiki Curls, D-Kansas City, and Reps. Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, and T.J. Berry, R-Kearney, to attend the Microsoft Midwest Legislative Roundtable.
• Lobbying firm Flotron & McIntosh spent $11,150, and cloud computing firm EMC Corp. spent $2,490 for a group of legislators and staffers to fly to San Jose, Calif., to visit several IT firms. Richard McIntosh, CEO of the lobbying firm, said that the trip was by no means a vacation, and that if lawmakers are to allocate tax money for technology-related items, they need to be up-to-date on what’s out there.
Other gifts included Keith Urban tickets, golf outings and cuff links.
Excluding legislators who reimbursed lobbyists for World Series tickets, here’s a list of lawmakers who were able to score free seats for the Fall Classic:
• From lobbying firm John Bardgett & Associates — a lobbyist for the Cardinals — Sens. Dan Brown, R-Rolla, Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, Gary Romine, R-Farmington, Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, and Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City, each received a $275 ticket. Reps. Penny Hubbard, D-St. Louis, and Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, each received a $275 ticket; Rep. John Diehl, R-Town and Country, received two tickets worth $550; Rep. Shelley Keeney, R-Marble Hill, received a $310 ticket; Sen. Scott Rupp received two tickets worth $370; and Rep. Rick Stream, R-Kirkwood, received a $215 ticket.
• Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, received a $275 ticket from Bardgett and $500 in tickets from lobbying firm Pelopidas LLC.
• Rep. Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, received two tickets worth $500 from Pelopidas.
• From AT&T, House Minority Leader Jacob Hummel, D-St. Louis, received a $275 ticket; Sen. Gina Walsh, D-St. Louis County, received two tickets worth $550; Rep. Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, received two tickets worth $550; and Steve Webb, D-Florissant, who resigned Monday amid charges of stealing campaign funds, received two tickets worth $550.
• Rep. Genise Montecillo, D-St. Louis, received two tickets worth $400 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
• A staffer for Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, received a $200 ticket from Laclede Gas Co.
