Manhattan Adult Entertainment: Ethics bill advances in state Senate
… Given everything that’s happened with three legislators being indicted and this ongoing grand jury working in Kansas City, people’s faith and trust in the General Assembly is going down,” he said.
The committee weakened a provision in Mr. Shields’ original bill, which would have banned lobbyist contributions to legislators during the session. The new version requires enhanced reporting but does not include outright prohibition.
Mr. Shields said he tried to pass a ban on in-session contributions to legislators and their challengers three years ago, but the courts threw it out.
The bill was voted out of the Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee on Tuesday, the same day state Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee’s Summit, told The Associated Press that he appeared before a federal grand jury that was looking into political donations that may have contributed to the demise of his proposed regulation of the adult entertainment industry.