Chambers, businesses rally against Prop B initiative

|tab|

If the Fair Elections initiative, also known as Proposition B, is approved by voters Nov. 7, any Missourian could run for state office without hitting up supporters to finance his or her campaign|ret||ret||tab|

All the candidates must do is collect the required number of signatures with $5 donations from voters in their districts, refuse private contributions and agree to spending limits. |ret||ret||tab|

Funding would come from a trust fund.|ret||ret||tab|

The trust fund's source of revenue is what has the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Associated Industries of Missouri, Meek's Building Centers and many other Missouri companies and organizations concerned. The fund would be financed by reducing from 33 percent to 22 percent the franchise tax break approved last year for corporations with more than $2 million in assets.|ret||ret||tab|

"Proposition B was put on the ballot by Missouri voters because they felt that campaign funding is out of control in Missouri," Fair Elections Campaign Manager Doug Gray said. "We have money-driven politics here 're seeing records broken this year from governor down to state representative, even with spending limits. Candidates spend more time raising money from special interest groups than they do listening to voters, and while that's happening, we have fewer choices 25 percent of our House seats in Missouri are running unopposed this cycle." |ret||ret||tab|

Gray said Prop B would level the playing field and take the money out of politics, allowing the average person who wants to have a voice in government to be on equal footing with large corporations that have the money to lobby in Jefferson City.|ret||ret||tab|

If Prop B is approved in November, a trust fund would provide up to $15,000 for state representative candidates who collect 200 signatures with a matching number of $5 contributions; up to $50,000 for state senate candidates who collect 500 signatures and contributions; up to $500,000 for candidates running for statewide offices other than governor who collect 250 signatures and contributions in six or more U.S. congressional districts; and up to $1 million for candidates running for governor who collect 500 signatures and contributions in six or more U.S. congressional districts. The amounts are available for both the primary and general elections.|ret||ret||tab|

Qualifying candidates would receive debit cards to access public funds and would be required to follow strict reporting guidelines on expenditures. Any leftover money would be returned to the trust fund. Supporters of the initiative include the Missouri League of Women Voters, Sierra Club and more than 60 Missouri organizations.|ret||ret||tab|

"We don't think it's a good use of tax dollars to pay for political campaigns to pay for negative advertising and attack ads ... there are no restrictions on how these politicians or wannabe politicians could spend the money. They could spend it hiring family or friends on their campaign, they could buy a car, they could buy alcohol for a party," Missouri Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Dan Mehan said. "This is not reform is simply a system of public financing and making taxpayers pay for the activities of these politicians who could not, most likely, earn the support of the constituencies and citizenry needed to mount a campaign." |ret||ret||tab|

The estimated cost of the Fair Elections initiative is $13 million per year, however, opponents say there's no way to project its final fiscal impact because the fund must match the spending of candidates who choose not to participate in the program.|ret||ret||tab|

Missouri Voters for Fair Elections claims that if passed, the initiative would affect only 6 percent of all Missouri corporations, or about 7,500 total, and the franchise taxes of those corporations would only increase by one-hundredth of 1 percent or, for every $1 million in taxable assets, corporations would pay $100 for the fund. Opponents say the number of corporations affected would actually exceed 18,000, and those corporations' franchise taxes would increase by 30 percent.|ret||ret||tab|

"The franchise tax is actually only three-hundredths of 1 percent of total assets, so by increasing the tax by one-hundredth of 1 percent, you're increasing it by a third," said Brad Bodenhausen, senior vice president of public affairs for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.|ret||ret||tab|

Another concern opponents have with the Prop B initiative is that more than 86 percent of the money collected and spent by Prop B supporters comes from outside Missouri. No Tax Dollars for Politicians, an effort organized by the Missouri Chamber to defeat Prop B, Oct. 23 requested an investigation of donations made to the Prop B campaign by out-of-state foundations. Federal law prohibits using tax-exempt funds for lobbying activities or influencing the outcome of a public election. |ret||ret||tab|

Gray said most of the Prop B campaign's individual contributors are Missourians, but many of its organizational supporters are national campaign reform organizations based outside of Missouri. However, he said there are Missourians who serve on the boards of those national organizations. |ret||ret||tab|

"That's where a lot of our national money comes in. We're fortunate that these organizations are looking to Missouri as a bellwether state," Gray said. |ret||ret||tab|

The Springfield chamber a few months ago joined the Missouri chamber's efforts to defeat Proposition B.|ret||ret||tab|

"(The Missouri chamber) takes the lead on most statewide issues relating to business, and on a high percentage of those issues, most of the local chambers take the same position. This issue affects many businesses all over the state very dramatically. Many Springfield businesses will feel the hurt from the tax increase," Boden-hausen said. |ret||ret||tab|

Mary Kay Meek, community relations director for Meek's Building Centers, said Meek's opposes Prop B and has contributed to the No Tax Dollars for Politicians campaign.|ret||ret||tab|

She said, "The initiative is targeted at the business community, which will have to pass on the cost of it to the consumer."[[In-content Ad]]