Executive Director Testifies on Campaign Reform

Greg Tlapek, Executive Director of the MoLP, testified before a public hearing of the Senate Interim Committee to Reform Elections & Campaign Finance in November.

Current campaign laws burden candidates with paperwork requirements, even for those whose fundraising is negligible. Federal candidates must file to multiple government agencies.

Luckily for Missouri Libertarian candidates for state representative and state senate, Allen Glosson has volunteered to help candidates with their paperwork in 2002.

All candidates for Missouri elective office must file the Personal Financial Disclosure Statement. If a candidate does not file, the candidate's name will be removed from the ballot and the candidate may be fined $10 per day.

All candidates must file a Statement of Committee Organization, or Statement of Exception. The latter is required even if the candidate plans to raise less than $500 in campaign contributions.

Further, six Statements of Limited Activity are required for candidates who have filed the Statement of Exemption, due on dates staggered throughout the campaign season from pre-primary to post-general election.

Greg Tlapek is seeking to reduce paperwork requirements for our candidates as well as save money for taxpayers. For every law, there is an army of bureaucrats to process these forms and enforce compliance.

"Luckily, these rules and regulations are aimed at politicians and not the general public", stated Greg Tlapek. "But it gives us a hint of why, by the Taskforce on Reinventing Government's own estimates, government regulation costs the typical American family $600 per month".

Senators Foster, Yeckle and Louden volunteered to sponsor legislation based Greg's testimony.  "It was a learning experience," said Tlapek, who submitted a proposed act to the Senators.  "Now I've got to figure out how to make the wheel squeak".