Tagged: campaign

Updated at 8:45 p.m. to clarify the location of mingled funds.

The Missouri Ethics Commission has fined St. Louis city Alderman Antonio French nearly $38,000 for a series of campaign finance violations that occurred during his successful 2009 campaign for the 21st Ward seat.

French, a Democrat, was charged with five violations, including failing to maintain a checking account at a chartered bank for about nine months, and failing to update campaign records to indicate the closure of the old account and the opening of a new one.

Gov. Jay Nixon is asking Missouri lawmakers to move quickly to restore a government ethics bill the state Supreme Court struck down on Tuesday.

The legislation - which was struck down on procedural grounds - required campaigns to report contributions of more than $500 within 48 hours, banned certain committee-to-committee transfers, and allowed the state's Ethics Commission to investigate without first receiving complaints.

The Missouri Supreme Court has struck down a 2010 ethics law that took a long and twisted path to its final form.