Ameren gives lots of free tickets to Rep. Steve Webb
During the last three years, state Rep. Steve Webb, the ranking Democrat on the House utilities committee, has accepted more in free gifts from Ameren than any Missouri public official has accepted from any single lobbying group.
In 2011, he also received more in meals and event tickets from AT&T — $1,674 worth — than any other Missouri politician received from the telecommunications giant, according to data from the Missouri Ethics Commission.
Missouri is one of a few states that places no limit on lobbyist gifts to lawmakers, and by no means is Webb, who represents Florissant, the only politician who gets into ballgames and concerts for free.
But from 2009 to 2011, Webb received tickets to 51 separate events — from the World Series to shows at the Fox Theatre to professional wrestling — with 40 of the events coming courtesy of utility companies. Twenty-eight sets of tickets came from Ameren and, in all, the utility spent $8,094 on Webb and his family during the three-year span.
“It’s not a conflict of interest,” Webb said. “First, I’m the ranking Democrat on the utilities committee. I work closely with these different utility companies on pending or upcoming legislation.”
Webb said going to events and dinners with lobbyists gives him a chance to form a relationship and discuss issues with them, and that the gifts don’t affect his views. He said he gives away some of the tickets.
And while Webb isn’t the only member of the utilities committee who’s received gifts from Ameren, he has accepted far more than any other members. Republican Jeannie Riddle of Callaway County comes in a distant second, with $1,799 in gifts accepted by her and her family and staff during the past three years.
The utilities committee oversees legislation related to the development and regulation of utilities, communication and technology, and energy-related matters.
Excluding Webb, 17 of the committee’s 25 other members have accepted gifts from Ameren. Combined, they have received $6,502 in gifts, about $1,600 less than Webb.
In 2010, Webb also accepted $777.50 worth of tickets and food for Rams and Cardinals games and a Jay-Z concert from Laclede Gas Co. In November 2011, he received $279 in concert tickets from Kansas City Power & Light Co.
“I think it’s obvious that they have no influence on how I may feel on any particular issue,” he said, citing his strong opposition to a bill that would change discrimination workplace laws, a measure supported by the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, of which Ameren and AT&T are members. Ameren CEO Tom Voss is chairman of the RCGA.
And if Ameren’s spending on politicians is so influential, Webb said, why haven’t large pieces of legislation involving the company — such as last year’s proposal to charge consumers to obtain a site permit for a second nuclear plant near Fulton, Mo. — been passed by the Legislature?
A bill similar to last year’s legislation was referred to the House utilities committee last month. Webb is one of several dozen co-sponsors of the bill, which would allow an electrical utility seeking an early site permit to recover up to $45 million in costs from ratepayers. The bill also would reduce the share of utilities’ operating revenues that can go to fund the Public Service Commission, the state’s utility regulator.
“I’m a minority in the minority party,” Webb said. “We don’t push the legislation. We don’t decide what legislation comes to the floor.”
George Connor, a political science professor at Missouri State University, said it was nearly impossible to prove that lobbyist gifts have an impact on how a legislator votes. But typically, he said, “They’re not giving you gifts to get you to vote a certain way, they’re giving you gifts because you vote a certain way.”
The most important thing for a lobbyist to have is access, Connor said, and handing out tickets is one way to achieve that.
While gifts may not influence a politician, he said, “The appearance of impropriety is just as bad as impropriety, as far as I’m concerned.”
Webb said that lobbyist gifts were not nearly as significant as the unlimited campaign donations Missouri allows. Free tickets and meals are ’small potatoes compared to someone getting a $100,000 check,” he said.
Ameren, which has raised its rates four times during the last five years, recently proposed a 15 percent rate increase. Webb said he was concerned about the proposed hike and had discussed the matter with Ameren’s lobbyists. “We don’t want any unfair rate increases,” he said.
It’s up to the state’s utility regulator to decide whether the increase is fair, Webb said.
“Ameren has some of the lowest rates in the nation,” he said. “We want to keep it that way.”
Webb said that it might not be necessary for his meetings with lobbyists to take place at concerts and baseball games but maintained that gifts from utilities weren’t a problem.
“Some may have a difference in opinion on whether or not you should be taking tickets,” he said. “My opinion is, there’s nothing wrong with it.”