The Missouri House approved a bill Monday that would ban automatic, recurring campaign donations without explicit consent from donors.
The legislation, which was approved 134-16, would also shut down any recurring donations at the end of an election.
"We can't be flimflamming people into donating to our campaigns," sponsor Jim Murphy, R-St. Louis County, said on the House floor last week. "We have to be above board. We're better than this."
Murphy's legislation appears to be a reaction to former state Sen. Bill Eigel, R-St. Charles County, benefiting from the tactic during his unsuccessful campaign for governor and again in his current run for St. Charles County executive.
Following a report from the Missouri Independent that a Nebraska man unknowingly contributed $1,050 to Eigel's campaign, Murphy told the outlet he was compelled to file the legislation.
"The member who is not going to be named went across state lines, went all over with solicitations for campaign contributions, never mentioned his name or what was going to be done with that money," Murphy said on the House floor.
Eigel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under the bill, automatic recurring contributions would still be permitted if a donor chooses to check a box opting in.
The legislation would also require clear disclosure of who would benefit from the donation and a receipt with information on how to cancel any recurring payments.
"Folks need to have the information of where their data information is going, where their money is going, and they need to consent to that and opt in," said Rep. Eric Woods, D-Kansas City.
Woods said last week that people from outside Missouri made donations thinking they were backing a different cause.
"It would be a situation where folks thought that maybe they were supporting the president or supporting some party organization," Woods said. "And instead, that money was being siphoned off at a high percentage to this candidate's campaign."
President Donald Trump's campaign sent Eigel a cease and desist letter for using his name without permission.
"It really cost a lot of innocent people, who thought they were supporting causes that they believed in, a lot of money," Woods said. "And I think, frankly, that's fraud."
"We can't do anything about what has happened in the past, but we can protect people in their political speech and their finances going forward," Woods added.
HB 1788 now goes to the Senate for consideration.
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