Zuber's campaign finance reform likely dead

Rep. Hank Zuber’s campaign finance reform measure, as Professor G.H. Dorr in the movie “The Ladykillers” would say, is “if not dead, in mortal danger of expiring” as of this afternoon.

Don’t know why, but the line from that Coen Brothers movie has stuck with me. In a conversation where he wanted to change the subject, Dorr, played by Tom Hanks, said with the precision of an academic, that his associates were likely flogging a soon to be dead horse with their discussion.

Anyway, nevermind that.

Here is the backstory. Monday, Zuber, a Republican from Ocean Springs, asked for an amendment to an elections-reform bill that would prevent candidates from keeping their war chests after the campaign is over. He said in some cases that amounts to more than $100,000.

Zuber had filed a bill with similar provisions, but it was killed in committee earlier in the session. He said Monday he believed that if the bill came up for debate, it would be a tough thing for legislators to vote down. Mississippi is the only state in which candidates are allowed to spend their campaign contributions on personal items, he said.

The bill would require candidates to give the extra money to another campaign, a political action committee or a nonprofit group, among others, once the campaign is over.

Monday the House of Representatives set the bill aside overnight to rule on whether Zuber's amendment could be inserted. Tuesday, the House leadership ruled his amendment could be added to the bill, but legislators tabled it at the request of Rep. Joseph Warren, D-Mount Olive.

Wednesday is the deadline to act on bills originating in the other house of the Legislature, which means legislators either have to pass measures or get them into negotiations with the other house, or they will die.

Zuber, who was frustrated, said after the amendment was tabled that his reforms are likely dead this session in light of the deadline, but he vowed to bring them back up next year. The bill has died in previous legislative sessions.

“It’s the fox guarding the henhouse,” Zuber said.