Hoskins takes more heat at home for government secrecy legislation

A spot-on editorial from the Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal:

Rep. Denny Hoskins should have shouted "no" at Sen. Delbert Scott and the ill-conceived bill to reduce public information about elected officials; instead, Hoskins erred on the side of government secrecy by agreeing to handle Scott's bill in the House.

The bill would hide information from the public about elected officials in 61 cities, including Knob Noster. Public officials now fill out a form naming their potential conflicts of interest. Voters should know if a real estate dealer on a city council might have land of interest to the city, whether a banker is involved with city deposits, whether a developer might seek friendlier zoning laws and so forth. A simple form helps do this, but Hoskins and Scott want to end disclosures in some cities under the premise that the forms are a bother and might discourage people from public service.

The premise is hogwash....

Making friends in Jefferson City by helping out fellow lawmakers with legislation is a good idea for Hoskins and all other freshman representatives, but not when doing so ignores the wishes of voters back home.

Our full run-down of the regressive legislation from Denny and Delbert here.