The former Missouri House member has a long relationship with the two lobbyists who paid for the party, Rick Eastman and Catina Shannon. Between Eastman and Shannon, Butler received around $3,000 in gifts from Ameren during his six years in the Legislature.

“Ameren is interested in everybody from my perspective,” Butler said. “I didn’t file any of their bills. I wasn’t in the utilities committee.”

Ameren Missouri, which employs 43 lobbyists, did not specify why the company paid thousands for Butler’s inaugural ceremony.

“For decades we have supported various elected officials who share the common goal of advocating for constructive energy policies to benefit their constituents and our customers,” Warren Wood, Ameren vice president of regulatory and legislative affairs, said in a statement.

Many local officials routinely accept lobbyist gifts, but state legislators typically take more of them.

According to the Missouri Ethics Commission, more than 50 state lawmakers accepted over $1,000 in lobbyist gifts last year. Only one local official, Kansas City Councilman Lee Barnes Jr., accepted more than $1,000 in gifts.