Missouri�s loose ethics laws that allow unlimited campaign contributions and unlimited gifts from lobbyists are subverting the political process to shower the wealthy with goodies and shortchange education, state Rep. John Wright said at a town hall meeting Wednesday night.

During a half-hour presentation, Wright, D-Rocheport, pointed out that lobbyists spent more than $1 million on meals, event tickets and drinks for legislators during 2013. Three individuals have contributed $35 million to campaigns since contribution limits were repealed in 2008.

The results, he said, can be seen in the growth of tax exemptions, which have increased six-fold since 2001 while per-pupil funding for the University of Missouri has decreased almost 40 percent.

�A whole set of bad habits has developed that has turned into a culture inside the capital building,� Wright said, asking the audience of about 40 people to help push for change.

Efforts to impose limits on donations and gifts stalled early in the legislature. Wright said the place to start is individual action. In December he became the first sitting House member to sign a pledge promising he would not take gifts from lobbyists.

As of this morning, he remains the only House member to sign.

�I thought it would be a no-brainer for at least half my colleagues to sign that pledge,� Wright said. �It puts an officeholder in a very difficult position when a constituent calls and says �have you signed the pledge not to accept lobbyists gifts?��

Missouri is the only state without limits on lobbyist gifts or campaign donations. There are 12 states that ban lobbyists gifts entirely and 23 that impose limits. Missouri has never had limits on gifts.

In the Boone County delegation, freshman lawmaker Caleb Rowden accepted the most gifts this year � $1,283.74 worth that included two tickets worth $586 to a May 29 St. Louis Cardinals game.

Rowden, R-Columbia, could not be reached this morning, but his Democratic opponent, Tom Pauley, said after hearing Wright�s presentation that he will sign the pledge.

�We have got to have people willing to take the pledge,� Pauley said. �We have got to fix this problem.�

State Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, accepted $150.54 in gifts, including $125 for meals for his office staff. Individual members of his staff, however, accepted $4,038.59 in gifts, including Cotton Bowl tickets worth $900.

Schaefer said he�s not willing to sign the pledge and noted that Wright, who has significant personal wealth, can afford to eschew favors. All the gifts and campaign donations are posted online for the public to see, he noted.

�Either you have good people, or you don�t have good people,� Schaefer said. �What you can do is keep tabs on them, and if you don�t like it, change.�

Another Democratic candidate who attended the meeting with Wright, Kip Kendrick from the 45th District, declined to say whether he would sign the pledge. Kendrick is unopposed and said he sees the biggest problem to be unlimited campaign contributions.

Rep. Stephen Webber, who is also unopposed, accepted $158.57 in lobbyist meals and gifts, the largest being $37 on May 12. He said many lawmakers avoid having their name listed on reports by eating with groups in which no individual is named.

�I would say outright end it,� said Webber, D-Columbia. �Lets not try to be fancy and come up with minimums; just say zero. It would remove any appearance of impropriety.�

Rep. Caleb Jones, R-Columbia, accepted $658 in gifts, including tickets to that May 29 baseball game. He could not be reached for comment.