{"id":8638,"date":"2026-02-04T16:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T22:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/04\/missouri-house-backs-bill-to-ban-candidates-from-using-automatic-recurring-donations\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T16:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T22:18:09","slug":"missouri-house-backs-bill-to-ban-candidates-from-using-automatic-recurring-donations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/04\/missouri-house-backs-bill-to-ban-candidates-from-using-automatic-recurring-donations\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri House backs bill to ban candidates from using automatic recurring donations"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A bill to ban automatic, recurring political donations, used primarily in Missouri by former state Sen. Bill Eigel, won first-round approval Wednesday in the Missouri House. Eigel is shown in 2024 during his campaign for governor (Rudi Keller\/Missouri Independent).<\/p>\n

A bill aimed at curbing the use of automatically recurring campaign donations \u2014 a fundraising tactic employed by a prominent GOP candidate \u2014 won first-round approval without opposition Wednesday in the Missouri House.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Jim Murphy, would prohibit political candidates from setting up recurring contributions without explicit authorization from donors. It also would require campaigns to shut off recurring donations once an election is over.<\/span><\/p>\n

Murphy didn\u2019t mention the inspiration for the bill by name on Wednesday, but he\u2019s made no secret that he filed the legislation after reading a <\/span>report by The Independent<\/span><\/a> on Bill Eigel\u2019s fundraising strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eigel started using automatic, <\/span>recurring donations in 2023<\/span><\/a>, when Eigel was seeking the Republican nomination for governor and were restarted when he launched a campaign for county executive in St. Charles County.<\/span><\/p>\n

Murphy wrote the bill, he told the chamber, when he read The Independent\u2019s report that a Nebraska veteran who first donated to Eigel in 2023 had been tapped for $2,200 overall and $1,050 in 35 separate donations between December 2024 and the end of September.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI said this is really something we can\u2019t have in the state of Missouri,\u201d Murphy said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bill won first-round approval on a voice vote and needs a roll call vote to send it to the Senate. No member spoke against the bill and there were no audible \u201cno\u201d votes on passage.<\/span><\/p>\n

A recurring donation would only be legal if the contributor gives \u201caffirmative consent.\u201d If the solicitation is designed to create an automatic donation via checkbox or other means, failure to uncheck the box would not be sufficient.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other rules governing online solicitations would:<\/span><\/p>\n