386.200. Conflicts of interest by commissioner or employees of commission prohibited--penalty for violation--violation by utility, penalty--violation by officer of utility, penalty.

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

386.200. Conflicts of interest by commissioner or employees of commission prohibited--penalty for violation--violation by utility, penalty--violation by officer of utility, penalty.

Conflicts of interest by commissioner or employees of commissionprohibited--penalty for violation--violation by utility,penalty--violation by officer of utility, penalty.

386.200. 1. Every commissioner, the public counsel andevery person employed or appointed to office, either by thecommission or by the public counsel, is hereby forbidden andprohibited to solicit, suggest, request or recommend, directly orindirectly, to any public utility, corporation or person subjectto the supervision of the commission, or to any officer,attorney, agent or employee thereof, the appointment of anyperson to any office, place, position or employment. And everysuch public utility, corporation and person, and every officer,attorney, agent and employee thereof, is hereby forbidden andprohibited to offer to any commissioner, the public counsel, orto any person employed by the commission or by the publiccounsel, any office, place, appointment or position, or to offeror give to any commissioner, to the public counsel, or to anyperson employed or appointed to office by the commission or bythe public counsel, any free pass or transportation or anyreduction in fare to which the public generally are not entitledor free carriage for property or any present, gift, entertainmentor gratuity of any kind.

2. If any commissioner, the public counsel, or any personemployed or appointed to office by the commission or the publiccounsel, shall violate any provision of this section he shall beremoved from the office held by him. Every commissioner, thepublic counsel, and every person employed or appointed to officeby the commission, or by the public counsel, shall be and bedeemed to be a public officer.

3. If any public utility violates any provision of thissection, it shall be liable to the state of Missouri in a civilaction in any court of competent jurisdiction for the assessmentof a civil penalty not to exceed twenty thousand dollars. Thepenalty provided in this subsection shall be in addition to anyother penalty provided for violation of the provisions of thischapter. The attorney general shall bring the action authorizedin this subsection. The action may be brought in any countywhere the defendant public utility's principal place of businessis located or where the violation occurred, or where the publicutility's registered agent is located. The penalty assessedunder the provisions of this subsection shall be paid into thestate treasury to the credit of general revenue.

4. Any officer, agent or employee of any public utility whoviolates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanorand, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not exceedingone thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in a county jail notexceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.