"This year, if the Legislature does not send a campaign contribution limit bill to my desk, I will do everything in my power to get it on the ballot and make sure it passes."
That quote is from Gov. Jay Nixon's 2013 State of the State address, delivered nearly three years ago.
On Tuesday, in advance of this year's legislative session, Nixon said: "I'm pleased there is growing, bipartisan consensus that ethics reform must get done and will get done this year."
Politics, by definition, involves money and power. Campaign contributions are needed to win elections, a prerequisite for amassing power and influence.
As state Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, observed in a Sunday News Tribune story: "The day after they're elected, their jokes are funnier."
Asking elected lawmakers to impose limits on campaign contributions is contrary to their self-interest.
Nixon is acutely aware of this conflict, which is why he warned: "No more excuses, no more symbolic gestures and half-hearted attempts" on ethics reform.
The governor's comprehensive plan includes eight points. Among them are:
• Restoring limits on campaign contributions.
• Banning gifts to lawmakers from lobbyists.
• Restricting the ability of lawmakers to become lobbyists immediately after leaving office.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, acknowledged campaign limits will be "tough" to pass this year - an election year.
Both he and House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, believe single-issue ethics bills face better odds than a comprehensive package.
We consistently have favored transparency over limitations, but disclosure remains elusive.
In a commentary titled "Expect banner year for "dark money' in politics," Bloomberg View author Albert R. Hunt wrote: "This flood of cash is occurring thanks to a ruse that permits political advocacy groups to claim that they are principally social welfare agencies and thus tax exempt and not subject to disclosure."
Our readers will recall the influx of dark money to a Republican candidate attempting to unseat a Democratic incumbent in the 2014 election for Cole County circuit judge.
Ethics reform, again, is receiving much lip service as a legislative session begins.
Constituents will need to demand action if they expect to avoid, once again, another session teeming with excuses, symbolic gestures and half-hearted attempts.