House Majority Floor Leader John Diehl (Photo: Missouri House of Representatives)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A week after banning committee chairmen from holding official hearings outside the state Capitol, Missouri House Speaker John Diehl went a step further on Tuesday when he banned committee chairman from accepting lobbyist-sponsored committee lunches inside the building.

House Minority Leader Jake Hummel, a Democrat of St. Louis, said he supports Diehl’s decision.

“The practice of lobbyists providing catered meals to committee members as they consider the fate legislation sought by those same lobbyists has long left a foul taste in the mouths of many Missourians, and action to eliminate it is as welcome as it is overdue,” Hummel said in a written statement.

Diehl, who picks committee chairman and their structure, made both decisions unilaterally. His internal changes come as lawmakers look more broadly at reforms to the state’s lax ethics laws, in a capital governed by no limits on campaign contributions or lobbyist gifts.