Gov. Matt Blunt quietly signed into law a measure repealing Missouri’s limits on contributions to political candidates.

   Blunt, who supported contribution limits in the past but concluded in recent years that they don’t work, signed the bill Thursday night but did not announce his action until Friday afternoon.

   Blunt’s spokesman, Rich Chrismer, issued a statement saying the governor had made Missouri’s campaign finance system more open and transparent.

   “This legislation enhances disclosure and will help limit the amount of money funneled to politicians through political committees by making it easier for members of the press and the public to find abuses,” Chrismer said.

   The understated handling of the legislation belied the contentious nature of the measure, which was approved in the last hour of the legislative session after little discussion when Republican House leaders cut off debate.

   Critics of the repeal said the legislation was an affront to Missouri voters, who imposed campaign contributions limits in 1994 with a 74 percent affirmative vote.

   “Governor Blunt today told Missouri voters that their wishes don’t matter, especially when they prevent politicians from raking in huge amounts of special-interest cash,” said House Minority Leader Paul LeVota, an Independence Democrat. “Lawmakers who supported repealing the state’s campaign contribution limits will have some explaining to do come November.”

   Attorney General Jay Nixon, who successfully defended the state’s limits before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1999, said he would have vetoed the bill the moment it hit his desk.

   “This is a sad day for everyone who believes that regular Missourians, not wealthy special interests, should have the most powerful voice in electing our leaders,” Nixon said in a statement. “By signing this bill, Gov. Blunt has cleared the way for big corporations and wealthy interests to give millions to candidates. It’s a clear step in the wrong direction.”

   It marks the second time since 2006 that Blunt signed legislation repealing the limits. When the law takes effect on Aug. 28, a new chapter will open in the tortured history of Missouri’s efforts to control the influence of money in state and local elections.

   The federal courts tossed out the voter-imposed contribution limits for being too low. But they eventually upheld more generous limits that the legislature had adopted in 1994. The state Supreme Court threw out the first attempt to repeal the contribution limits on procedural grounds in July 2007.

   But voters got a glimpse at effect of the repeal during the first six months of 2007. With limit temporarily removed, the two leading candidates for governor took in more than a million dollars a month, with Blunt twice taking in more than $1 million in a single day.  

   Blunt, who has since dropped out of the race, took contributions as large as $300,000 from a Texas couple and at least 53 contributions of $25,000 or more. Nixon, the leading Democratic candidate, accepted $100,000 from a single labor union. And several senators received single contributions of $40,000, which promptly scared off potential challengers.

   But supporters of the repeal said the current law is broken because it allows candidates to funnel thousands of dollars through political party committees to hide the true source of the cash.

   The new law attempts to highlight big contributions by requiring candidates to report contributions of $5,000 or more within 48 hours. And out-of-state committees that donate to Missouri campaigns are required to report the names of their contributors.

   However, the new law does not prohibit the practice of disguising the source of contributions by running them through political party committees. However, each committee will be required to have a treasurer who lives within the district that the party committee represents.