Lobbyists - Selfish Reasons to Support Reform

by: simonstl

Sun Feb 18, 2007 at 19:05:10 PM EST

It's hard to write about reasons lobbyists should support legislative reforms. After all, reformers frequently cite the hight ratio of lobbyists to legislators as a sign that something's really wrong in Albany. There also seems to be a genuine hope among reformers that shifting the risks to legislators' jobs from the leadership to voters will reduce the influence of lobbyists.

While I share those hopes, and expect that reform would make lobbyists change their approach quite substantially, I can still see some reasons that enterprising lobbyists should support legislative reforms:

• No more double standard. Today's New York Times pointed out that lobbyists seem to be the only ones punished for violations - legislators get off with barely a slap on the wrist. I don't think anyone - probably especially the lobbyists - thinks ethics enforcement should work that way.

• More competition means better threats. Right now it looks like New York State lobbyists can only pursue legislators' hearts with carrots - lots and lots of carrots. The leadership has pretty much the only sticks. In a reformed legislature, lobbyists could help take it to the voters when they don't like a legislator's views.

Legislator, police thyself

by: simonstl

Sun Feb 18, 2007 at 08:43:53 AM EST

In this morning's New York Times:

In recent years the state’s lobbying commission has uncovered evidence showing that lobbyists gave dozens of lawmakers and members of their staffs gifts worth more than the $75 legal limit, including ballet tickets, basketball tickets, at least one plane ticket, $100 boxes of chocolate and expensive meals in Albany, Hawaii and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The lobbyists were fined tens of thousands of dollars. But no lawmakers have been punished for receiving the illegal gifts.

That is because the lobbying commission regulates lobbyists but has no jurisdiction over lawmakers. They are policed by a Legislative Ethics Committee made up of lawmakers, who have never fined a colleague for taking an illegal gift....

on the enforcement side, the new bill would leave Legislative Ethics under the control of the lawmakers it is supposed to police.

Oops.