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ETHICS LAW HAS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Until last week, Georgia had been one of
only three remaining states that put abso
lutely no limits on how much money lobbyists
could spend to influence the passage or defeat
of legislation in a General Assembly session.
Gov. Nathan Deal removed Georgia from that
list when he signed the ethics revision bill
into law.
It's easy to criticize legislators for their
reluctance to derail this lobbyist gravy train
that so many of them have ridden over the
years, but in fairness, there are some com
mendable aspects to the new law. For the first
time, there will be a limit on what lobbyists
can spend when they entertain a lawmaker:
$75. Legislators can no longer accept tickets
to concerts or sporting events unless they pay
the face value of the ticket.
In addition, lobbyists will no
longer be allowed to pay for legisla
tive trips out of the country. This
provision was a response to the
media uproar caused by the free
junket to Europe provided by a
lobbyist for blouse Speaker David
Ralston and his family a few
years ago.
No legislation is perfect, and
this particular ethics law has more
holes than a piece of Swiss cheese.
There is no limit in the new law on how many
of these $75 gifts a legislator can accept.
Several lobbyists could theoretically pool their
resources and provide a lawmaker with some
thing worth a lot of money so long as no indi
vidual lobbyist chipped in more than $75.
The common practice of providing legis
lators with free airline travel upgrades???a
tactic employed by Delta Air Lines, which has
received special tax breaks from lawmakers
worth millions of dollars???is held to be legal
under the new law.
A section was added to the ethics bill that
provides a loophole for attorneys. A lawyer
can claim that he or she is "representing a cli
ent" and would not be required to register as
a lobbyist.
The new law also does not take effect until
Jan. 1, which means lobbyists can continue to
spend unlimited amounts of money on legisla
tors for the next few months. In fact, several
lawmakers have been spotted at Atlanta
Braves games in recent weeks using tickets
supplied by lobbyists.
On top of all that, Speaker Ralston, who
often blocked attempts to put limitations
on lobbyist spending, still does not think
that lobbyist influence is that big a problem.
Ralston attended the bill signing ceremony
for the ethics legislation, which he sponsored,
and told reporters: "Is there a cause and
effect between (lobbyist) spending and leg
islative action? No. I don't think there was a
cause and effect."
The concerns about the new ethics law
are valid ones, but the problems are
not so bad that they can't be fixed
in future legislative sessions.
"It's not ideal, it's not every
thing I wanted, but it still rep
resents progress," said Sen. Josh
McKoon (R-Columbus), one of the
most persistent advocates for a
limitation on lobbyist spending.
'We all have work to do in this
area. I'm intending to come back
next year and seek some changes."
Despite all its flaws, the new ethics law
is at least a foot in the door. The mere con
cept of a limit on lobbyist spending, however
loosely defined, is now written down in state
law.
Legislators will have the authority, if they
choose to use it, to amend the spending cap,
eliminate the loophole for lawyers and change
the law's other provisions to put even more
limits on what lobbyists can do. If enough of
these amendments can be made to the ethics
law, it is possible that one day lobbyists really
won't have the kind of influence over legisla
tors that they now enjoy. It is something to
hope for, anyway.
Tom Crawford tcrawford@gareport.com
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