PSoTD

Just some recent blogger blurbs about the lack of lobbyist registration requirements in Pennsylvania...

Grassroots PA

House Members Pushing State House Speaker Perzel On Lobbying Law

Froth Slosh B'Gosh

Looks like some in Harrisburg are actually trying to force a vote on requiring lobbyists to register.

Pennsylvania is the only state without a lobbyist registration and expenditure reporting law.

And Perzel thinks that's just fine.

DaveRalis.com

Perzel not only stumbling block to reform

An interesting editorial moved today on the AP wire, one week after it was first published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The newspaper called on state House Speaker John Perzel to get the heck out of the way and allow a vote on a lobbyist reform bill.

Gettysblog

In a state with no lobbying laws, can you imagine the pressure on the legislators to pass amendments to Act 71? Each investment group for the proposed casinos is lobbying for its own set of amendments. Pressure? The pressure is on them because they haven’t passed the amendments. They stand to lose a good bit of money if they don’t. After all, they are permitted to own a 1% share in a casino, and IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE MADE PUBLIC!

Pressure.

Ill-gotten campaign donations may be a big source for charitable contributions in the next year...

Sen. Sam Brownback is giving away $42,000 in campaign donations connected to indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a move several other lawmakers have taken in recent days to avoid the appearance of undue influence.

The Kansas Republican, who is weighing a presidential bid, is also giving up a separate $5,000 contribution from a defense contractor at the center of ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's bribery case, Brownback spokesman Brian Hart said Wednesday.

"Senator Brownback has always preferred to either return or donate to charity any campaign or leadership funds that even have the appearance of impropriety," Hart said.

Brownback's now-defunct Restore America Political Action Committee received the $42,000 in 2002 from four American Indian tribes represented by Abramoff, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Abramoff and his partner, Michael Scanlon, collected over $80 million from tribes to lobby Congress on casino gambling and other issues. The Justice Department is investigating whether trips, gifts and campaign donations arranged by Abramoff were in exchange for official acts by members of Congress and whether the tribes were defrauded.

In recent days, members of Congress who accepted campaign donations from Abramoff's clients have begun returning the money as the investigation ratchets up in intensity.

"Although the four tribes that contributed to his PAC never met with nor asked the senator for any help, Brownback felt it best to donate these funds to charity," Hart said.

The $5,000 donation was from ADCS Inc., a California defense contractor that allegedly bribed Cunningham with cash and gifts in exchange for government business.

Hart said Brownback decided to give away the ADCS contribution last week to Doctors on Call for Service, a Christian organization that, according to its Web site, links U.S. physicians with African physicians to exchange techniques and experiences.

Brownback decided early this week to give away the Indian tribe contributions but has not yet settled on a charity, Hart said.

But I have a serious question - was there no consideration about returning the money to the tribes, or at least giving the money back to a charity that works with Native Americans? If there's a question that the tribes were defrauded... why is Brownback keeping the money away from the defrauded?

When the gift limitations for a postal carrier - you know, the person that slogs in snow and rain and 100 degree heat with humidity all day long with our mail - are tougher than for many, many elected officials:

We asked the U.S. Postal Service what rules govern gifts to carriers.

Mail carriers and postal service employees are allowed to accept gifts valued at up to $20, according to postal service spokeswoman Sue Litterly.

They can't accept cash or cash equivalents such as checks, money orders or stocks. They can, however, accept gift cards to retail stores if the gift card cannot be redeemed for cash, she said.

"Food is good, homemade gifts are good," Litterly says.

Just in case you're planning on giving your carrier a holiday gift...

I wish these folks the best of luck and skill in getting this part of the agenda moving. Obviously, the opposition to lobbyist regulation is deeply entrenched in Pennsylvania:

From Post-Gazette.com:

Last month, a coalition of citizens groups pressured state legislators into repealing the pay raises they gave themselves, judges and Gov. Ed Rendell's cabinet members.

Now, Common Cause, Democracy Rising, the Commonwealth Foundation, the League of Women Voters and their allies are shifting into the second phase of their "good government" campaign; they're trying to get the Legislature to force special-interest lobbyists to register with the state and disclose how much they spend to influence the enactment of laws.

"Pennsylvania is at the bottom on lobbying regulation," Common Cause leader Barry Kauffman said at a news conference here yesterday.

"Pennsylvania is the only state in our nation that has failed to have a statute on the books requiring oversight of lobbyists' activities. There is no law requiring them to register and no law requiring them to periodically disclose [what they spend] attempting to manipulate public policies."

A suggestion to these groups - if you're serious about making some headway on this issue, why not try to groom the help of Pennsylvania's blogging community? I suspect that there are many bloggers on both the left and the right that would be willing to help in an online campaign to push this forward. But it takes some coordination, and some effort to cultivate activity. On the national scene, bloggers are invited to conference calls and conferences and the like so they can have access to information and plans for efforts on various agendas. Why not at our state level as well?

Luaptifer at Daily Kos has a diary well worth knowing about today. Finally, A Venture Capitalist Has a Plan to Take Lobbying Shops Public!

Jonathan Barnes is covering Pennsylvania's lack of, and need for, lobbyist disclosure/registration laws. Please give him a read - this work should be supported with interest.

Supposedly legislators are feeling pressure to deal with it during the special session...

Lobbyist reform may be on the agenda as Florida lawmakers begin a five-day special session today, with the aim of passing legislation to overhaul the Medicaid health-care system and to allow slot machines in Broward County.

Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, pushed for a bill during the regular session earlier this year that would require lobbyists to disclose their fees. But the measure failed when the House wouldn't go along with the plan.

In the interim, the relationship of lobbyists and lawmakers has gained more notoriety after four lawmakers took a $48,000 trip to Canada that was paid for by a gambling company, which has a major financial stake in the Broward slot-machine bill. The trip is under investigation by the state Senate.

House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City, said although an agreement on a lobbying bill has not been reached, his chamber will consider the measure during the special session.

On Friday, his office announced that a lobbying reform bill and a bill aimed at revising the way in-kind contributions to political parties are handled would be added to the session's agenda.

The $48,000 Canadian trip showed up as an in-kind contribution to the Republican Party, although party officials said they had nothing to do with the trip.

Bense said his leadership team was working hard on trying to find an acceptable version of the bills. "We're not there all the way yet," he said. "There are still some bumps in the road. But I think even the Senate president will admit we are doing our best to come up with something that is acceptable to our body as well as his chamber."

The Senate bill text is here.

This is a start. There's a quirky push to prevent people with a felony record from register as a lobbyist. Obviously a bit of reputation-cleansing by the Florida lobbying industry - hey look, we have no convicts registered as lobbyists in Florida - but I have no idea what that requirement actually accomplishes as far as reforming the practice of lobbying.

When will local governments wise up and realize that they should NOT spend revenues on contract lobbyists?

It happens way too much. Whether it be a waste of taxes or a waste of government-mandated revenues, it is a national shame and sham.

The Erie County Water Authority, which raised water rates in five straight years, pays a Washington lobbying firm $20,000 a month with little to show for the investment.

Capitol Partners Inc., which employs South Buffalo native G. Patrick Gould, was hired to find federal money to upgrade the water system. But in more than two years, only one grant has arrived - for $650,000 - and Rep. Thomas Reynolds claimed credit for bringing it home.

"There really is no reason in the world for the Erie County Water Authority to be paying a Washington lobbyist, because the interests of the water authority are represented by its professional associations," said George F. Hasiotis, a commissioner from 1996-2000.

And who is paying for this largesse?

Since 2001, the Erie County Water Authority has paid its two Washington lobbyists - first Venable & Venable and then Capitol Partners - about $950,000, with little benefit to show the 550,000 residents it serves. During that same time, the basic water rate has risen 22 percent.

I'm going to say this as bluntly as possible: if a local government hires a contract lobbyist for more than a one year period of time - a reasonable amount of time for the local government to figure out the ins and outs of another level of government and lobby for themselves - then the decisionmakers of that local government entity should be fired or voted out.