‘Timing is right' for ethics bills, watchdog says

By Nancy Badertscher

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A major cultural shift could be coming to the state Capitol under a flurry of ethics bills being pitched in the Georgia House.

The bills, backed by the watchdog group Common Cause Georgia, would limit the amount lobbyists can spend trying to influence legislators.

Lawmakers are under pressure to pass ethics reforms this session, which started just weeks after House Speaker Glenn Richardson resigned over allegations he had an affair with a lobbyist.

New Speaker David Ralston, a Republican from Blue Ridge, acknowledged this week that the public is concerned that lobbyists have too much influence on lawmaking at the Capitol.

Currently, there’s no limit on lobbyist spending on lawmakers, just a requirement that it be reported.

In the House, there’s bipartisan support for a bill introduced Wednesday by Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs) that would place a $100 cap on gifts from lobbyists.

The cap would likely cut out the high-priced meals, airline tickets and trips to The Masters golf tournament that the public finds objectionable, said Willard, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.

A lobbyist could still foot the bill for dinner and drinks for legislators, but he or she would have to watch the tab, he said. “We think $100 is more than sufficient,” Willard said.

A bill by Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) would set a gift limit of $25. Oliver's bill was introduced this week. Neither bill would keep lobbyists from treating legislators multiple times, provided each time they stayed within the cost cap.

Willard said his bill also might not stop lobbyists from sharing the expense of a gift that exceeds the limit.

Bill Bozarth, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, said his group supports the bills being pushed by Willard and Oliver.

“They’re all bills that were done with our awareness and involvement.”

He said he thinks “the timing is right, though we shouldn’t have to wait for some scandal to be the impetus for driving reform.”

Other provisions of Willard’s bill would put a $10,000 cap on the money that state officials can transfer from their campaign coffers and would make the one-year limit on returning as a lobbyist apply to top staff of the executive branch. State legislators currently have to abide by the latter rule.

Before he left office, Richardson gave $219,915 from his campaign account to the MMV Alliance Fund, a political action committee created a few years ago to pay some of his expenses.

The restrictions in Willard’s bill would prevent officeholders from using money in their campaign accounts as “slush funds,” Bozarth said.