With the strict ethics reforms they want bottled up in the House, several Georgia advocacy groups turned Monday toward Sen. Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, as he introduced a new bill championing a cap on lobbyist gifts to lawmakers.
Senate Bill 391 is the second bill with caps on lobbyists introduced this year in the General Assembly, cheered on by a disparate and vocal alliance of groups that include Common Cause Georgia, Georgia Watch and the Georgia Tea Party Patriots.
The first, House Bill 798, underwhelmed that chamber's Republican leadership; the bill's sponsor, Rep. Tommy Smith, R-Nicholls, could find no other representative from his party to sign on. McKoon had better luck: Eight other Republican senators co-sponsored his bill, including two of Gov. Nathan Deal's floor leaders. Senate Democrats, however, said the bill was not strict enough.
Lobbying restrictions in SB 391 include:
- A $100 cap on lobbyist spending and a $750 travel and accommodations limit for each event, with exceptions granted by a proposed new review committee. The caps would fluctuate year to year depending on inflation.
- Expanding lobbying restrictions to include family members and staff members of a public official.
- Extending the state's one-year ban on lobbying by former lawmakers and agency heads to include former employees of the governor's and lieutenant governor's offices.
- New contribution and expense disclosure requirements by political action committees.
Armed with a blow-up map placing Georgia among only three states with no limits on lobbyists' gifts, McKoon said there was "a crisis of confidence in terms of what the public expects of members of the General Assembly. If we're not willing to stand up ... we can't expect the public to trust us."
According to a recent poll conducted for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Georgia Newspaper Partnership, 72 percent of statewide respondents said they would support a cap on the value of gifts lobbyists may give state officials.
No such cap exists currently for the Georgia Legislature. Lobbyists spend about $1.6 million a year, mostly on food, trips and event tickets for lawmakers.
House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, has said Georgia has strong disclosure laws and that voters are the ultimate judge, making a cap unnecessary. Republican House leadership sponsored a separate bill last week to strengthen the state ethics commission and give it rule-making authority. House Bill 889, however, would not cap gifts.
Every state surrounding Georgia has some sort of cap or ban on lobbyist gifts.
About the Author
