North Carolina’s lobbying rules were a joke before legislators finally got tough during this past session and the state went from being a laughing stock to a model of lobbying reform.

The new law will take effect with the 2007 legislative session. Until then, lobbyists can spend as much as they want wining and dining our representatives. As long as both agree that no specific legislation ever came up for discussion, nothing has to be reported. As one newspaper down east put it, “that’s an honor code that strains the credulity of the most naïve among us.” Well put.

At a ceremony last week in Asheville, Bob Phillips, a founding member of the coalition for lobbying reform, congratulated lawmakers on passing the bill and striking a victory for voters.

“It’s just about allowing the public to know,” said Phillips.

The new law requires lobbyists to document every dollar they spend on legislators and also enacts a cooling off period for lawmakers before they can become lobbyists themselves.

A role for lobbyists

Sen. John Snow, D-Murphy, said the omnipresent lobbyists were somewhat of a surprise to him when he went to Raleigh for his first term in January.

“Yes, I was a bit surprised at the beginning of the session,” said Sen. Snow. “Everyone is trying to talk to you. Someone is sponsoring a breakfast or a dinner every day. There is a tremendous amount of money and time spent trying to get to know the legislators. I don’t have a problem with it, I was just surprised at the amount of money and number of people. I didn’t realize how many different groups have lobbyists in Raleigh.”

Snow and Rep. Ray Rap, D-Mars Hill, both stressed that lobbyists play an important role in state government.

“If you take the money out of the equation, they are important to the process,” said Rep. Rapp. “A good lobbyist can explain his opponent’s position just as well as he can argue his own.”

“My impression is that a lobbyist is not all bad. They can educate you and discuss both sides of the issue at hand,” said Snow.

Still, lobbyists reported spending $19 million on state lawmakers over the past two years. That’s a lot of golf, a lot of food and cocktails, and a lot of opportunities to solicit support for their clients, opportunities the average citizen just doesn’t get. Rapp agrees.

“If you want to go out to eat or go on a golf weekend, that’s your prerogative,” said Rapp. “But the public deserves to know how much was spent and who paid for it. This bill is just long overdue.”

Closing the door

The most important part of the bill tracks spending by lobbyists, but another aspect of it is vital to the process of good government. The cooling off provision will prevent lawmakers from becoming lobbyists for six months after they get out of the legislature. Too often smart people go to Raleigh, serve a couple of terms and then get turned out by the voters. Immediately they get hired by corporations to go back to Raleigh and solicit support from representatives and senators they’ve befriended. It’s a cozy relationship that, again, gives government a bad name.

Rapp wanted a longer cooling off period, and he hopes eventually to get it.

“I submitted a portion of this bill in the House that would have implemented a one-year time period. The final bill implements a six-month waiting period — that’s a start on what we need to do, but it’s just a start. We can continue working on this.”

Rapp said the idea of lawmakers cashing in on their public service careers irritates him.

“When you’re in public service, you make sacrifices, not profits,” said Rapp.

More monitoring

In addition to implementing the reporting requirements, the bill will pay for nine additional employees in the secretary of state’s office. These professionals will monitor lobbyists to see that they are filing necessary paperwork and put those reports on the Web so that the public can access them.

According to Phillips, this is a crucial part of the bill. He said in the past the secretary of state’s office did not have adequate staff to make sure lobbyists were complying with the weaker lobbying rules. If all goes as planned, beginning with the 2007 session there will be monthly Web updates on the spending by all registered lobbyists.

“This monthly disclosure is an important component of the overall bill,” said Phillips.

Phillips said the next battle over influence peddling in Raleigh will probably move to the executive branch. Many industry employees regularly meet with those in, say, the Division of Air Quality, and try to sway regulators charged with writing environmental rules. These negotiations extend to worker safety rules and insurance regulations. Getting a picture of how often these executive branch officials meet with industry and finding out what takes place could open up government decision making to even more scrutiny, said Phillips.

We can only hope the broad coalition that supported lobbying reform in North Carolina will stay together as it continues to work for a more open and responsive government.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com.)