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Democracy Rising has a list of some needed changes to the way the Commonwealth is governed entitled the Roadmap to Reform. I think this is an effort all Pennsylvanians can support regardless of party. It's not about specific policies but the process.
The first item on the agenda is lobbying reform:
Lobbyist Control
Ban gifts and entertainment
Quarterly reporting for lobbyists with expenses greater than $2,500 per quarter
Restoration of reporting requirements that were modified in the House.
You can't ban lobbying but I think you can restrict it to business hours. We always hear about some lobbyist picking up the tab for a sporting event or dinner that one of our tribunes of the people attended. They're only human, if someone does you a favor you will do one for them. But we pay for those favors. Common sense tells you that this not a healthy relationship. Stop it.
All lobbyist should be registered and disclose all expenditures regardless of how much. I want to know what they spend on everything including office supplies and postage and who paid for it!
2 comments:
Good point on restricting to business hours. Drinks, fancy dinners, golf rounds, and Club 10 are somewhat inapporpriate means of persuasion. After hours that is,...they're perfectly fine during the day ;)
This would be difficult to implement however, because of all the people who are involved.
When I worked in government contracting I wasn't allowed to accept even a cup of coffee without paying for it. The same rules should apply to this bunch.
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