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!
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 ;)
ReplyDeleteThis 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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