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Thursday, January 17, 2008

Legislative Benefits - "Legislator to Lobbyist" slowdown bill gets cold shoulder

Lesley Stedman Weidenbener reports today (2nd item) in the Louisville Courier Journal:

A Senate proposal would require legislators to go through a one-year "cooling-off" period before becoming Statehouse lobbyists. But a committee gave the bill a chilly reception yesterday.

Sen. Pat Miller, R-Indianapolis, the bill's sponsor, said the waiting period would mimic restrictions on some employees of the state's executive branch.

Nearly 30 other states have similar "revolving-door" waiting periods for lawmakers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Bill supporters told lawmakers that it looks bad when they leave public office and end up with a cushy lobbying job the next year. Several former Indiana legislators have become registered lobbyists, including some who resigned and then took lobbying jobs during the next legislative session.

Others at the Senate Public Policy Committee hearing said the bill would help prevent even the perception of impropriety.

"Whether real or imagined, the legislator-turned-lobbyist can influence the friends who are still in the Statehouse," said Paulette Vandegriff, with the League of Women Voters of Indiana.

But lawmakers bristled at some of the public testimony that hinted at perceptions of shady politics. Sen. Robert Jackman, R-Milroy, said lobbyists are a part of the legislative process.

"We rely on those people for information," Jackman said.

Committee Chairman Sen. Marvin Riegsecker, R-Goshen, decided that the bill itself needed a cooling-off period, and did not call for a vote yesterday. The bill could come up for a vote next week, but Miller noted that the committee had critical questions about it.

The bill is SB 165.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 17, 2008 10:40 AM
Posted to Legislative Benefits