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Saturday, September 13, 2008
Legislative Benefits - Lawmaker to lobbyist, yet again
The editorial today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:
What’s the best route to a secure and lucrative career?Most people will say it’s a college education. But here’s another: Win a seat to the Indiana General Assembly.
Mike Ripley, a Republican House member from Monroe, is the latest to trade his legislative seat for a job – lobbyist for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
“Mike has over a decade worth of experience in the insurance industry, plus he’s been heavily involved in the health care arena while in the legislature, even serving as the chairman of the House Insurance Committee,” Chamber President Kevin Brinegar said.
Exactly. Who better to lobby members of the House Insurance Committee on issues that will affect your business-owner members than the committee’s former chairman?
With Ripley’s move from the House floor to the outside corridor, the number of lawmakers working full time to influence policy comes closer to matching the number of legislators working inside to set policy. There’s Bob Kuzman, Democrat from Crown Point, lobbying for Ice Miller, one of the state’s most influential law firms. There’s Michael Smith, Republican from Rensselaer, lobbying for the casino industry. There’s former House Speaker John Gregg, a lobbyist with Bingham McHale. Larry Borst, Markt Lytle, Marc Carmichael, Brian Hasler, Paul Mannweiler, Luke Messer … the list goes on and on.
The General Assembly’s part-time schedule was intended to preserve the citizen-legislator model, one in which men (and later women) worked and lived among their constituents. They were to bring their experiences as farmers, teachers, doctors and business owners to the Statehouse each year to consider the people’s business through the prism of that everyday experience. And when their public service ended, they were to return to their full-time jobs.
Increasingly, the citizen-legislator model is becoming one of legislator-turned-lobbyist: Get elected, learn the system, build relationships with other lawmakers, and then take a well-paying job representing an Indianapolis-based interest group. Former legislators are better positioned than anyone else to influence legislation. They know the process and the players. The Statehouse fraternity gives them a lifelong status and access that outsiders will never enjoy.
Rep. Phyllis Pond, R-New Haven, has tirelessly sponsored bills that would at least interrupt the migration from House or Senate floor to the hallways outside the chambers, including a bill that would forbid lawmakers to register as lobbyists within one year of leaving office. About half of the other 49 states have at least one- or two-year cooling-off periods.
It’s a reasonable expectation of politicians who are well compensated for their public service. Taxpayers don’t owe them a private-sector job, and the General Assembly must stop serving as a placement agency.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 13, 2008 07:42 AM
Posted to Legislative Benefits