Thought so.
If you happen to see Tom or John or Don (or....), be sure to give them the secret handshake for me. And then look 'em straight in the eye and say, "See you in church, Bible Boy!"
O.C. ordinance aims to shine light on lobbyists (OC Register)
The county Board of Supervisors next week will once again consider regulating lobbyists and themselves in the hopes of shining more light on how the county’s government makes decisions – and on who is whispering in their ears to influence those decisions.Lobbyists are required to register when dealing with the state of California as well as Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco counties.
But those rules don’t apply when it comes to those trying to influence Orange County government.
The County of Orange, which is responsible for more than $5.4 billion dollars in taxpayer funds, is the largest local government in California without a system to monitor and report on lobbyists and their lobbying.
For now.
An ordinance introduced by Supervisor Bill Campbell, up for consideration at Tuesday’s board meeting, would require lobbyists who make more than $1,000 a month for lobbying activities to register quarterly with the clerk of the board.
Those lists would be available to the public.
“It’s time to bring this out from behind the closed doors of their offices,” said longtime Orange County government watchdog Shirley Grindle, who sent a complimentary message to Campbell for bringing the issue to light.
Operating without rules and behind closed doors, a handful of lobbyists have been allowed to exert an enormous amount of influence on county politics, Grindle said.
“The public’s entitled to know who’s lobbying for special interests,” said Nick Berardino, general manager of the Orange County Employees Association. “It’s their government.”
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| Tom is constantly tending the machine |
And there is no provision barring lobbyists from raising campaign funds for the supervisors they lobby.
Still, the proposed ordinance appears to be a step in the right direction, Grindle said.
Failure to register would result in fines starting at $25 a week. Anyone who knowingly breaks the rules could be fined up to $2,500.
Former State Sen. Joe Dunn – now executive director of the California State Bar - proposed a county lobbyist registration system in January, but the plan – which required both lobbyists and public officials to disclose their conversations – was dismissed by supervisors as unnecessary.
Campbell’s less-restrictive proposal is the board’s answer to Dunn.
Nationwide, lobbying expenditures grew by 5 percent, from $3.3 billion in 2008 to $3.5 billion in 2009. That’s up from just $1.4 billion in 1998, according to a June 2009 Orange County grand jury report entitled “Lobbying: The Shadow Government.”
The amount of money spent on lobbying efforts in 2009 is roughly half the amount of money the federal government spent on the Federal Court system, in its entirety, the grand jury said.
The grand jury estimated that 25 individuals and firms actively lobby Orange County public officials, but the public doesn’t know who they are, which officials they are talking to, or why.
The Orange County grand jury suggested a county registration system which would include registration fees, mandatory reporting and fines and penalties if lobbyists don’t follow the rules.
Campbell’s ordinance falls in line with many of the grand jury’s suggestions. If approved, the new rules would go into effect Jan. 1.
“In this environment, any elected official who would vote against transparency is tantamount to laying out in front of a truck on the freeway,” Berardino said.
● See also: Son of Lobby Reform on Supervisors' Agenda (The Voice of OC; Nov. 4)
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| What's it all about, Donnie? |
1 comment:
The Senate Republicans had no problem banding together to stop the DISCLOSE act, after the abysmal Citizens United decision. Where was the outrage, right wingers?
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