Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Florida Legislature 2005 (click for ongoing coverage)

THE LATEST Man gets $2M for 22 years he lost Mystery: Who left money faucet on? Many hurricane relief measures get blown away Dramatic proposal, cautious response Legislature doesn't act on minimum wage deal For open-government cause: 'a mixed bag'

Full disclosure by lobbyists nearer Senate passage

By LUCY MORGAN
Published April 7, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - Without discussion, the Senate on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a bill to force lobbyists to disclose their fees and identify the legislators and other public officials they wine and dine.

Sen. Jim Sebesta, R-St. Petersburg, sponsor of the bill (SB 2646), said it is Senate President Tom Lee's top priority, designed to let Floridians know more about how laws are made.

It is far different from a House bill, which requires lobbyists to identify whom they spend money on but not to disclose fees.

House Speaker Allan Bense told Lee not to be concerned if the initial House bill looks like "lobbyist light."

"He has assured me there will be a bill," Lee said. "He wanted to let me know where they are starting is not where they will end."

Lee complained that veteran lobbyists are "stiff-arming reform."

"Frankly, we've been realizing that we've been dealing with some of the dinosaurs in the process whose time has come and gone," Lee told Republican senators at lunch.

Lee said he met in his office Tuesday night with younger lobbyists who will have to live with the reforms. They included Brian Ballard, Jon Johnson, David Rancourt and Matt Bryan.

Lee criticized lobbyists "who have appointed themselves as representatives of the lobbying corps and are the least likely to have any progressive views on how to further open up government."

He singled out Ken Plante, a former senator who left the Legislature in the 1970s rather than disclose his finances as voters required in 1976. A lobbyist like that isn't likely to help with more disclosure, Lee said.

Plante and lobbyist L. Carl Adams were among the founders of the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists, dedicated to cleaning up the ethics and image of lobbyists.

Adams, president of the group, said he was disappointed with Lee's comments. "The conversations we had with the president was an effort to work with him," Adams said. "The only thing we said we simply didn't want to live with was full disclosure."

Plante did not return calls.

Lee said Floridians would be outraged if they knew companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on lobbyists to get state contracts and factor that into the final deal. "The people who are paying the bills should know what they are spending," he said.

Johnson, lobbyist for a number of health care companies, said he thinks a large segment of the lobbying community would like to see the profession viewed positively. He said he was humbled by Lee's invitation to discuss the bill.

The disclosure bill is among several measures aimed at changing the lobbying culture. A second bill (SB 1858) approved by the Senate would keep lobbyists off university boards of trustees.

It grew out of a dispute over a new chiropractic college approved by legislators for Florida State University without the consent of the Board of Governors that runs universities.

[Last modified April 7, 2005, 01:22:13]