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No more free lunches
A Times Editorial
Published December 7, 2005
It sounds almost too good to be true. House Speaker Allan Bense has surprised everyone in Tallahassee by pushing to ban all gifts instead of negotiating lower limits and tougher reporting rules. Senate President Tom Lee, who has been the prime advocate for cracking down on gifts and disclosing lobbying fees, embraces the idea. Assuming Bense is sincere, the Legislature has an opportunity this week to dramatically change the culture - and eating habits - in the state capital.
By replacing the current $100 limit on all gifts with a strict ban, lobbyists no longer would be able to woo lawmakers with free tickets to ballgames and concerts. Legislators couldn't eat breakfast, lunch and dinner or drink all night on the lobbyists' tabs. All of the tricks to circumvent the limits and reporting requirements, from dividing up huge bills among phantom legislators to sticking lobbyists with bills for dinners they didn't attend, would fade away. More public business would be done in public instead of over private dinners, and the line would be crystal clear: Pay your own way.
The grumbling among lawmakers accustomed to eating at the trough already has started. But they can choose their medicine. Either be prepared to list the cost of every meal and the name of the lobbyist who paid for it as Lee initially proposed, or vote for Bense's outright ban as a cleaner approach. Either way, it's doubtful anyone in Tallahassee is going to go hungry.
For a complete gift ban to be effective, legislators have to close one gap. The logical end run would be for lobbyists to write a check to the political parties, which would then pay for the lawmakers' meals. The current restrictions need to be tightened to prevent that sort of trickery.
A complete gift ban ought not be a poison pill to kill all reforms. Bense and Lee brought a positive working climate to the Capitol. If they can avoid gamesmanship here, they can transform Florida into a national model for ethics reforms.
[Last modified December 7, 2005, 00:33:18]
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