Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Gift ban rules dominated by don'ts

A set of guidelines makes the new restrictions clearer to legislators and state employees, but the questions keep coming.

By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published January 21, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - Legislators and state employees struggling to sort out the new ban on gifts from lobbyists got their first formal guidance Friday in 22 pages of dos and don'ts - mostly don'ts.

No more free cholesterol screenings in the Capitol, because the sponsors have lobbyists.

No more speeches to groups that pay for a legislator's travel or reimburse expenses.

No more charitable foundations run by legislators that sponsor golf tournaments funded by lobbyists and their clients.

A legislator cannot even accept a free drink at a bar without verifying that the person picking up the tab is not a lobbyist or a client of one.

One of the many events trapped by the new ban is an annual event celebrating Tampa Bay's cultural diversity, "Flavors of Hillsborough." The lawyers say the event can continue but legislators can't take free food and drink paid for by lobbyists.

State Rep. Ed Homan, R-Tampa, was concerned that county legislative delegations could be barred from hosting annual events in Tallahassee. From now on, Homan and other lawmakers or legislative employees must pay their own way.

"That's fine," Homan said. "For someone to have a little strawberry shortcake, I don't see that buying a legislator's vote. But to live up to the spirit of the law, then okay, you miss the lunch or pay your own way."

On Dec. 8, as the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal engulfed Washington, Florida legislators approved one of the most restrictive lobbying laws in the country.

Led by House Republicans, they passed a blanket prohibition on lobbyists paying for "any expenditure" for lobbying, which is broadly defined as "attempting to obtain the goodwill" of a lawmaker or legislative employee.

The guidelines were issued by Senate President Tom Lee, R-Valrico, and House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City, and written largely by staff attorneys for the Legislature.

For the past six weeks, lawyers for the House and Senate have been inundated with requests from lawmakers, some of them eager to carry on a lifestyle in which lobbyists have long paid for dinners, drinks, transportation and other perks.

In recent days, Rep. Donna Clarke, R-Sarasota, inquired whether she could take two free opera tickets at the Opera House in Sarasota. (Answer: Yes, as long as the donors of those tickets aren't lobbyists or clients of lobbyists).

The guidelines, which are not legally binding, include 25 commonly asked questions and answers.

"Question: Can a lobbyist or principal (client) and legislator or legislative employee have dinner at a public restaurant? Answer: Yes, provided the dinner is Dutch treat," the guidelines say.

Other examples of what's still legal include:

Free newspaper subscriptions for legislators, as long as the publisher is not a lobbyist or a client of one.

Free food or drink from a lobbyist, as long as the lawmaker offers something of "equal or greater consideration," such as wine or flowers.

Food and drink provided to a legislator by an organization on whose board the lawmaker serves, even if the board has a lobbyist, because the existing definition of a gift already exempts those cases.

The new guidelines even address several cases in which a legislator or legislative employee is married to a lobbyist. The answer: A lobbyist can pay for a spouse's meals or lodging as long as the lobbyist doesn't use that money to lobby the spouse.

Times staff writer Alex Leary contributed to this report.

[Last modified January 21, 2006, 01:33:17]