Review panel OKs PA lobbyist disclosure rules
By PETER JACKSON | Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP, Feb. 26) - Proposed regulations governing compliance with Pennsylvania's lobbyist disclosure law received the green light Thursday from a state regulatory panel that had rejected a version last fall.
The 3-1 vote by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission moved the proposal back to the Legislature, where House and Senate committees will conduct a final review before the regulations are put into effect.
The vote culminated a two-hour discussion that revolved largely around a provision that dictates when someone must register with the state as a lobbyist and reflected the commission majority's desire to implement rules that are two years in the making.
Attorney General Tom Corbett, whose office oversaw the special rule-writing panel that comprised state lawyers, legislators and one lobbyist, said the panel's work was thorough. The proposed rules provide "bright lines" to guide lobbyists and their employers on complying with the law, he said.
"Pennsylvanians deserve a clear accounting of how lobbyists spend money here and throughout Pennsylvania," Corbett said.
Until the current law took effect in 2007, Pennsylvania spent five years as the only state without a law requiring lobbyists and their principals – companies and groups that hire lobbyists – to disclose how much they spend trying to influence state policymakers.
Under the law, the more than 1,200 principals bear the primary responsibility for reporting lobbying expenditures.
Last fall, the commission rejected the rules panel's original plan, which included a provision that would have required lobbyists and principals to register and report their spending when someone is engaged to provide lobbying services or when payment has been made for at least $2,500 in a calendar quarter.
The commission said that exceeded the scope of the law. It agreed with the Pennsylvania Bar Association that the registration and reporting requirement should be triggered when a lobbyist makes contact with a state official, not when money changes hands.
The compromise that the rules panel advanced Thursday would trigger the registration and reporting requirement whenever someone is contracted – in writing or verbally – to provide lobbying services.
But the bar association, which initially had supported the compromise, testified against it Thursday and urged instead that the contracting provision be limited to written contracts.
Timothy J. Carson, a Philadelphia lawyer representing the bar association, told the commission that including verbal or implied contracts would be confusing to lawyers who occasionally take on lobbying work and their clients.
Corbett acknowledged that litigation over the law is likely.
"It is time for us to move this part forward and let's get into that part if we have to," he told the commission.
All three commission members who supported the rules said they have lingering questions about how accurately the rules reflect the law, but deferred to Corbett and members of the special panel.
"We were all looking for a reason to vote for this because we all believe that better regulation of lobbying is in the interest of the public," said commission member Karen Miller.
"It's a close call," she said. "I think that it may go beyond what the Legislature had in mind when they passed the statute, but we will find that out when it gets to the committees, won't we?"
___
On the Net: Proposed regulations
© 2009 The Associated Press – Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP, Feb. 26) - Proposed regulations governing compliance with Pennsylvania's lobbyist disclosure law received the green light Thursday from a state regulatory panel that had rejected a version last fall.
The 3-1 vote by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission moved the proposal back to the Legislature, where House and Senate committees will conduct a final review before the regulations are put into effect.
The vote culminated a two-hour discussion that revolved largely around a provision that dictates when someone must register with the state as a lobbyist and reflected the commission majority's desire to implement rules that are two years in the making.
Attorney General Tom Corbett, whose office oversaw the special rule-writing panel that comprised state lawyers, legislators and one lobbyist, said the panel's work was thorough. The proposed rules provide "bright lines" to guide lobbyists and their employers on complying with the law, he said.
"Pennsylvanians deserve a clear accounting of how lobbyists spend money here and throughout Pennsylvania," Corbett said.
Until the current law took effect in 2007, Pennsylvania spent five years as the only state without a law requiring lobbyists and their principals – companies and groups that hire lobbyists – to disclose how much they spend trying to influence state policymakers.
Under the law, the more than 1,200 principals bear the primary responsibility for reporting lobbying expenditures.
Last fall, the commission rejected the rules panel's original plan, which included a provision that would have required lobbyists and principals to register and report their spending when someone is engaged to provide lobbying services or when payment has been made for at least $2,500 in a calendar quarter.
The commission said that exceeded the scope of the law. It agreed with the Pennsylvania Bar Association that the registration and reporting requirement should be triggered when a lobbyist makes contact with a state official, not when money changes hands.
The compromise that the rules panel advanced Thursday would trigger the registration and reporting requirement whenever someone is contracted – in writing or verbally – to provide lobbying services.
But the bar association, which initially had supported the compromise, testified against it Thursday and urged instead that the contracting provision be limited to written contracts.
Timothy J. Carson, a Philadelphia lawyer representing the bar association, told the commission that including verbal or implied contracts would be confusing to lawyers who occasionally take on lobbying work and their clients.
Corbett acknowledged that litigation over the law is likely.
"It is time for us to move this part forward and let's get into that part if we have to," he told the commission.
All three commission members who supported the rules said they have lingering questions about how accurately the rules reflect the law, but deferred to Corbett and members of the special panel.
"We were all looking for a reason to vote for this because we all believe that better regulation of lobbying is in the interest of the public," said commission member Karen Miller.
"It's a close call," she said. "I think that it may go beyond what the Legislature had in mind when they passed the statute, but we will find that out when it gets to the committees, won't we?"
___
On the Net: Proposed regulations
© 2009 The Associated Press – Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
