The influence of lobbyists on legislators is rightly reviled by voters both here in Indiana and throughout the country. The inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump this week, with his rally-tested catch phrase “drain the swamp,” should be proof enough.
As our state reporter Maureen Hayden wrote in her column Thursday, 10 states have enacted so-called “no-cup-of-coffee” laws, which ban all gifts from lobbyists or their employers, including food and drink, to individual legislators and their families. Jan. 7, state Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, introduced Senate Bill 284, which, if enacted, would make Indiana the 11th such state.
The bill would make it “a Level 6 felony for a governmental entity to compensate a person to engage in lobbying using tax revenue,” according to the digest.
As Delph pointed out to Hayden, lobbyists don’t butter up lawmakers out of the goodness of their hearts. They want something on the back end of the exchange. That’s how quid pro quo works, which is exactly why this type of prohibition is such a good idea.
The pushback to this change is predictable. Two years ago the Legislature passed a bevy of ethics reforms meant to curb the same sort of behavior through a much less effective method.
“The rules don’t bar gifts of food, drink and entertainment from lobbyists, but legislators must disclose details of meals shared with, or gifts from, any of the 1,600 lobbyists registered to do business in Indiana,” wrote Hayden. “Any lobbyist gift over $50 in a single day must be reported, down to the dollar amount.”
Drowning lawmakers in extra paperwork won’t make this problem go away. When the people send their fellow citizens to the Statehouse, they do so with the understanding that they will be representing those who put them there and no one else. The current solution is a half-measure and nowhere near good enough. Delph’s instincts on this issue are correct.