Lawmakers seek more controls on lobbyists

Thursday, May 2, 2002 | 9:55 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- During the closing hours of the 2001 Legislature, lobbyists played a major role in calling the shots on what bills were passed or defeated.

They served as couriers for legislation and were on the floor of both the Senate and Assembly buttonholing lawmakers, trying to get agreements nailed down.

A legislative committee Wednesday talked about putting firmer controls on lobbyists to avert their apparent dominance at the end of the session.

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said it was inappropriate for lobbyists to be used as messengers or to carry bills between the houses in attempts to negotiate compromises.

But he said the final six hours of the closing day should not be used to judge the full 120-day Legislature.

Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, raised the issue at a meeting of the Legislative Committee to Consult with the Director, expressing concern that the lobbyists had unfettered access to bill drafters and other staff members.

"The lobbyists should not be able to take over any of the divisions," O'Connell said. She said they should not be allowed to talk with the staff in legal, research or fiscal without express permission from a lawmaker.

Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, suggested going a step further and requiring a lobbyist to get a written permission slip from a legislator before he could request a bill or an amendment. He said "some lobbyists are intimidating to the backroom people (the bill-drafting lawyers). They should be kept away."

Perkins said, "This needs to be legislative driven, not lobbyist driven."

But Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said there is already a policy restricting access to the lawyers who draft bills and amendments. He said lobbyists must go through the senior and experienced staff of the bill drafters.

This experienced staff, Malkiewich said, "has not been hoodwinked (and) they have not been tricked."

Brenda Erdoes, chief of the legal division, said requests from lobbyists are funneled through the senior staff. But she cautioned that the staff attorneys often have to talk with lobbyists to get clarification on what is being requested and the intent of the proposed legislation.

A log is kept in Erdoes' office on the lobbyist contacts and the lawyers they meet with, she said.

Legislators voiced support for a policy allowing a lobbyist to contact research and fiscal staff members in public, but requiring permission to talk to employees in the offices.

No formal vote was taken on any new restrictions.

O'Connell also raised the issue of whether lobbyists should be required to report their expenditures in trying to influence the Legislature between sessions. She noted that lobbyists frequently try to shape the proposed bills that will be presented in the next regular session.

Lobbyists report how much they spent and who they spent it on during the session of the Legislature, but not during the off-time. Malkiewich said the law would have to be changed to require full-time reports.

Assemblyman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, also complained that respect for legislators by lobbyists has "dramatically dropped." Lawmakers trying to get work done are frequently "disturbed" by lobbyists, he said.

While there was a lot of talk Wednesday, there probably won't be any major changes in the 2003 session to put further restrictions on lobbyists, Perkins said, adding that current policy restrictions should be clearly explained to the lobbyists and to the public.