Feb 12, 2007
From fancy fare to meat and potatoes
Paul O'Connor - Winston-Salem Journal

Legislators are learning what it's like to dip into their own pockets to pay for dinner. The result is a rush for tables at a popular K&W Cafeteria. 
 
The General Assembly reconvened 2 1/2 weeks ago, meeting for the first time since the state's new lobbying reform law went into effect. 
 
The law bans lobbyist gifts to legislators, including the traditional wine-and-dine at a fancy restaurant, one where a steak dinner costs a fortune. 
 
Several lobbyists reported that they have eaten with legislators since the session began. Butch Gunnells of the N.C. Soft Drink Association said his usual crowd of lobbyists and legislators got together Monday night and had a nice time. When it came time to pay, each person at the table was responsible for his or her own tab. 
 
Roger Bone, an independent contract lobbyist, confirmed that legislators are paying for their own meals this year. But he noted that the legislators he's eaten with have wanted to head to the much less expensive K&W. And several other lobbyists reported that they'd ducked into two of the capital's fancier restaurants "and found no one there." That's "no one" as in "no one in politics." The restaurants appear to be doing well even without the political crowd. 
 
Gunnells said that the legal change has had one benefit for him. When he goes out with legislators now, he can talk business with them. In the past, lobbyists had to report meals they bought for legislators if they discussed work. If a legislator is paying for his own meal, however, there's nothing to be reported. So, lobbyists can get some work done while they also save on the expense account. 
 
The new law means a great deal of new reporting requirements for lobbyists, requirements that even the lobbyists who pushed the government reforms last year will have to make. John Rustin of the N.C. Family Policy Council and Bob Phillips of N.C. Common Cause said they're having to pay close attention to the time they spend lobbying so they can properly report it. And Chris Fitzsimon of N.C. Policy Watch, a liberal think tank, says he's considering registering as a lobbyist this year, something he's never done before, just to be on the safe side. 
 
Sandy Sands of Womble Carlyle said that concerns about being on the safe side amount to the major impact the new law has had on his life. "I've never spent that much on entertaining legislators, so there's not so much difference ... but this year I'm trying to answer a whole lot of questions we are getting from our (legal) clients."  
 
Presumably, Sands is being paid well for his legal advice on the new law. 
 
Most of the lobbyists who spoke to me, especially those who wanted to speak off the record, said the biggest impact they see is "uncertainty." The law is ambiguous and difficult to follow at times. People are being very careful, quite possibly refraining from activities that are still legal. 
There are stories of companies exercising caution. A grocery-store chain has long provided a truck to take the canned food donated during the opening-day food drive to the N.C. Food Bank. This year it did not do so because company lawyers feared that would violate the law. 
 
Another story, which I could not confirm but which is circulating in the building and serves as an example of the worries people have, involves the death of a legislator last month. A lobbyist wanted to send flowers to the funeral home, but first consulted his lawyer. The story is that the lawyer felt it would be OK to send the flowers. 
 
Two Forsyth legislators said that there have been no dinner offers from lobbyists this year. Sen. Pete Brunstetter said he's paying for his own meals, but that Rep. Dale Folwell is still eating for free.  
 
"I go through the line first," Brunstetter said, "and then Folwell comes, brandishing a two-for-one coupon and he eats free." Folwell, who is known for his coupon clipping, confirmed the story.