Mar 11, 2007
Openness keeps leaders in check
Carole Miller - News & Observer

Louisa Warren is director of the N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform, a bipartisan partnership of more than 50 groups and individuals dedicated to strengthening the state’s lobbying ethics and open government laws. 
 
Q: Why is openness vital in a democracy? 
 
A: If North Carolinians don’t know what their government is doing, there’s no way they can hold officials accountable. And you can’t have transparency without having it quickly. It’s not good enough to have a report that’s closed to the public or that comes out well after public policies have been made. Transparency is what breeds that accountability. 
 
Q: How open is our state government? 
 
A: I don’t think North Carolina ranks at the bottom, but I do think there’s a lack of openness in terms of how public policies are made; who the key players are; and how our process floats through the government and the various entities that create or enforce public policy. We still have the last-minute, closed-door operations and meetings that don’t allow the public to have a voice in the process.  
 
There is an unlevel playing field in the access to information and the influence that wealthy, special-interest lobbyists have over elected officials that Joe Q. Citizen doesn’t have. The coalition is about transparency and eliminating the tainted role that money plays in our government. 
 
Q: Your group pushed some legislation through the last session of the General Assembly. What were you seeking and why? 
 
A: The most important reform that resulted is that North Carolina now has full and frequent disclosure of lobbyists’ expenditures on both legislators and executive branch officials. We had never been privy to what lobbyists were spending to influence the executive branch. Not only do we now have full disclosure, but also frequent disclosure. In the old law, lobbyists only had to report their spending twice a year, and those were fairly blank reports at that. Now, if lobbyists are spending any money to influence public policy, they must report monthly during the legislative session. 
 
This new law also closed the “goodwill lobbying” loophole. Basically, that meant lobbyists didn’t have to report spending that was “only to create good will.” Basically, you could say any type of schmoozing or wining and dining was just good will or to create relationships. The best lobbyists are those who have the strongest relationships with the most powerful lawmakers, and that act of developing good will is one of the most critical elements of lobbying. So this was a tremendous change. 
 
The law also created an independent ethics commission. Before, we had a patchwork of ethics requirements that differed from state agency to state agency, and the legislature was regulating itself on ethics, a fundamental conflict of interest. Now we have consistent guidelines across all state government, not just the executive and legislative branches, but also for community college and university boards, for example. Another bill passed also created more stringent requirements on the use of campaign funds for personal use. 
 
Q: What other reforms should people know about? 
 
A: At the end of February, the House approved some good changes in the way they do business. New rules ban blank bills and committee floaters.  
 
A blank bill is basically filed to meet a filing deadline, but sometimes it’s used to substitute substantive legislation into a bill title that has little to do with what the bill actually is.  
 
House and Senate leaders use members who are deemed floaters to stack any committee to make sure the leadership’s will is done. If they don’t have a critical number of votes, they bring in a floater on the date of a vote and pass a bill out of committee. From a transparency perspective, the coalition believes committee assignments should be consistent and available to the public, and shouldn’t shift around just to pass a certain policy. 
 
Speaker Hackney’s new rules also ban bringing a bill out of committee and having a floor vote on the same day. This has been used as a tactic sometimes to quickly sweep a bill out of a committee either to try to get a false majority to pass it, since no one would know what it was, but also to keep it shrouded from the public and the media. 
 
Q: You didn’t get everything you wanted in 2006. What’s next? 
 
A: We’d like to limit lobbyists’ fundraising activities. North Carolina only allows individuals to give $4,000 to a candidate or elected officials. The way lobbyists exert influence is by raising thousands of dollars through their vast networks. While the law technically bans lobbyists from collecting or delivering multiple contributions, all that means is that they can’t physically hand over a pile of checks in an envelope to a lawmaker. They have to find a different delivery person. The coalition believes that lobbyists shouldn’t be allowed to raise unlimited amounts for the people they are trying to influence. It’s extremely difficult to have transparency on this process. We feel the only solution is to limit it. 
 
The second thing is to look at opening up and strengthening the power of the independent ethics commission. Now, its hearings will be closed, which is a step backwards from what we have ever had in North Carolina with any sort of ethics process.  
 
Three more things we’d like to look at: One is to limit the flow of money from political parties to candidates. Twenty-six other states have limits. We also think it’s important to have more sunshine on special appropriations and term limits for House and Senate leadership. The final thing, which is not at the top of our list, is to extend the cooling-off period for lawmakers and heads of state agencies to wait for before becoming a lobbyist from six months to one to two years. 
 
Q: Are lawmakers afraid to take these steps? 
 
A: Right now, it’s hard to tell. Clearly, folks are shocked, still, and in shock from the news about former Speaker Black. There is a darker cloud hanging over the state legislature, but I do think that citizens should be incensed and should be driven to take action for more accountability and openness in our government. 
 
Q: What can Joe Q. Citizen do? 
 
A: First, find out who your legislator is. Tell them there should be reforms. But remember that your legislators are hard-working people. The latest scandals don’t mean that every person in the legislature is a crook. The majority are there to serve the public interest. Unfortunately, there’s a system that’s corrupt in which you have to pay to play. It’s not bad people; it’s a bad system. If you’re interested in these issues, get involved with the coalition. Our Web site is at www.nclobbyreform.org.