Mar 26, 2007
Lobbying just isn't what it used to be
Dan Kane and Andy Curliss - News & Observer

In the past, lobbyists at the telecom giant Sprint threw a rollicking "beach party" for legislators with drinks, seafood and a beach band. This year, it was a reception with a pianist and a motivational speaker. 
 
In the old days, lobbyists at the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers held intimate dinners with lawmakers at a fancy downtown Raleigh restaurant. This year, the academy held a two-hour drop-in social at its office off Wade Avenue for the entire legislature. 
 
A year ago, the N.C. Association of Electric Cooperatives gave Carolina Hurricanes tickets to lawmakers and entertained senators and House members in a suite at the RBC Center. 
 
Not this year. 
 
"You haven't looked down in the hockey box and seen any legislators, have you?" association lobbyist Jay Rouse asked rhetorically. 
 
Lobbyists and special interests used to spend money on lawmakers as they tried to shape or scrap laws. It was an often hidden part of the legislative process. But that is changing. 
 
For the first time in years, lobbyists are filing public reports that disclose how they spend money on legislators. The reports show new details on how some conduct their business, but they also reflect a changing culture -- the result of rules passed in the past two years that opened up lobbying to new scrutiny. 
 
The new rules put an end to many of the expensive dinners, sports tickets, golf trips and other perks that lobbyists provided to lawmakers and altered the types of events organizations put on. 
 
News reports of wining and dining, coupled with efforts by public interest groups concerned about undue influence, brought about some of the increased disclosure. Scandals surrounding former House Speaker Jim Black, who often relied on special interest lobbyists to pick up his tabs, also led to many of the prohibitions. 
 
Entertaining dwindles 
 
Bob Phillips, executive director for Common Cause North Carolina, a nonpartisan public interest group that fought for changes, said the new rules have discouraged the coziness lawmakers had with lobbyists who spent money wining and dining. 
 
"You hear anecdotally that people are not doing that as much," Phillips said. "I hear from lawmakers that they aren't doing it as much, or they go to the K&W [Cafeteria] as opposed to a more expensive restaurant." 
 
In the past, much of the entertaining went unreported because lobbyists said it did not influence any specific legislation. 
 
It was called "goodwill" lobbying. 
 
The new rules require more reporting of that type of spending. They also restrict what legislators can participate in, limiting them to educational meetings and food and drinks "for immediate consumption." 
 
Former Speaker Dan Blue, a Raleigh Democrat who is back as a member of the House after a few years of lobbying and tending to his law practice, has noticed a difference. 
 
"You don't see the members all hanging around with the lobbyists at the end of the legislative day," he said. "They are more apt now to be eating and spending time with each other." 
 
A new climate 
 
Records show that of the more than 700 registered lobbyists in North Carolina, only a few reported spending on legislators in February, the first full month of the new legislative session. 
 
The reports cover only February and about a week in January. They are far from a complete picture of the lobbying efforts that will be under way once legislators take up more issues in coming months. Reports covering March activity are not due for three weeks. 
 
The reports that have been filed, though, provide the first glimpses of meetings and efforts that, under the old rules, would not have needed to be disclosed: 
 
* Lobbyists from AARP North Carolina spent $6,509 on a session at the Clarion Hotel in downtown Raleigh for lawmakers and others, about 100 people in all. The meetings included a presentation from a former state budget official. 
* Cary-based SAS, a software company, picked up a $483 lunch bill in late February for 19 top government officials, including four aides to Gov. Mike Easley. The session was described in documents as a lunch for state education leaders. 
* The N.C. State AFL-CIO spent nearly $14,000 on meetings across the state attended by a total of 19 legislators. Much of the cost was for union members who also attended. The AFL-CIO is an umbrella organization made up of many unions. Its agenda includes a long-standing desire for legislators to give public service employees the right to collective bargaining. 
* The N.C. Association of Electric Cooperatives spent nearly $30,000 on a reception at the N.C. Museum of History for lawmakers and the Council of State. That figure includes food and drink for roughly 300 of its members who attended. Rouse, the co-ops' lobbyist, said this is a regular event for the association, but it had not been previously reported. 
 
In many cases, it is not known which legislators attended the events. When legislators rewrote the rules last year, they specified that events with more than 15 people did not need an accounting of who attended. 
 
In at least two cases, lobbyists reported in the new documents that exactly 16 legislators attended their event. 
 
One of them was the AARP. 
 
"That's just a coincidence," said AARP lobbyist Bill Wilson. "We just happened to hit 16." 
 
A level playing field 
 
Officials at Embarq, a telecom company that used to be part of Sprint, said the new climate makes it impossible to throw their annual beach-themed party at a club in North Raleigh. 
 
This year, the company had a reception at which employees and legislators mingled at a catering facility in Raleigh. A piano player greeted guests. The company used the moment to educate officials on Embarq, lobbyist Steven Brewer said. 
Moreover, it was face time for a company with an interest in some bills already getting attention, including one that would halve the costs of running Internet service to rural areas. 
 
Embarq spent $11,809 on its event and reported that 84 legislators, other top officials and guests attended. 
 
The trial lawyers academy also is focused on some major issues this year. It wants to stop the death penalty and hold off reforms that could limit lawsuits. 
 
The academy's chief executive in North Carolina, Richard M. Taylor Jr., said the organization seriously considered not hosting any lawmakers after typically arranging for small dinners. Many of those gatherings had been at Second Empire, a downtown restaurant where the rib-eye entree costs $34.95. 
 
"We decided in this new climate to have one event and invite everybody," Taylor said. 
 
The reception cost $9,013, and Taylor said about 120 of the 170 legislators showed up. 
 
Phillips, executive director of Common Cause, said members of the public benefit when much of the wining and dining typical in past years is cut out. 
 
"It levels the playing field," he said, "and returns lobbying to what it should be, which is providing oral and written information, instead of the ability to spend money."