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Friday, May 16, 2003
State's disclosure rules lauded
A state that became accustomed in the 1990s to being named to numerous national "best" categories, Washington has now been named tops in perhaps a more substantive category: regulation and public disclosure of lobbyists' activities.
The Center for Public Integrity ranked Washington the best among the states. The state got high marks for its rigorous standards on how lobbyists identify themselves, a waiting period between the time a legislator leaves office and can work as a lobbyist, requiring detailed monthly spending reports and making all the information widely available to the public.
Washington's regulations, "make the decision makers perhaps more accountable to the public. There's a place to go and see why someone acted the way they did," says Ivy Sager-Rosenthal, a lobbyist for the Washington Public Interest Research Group. "It also helps keep the lobbyists honest."
The No. 1 distinction is particularly remarkable because the national study, "Hired Guns," gave failing grades to more than half the states.
Where Washington does rank about average with the rest of the nation is in the lobbyist-to-legislator ratio: approximately 6-to-1.
Of course, not all elements of lobbying can be regulated, and the influence of powerful labor and business groups can never be completely bridled or even monitored. But for anyone rooting for democracy's survival, this is a healthy cause to cheer, "We're No. 1!"
On the Net: www.publicintegrity.org
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