News-Leader - Gifts do not influence actions, local legislators say
By Admin, Section From The Wires
Hospital group, telecom companies top list of generous lobbyists.
by Amos Bridges, News-Leader Want to know who was buying lunch this year for local legislators? Telecom companies, a hospital group and Springfield City Utilities were among the groups picking up the largest tabs during the 2007 session, according to a database of lobbyist gifts from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31. All told, 13 Springfield-area legislators, their families and staff accepted about $9,500 in gifts, with food and drinks accounting for the vast majority of expenses. State law requires lobbyists to report meals, entertainment or other gifts they give to legislators, their staff or family. But local lawmakers said the reports are not evidence of groups buying influence.
"It's just part of the transparency of the process," said Gus Wagner, chief of staff for Sen. Dan Clemens, R-Marshfield. "There's no votes for sale."
Clemens received $890.07 in lobbyist gifts during the past year -- a total surpassed by Wagner, who accepted $1,265.73. State Rep. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, received the highest total of any local legislator. A senior member of the local Republican delegation, Dixon accepted $1,332.31 in food and gifts but said meals with lobbyists don't influence how he votes. "I'll sit down and listen to them, but I'm going to vote my conscience, period," Dixon said Friday. "Most legislators live by this, and it's a cardinal rule for me. Every vote has to be weighed on its own merits." Rep. Charlie Denison, R-Springfield, said lobbyists -- some of them former legislators -- can be useful sources of information about issues facing the legislature. "Because of term limits, there's a lot we have to go to lobbyists to find out, such as the past record of a bill that comes up," he said. "A lot of times we're talking to lobbyists on both sides of the issue." AT&T foots bills Gifts logged between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 ranged from a $2 tab at a pub to $276 for tickets to see country singer Kenny Chesney from the University of Missouri. Both gifts, coincidentally, were to Wagner. "I think there were four or six tickets," he said. "The university offered them and I took them. I didn't even use them myself; I passed them around to some secretaries at the Capitol." Wagner said such gifts are common in the business world. Lobbyist reporting rules ensure anything accepted by legislators is not hidden from the public. "Sometimes you accept them, sometimes you turn them down," he said. "It's not anything that influences decisions in any part." The Missouri Hospital Association was the greatest single contributor of free food and beverages to legislators this year, with a total of $1,090.32 handed out. "I know that they were very interested in all the Healthnet legislation this session," Dixon said. "Although I think that there were some aspects of it (as passed) that they did not particularly like." The hospital association was outdone by AT&T, however, which was represented by two separate lobbying groups. Gifts from AT&T Inc. & Affiliates totaled $923.55, with an additional $508.09 from AT&T of Missouri. "Of course, the cable bill was a big thing for them," said Denison. An early supporter of cable competition, Denison's outspoken position put him at odds with city officials in Springfield who opposed the change. AT&T also is one of several sued by the city of Springfield over disputed taxes on wireless telephone service. City officials reached an out-of-court settlement with Sprint Nextel Corp. -- another leading source of meals to local legislators -- last month. Denison said the lawsuit with the city was a topic of conversation during some of the 28 meals he had with AT&T lobbyists this year, but he had little power to exercise on the company's behalf. "We can't dictate what the city of Springfield should do," he said. "And because of my stance with cable, most of the City Council probably doesn't have a real strong feeling for me." Dixon said he doesn't remember City Utilities or Empire Electric -- two other groups that dropped hundreds of dollars on lawmaker meals -- having any particular agenda. "Those people are there every year, whether they have issues or not," he said. "That's one thing the public may not realize." Some pay back When the legislature is in session, mealtimes often offer the best opportunity to meet, Denison and other local legislators said. Getting a half dozen lawmakers together for dinner can be more expedient than tracking each down individually for a one-on-one discussion. "It would take them three days to run down every legislator in their office," said Rep. Jay Wasson, R-Nixa. "I can understand a dinner making sense to get them together and say their side." Still, Wasson prefers to pay his own way. Reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission show he has repaid all but one meal or gift received this year. He said he's already sent a check for the last gift -- tickets to a Springfield Cardinals game that were part of an Aug. 21 meeting with the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. "I was probably there for about 20 minutes, and I don't think I even ate anything," Wasson said, acknowledging that his policy can be a hassle at times. "I don't have a problem with other people (accepting free meals), but for me personally, if I'm going to be voting on something, I'd just as soon buy my own dinner and pay my own bills," he said. "That way, I don't have to worry about where the line's drawn." Rep. Mike Cunningham, R-Marshfield, the only other local legislator to repay all lobbyist-provided meals, gave similar reasons for doing so. "It's kind of a challenge, and there's nothing wrong for the people that accept it ... I just kind of want to do it that way," he said. "I'm a big boy, and I can pay for my own meals." Still, Cunningham thinks lobbyists have a place in the Capitol. "I think there's a misconception that lobbyists are all bad, and they're not," he said. "Churches have lobbyists; everyone has lobbyists. They have a purpose, as long as you understand that purpose. ... A lobbyist from City Utilities can provide valuable information." Cunningham said most lobbyists appear to realize their influence with legislators depends on providing accurate and honest information. Otherwise, "their job's in jeopardy," he said. "I've got two lobbyists that I've banned from my office because I didn't approve of their actions." Total lobbyist gifts accepted by local legislators, Jan. 31 to Aug. 31:
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Related Links- by Amos Bridges, News-Leader - Rep. Charlie Norr, D-Springfield - Source - More on Politics - Also by Admin |
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