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January 9, 2010

Anonymous The Kokomo Tribune Sat Jan 09, 2010, 06:34 PM EST

A few apologists for the Indiana General Assembly – and there really aren’t many left these days – have asked why the Kokomo Tribune and 22 other Indiana newspapers have made such a fuss over lawmakers’ acceptance of gifts from lobbyists.

Is there evidence, the gist of the argument goes, that any legislator has traded votes in exchange for a trip to the Caribbean, seats at a Colts game or dinner at The Capital Grille? The short answer is no; this isn’t a matter of outright vote buying.

But the more complete answer is this: The gifts. Lobbyists, paid to represent giant corporations and other special interests, plead their clients’ case over dinner or during halftime. Ordinary Hoosiers, who are without the means to entertain their elected leaders in such a manner, are left out of the discussion.

After years of refusing to address ethics reform, legislative leaders appear ready to finally adopt higher standards, at least in some measure.

The question now is whether those reforms will rise to a level that makes a lasting difference.

These three measures under consideration would be marked improvements from the status quo: adoption of a one-year cooling-off period before legislators can start work as lobbyists; requiring universities to report lobbying expenses; and blocking legislators from accepting campaign contributions and other handouts from state contractors.

However, another reform pushed by House Speaker Pat Bauer, lowering the reporting threshold for gifts from $100 to $50, would be only a modest step forward. The better move would be to bar legislators from accepting any gift worth more than $50. It’s a step that would end the most outrageous abuses of power.

Why does it matter? It’s about blocking the special access that special interests buy for themselves. It’s about ensuring that elected leaders don’t think they owe their benefactors anything beyond the ordinary. It’s about the public’s right to a state government that meets the highest ethical standards.

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