LETTER TO THE EDITOR: How about $25 lobbyist gift cap
by Jay Jarvis, Armuchee
Jan 30, 2013 | 567 views | 0 0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend | print
In a press release dated January 14, the Georgia State Senate and Lt. Governor Casey Cagle applauded itself for “boldly” passing a resolution on the first day of the new legislative session that will cap gifts from any registered lobbyist or group at $100 per item, event or meal. Cagle even went so far as to proclaim that the Senate took “decisive action on this critically important issue.”

I only wish that the Georgia Senate had applied the same rules to themselves that apply to state employees, namely a $25 gift cap. That rule has been in place for over ten years, so why play by the same rules? I guess a $100 meal or gift is much better than one that only costs $25.

Like any rule, it’s only as good as the enforcement of it. Numerous news outlets have reported that state employees have been caught violating the existing $25 cap, and with the new Senate $100 cap slated to be reviewed by, of all people, the Senate Ethics Committee, I suspect it may still be business as usual for quite a while.

Perhaps a citizen review committee is what is needed.

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