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RALEIGH–No gifts.

No contributions.

More ethics.

That’s what the NC Coalition for Lobbying Reform asked for today in a call to the people of North Carolina to contact their state legislators and help the coalition fight for these important reforms as the House Select Committee on Ethics and Governmental Reform continues its work this week.

“We should prohibit the unmitigated flow of food, beverages and gifts from lobbyists to legislators, and we should halt the transfer of tens of thousands of fundraising dollars from lobbyists to legislators,” said Rob Thompson, Public Interest Advocate with North Carolina Public Interest Research Group.

Ouzts joined fellow coalition members Bill Cobey, a former U.S. Congressman and former chair of the NC Republican Party and Bob Phillips, Executive Director of Common Cause NC, in calling for reforms at a press conference today at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Roughly two dozen coalition members from progressive and conservative groups stood behind them in support.

“Our State House Select Committee on Ethics and Governmental Reform is making stronger ethics codes a real possibility,” Cobey said. “This opportunity should not be wasted. The state legislature should create an Independent Ethics Commission that uniformly covers Legislative and Executive branches.”

“We can do all of this, but we cannot do it without the public’s support. I encourage every member of the public to use our website, www.nclobbyreform.org to send a message to their state legislators to support stricter lobbying and ethics reforms,” Phillips said.

With the House Select Committee on Ethics and Governmental Reform holding their second meeting, this Thursday, Phillips said now is a crucial time for North Carolinians’ voices to be heard.

Phillips also encouraged state legislators to fully implement the lobbying reform bill (SB 612) that passed in the state legislature in 2005, but won’t be implemented until 2007. Many of those measures can be implemented earlier, he argued.

Phillips helped lead the fight in 2005, when the broad coalition from John Locke Foundation to Common Sense Foundation, successfully pressed for full disclosure of what lobbyists spend on legislators and a cooling off period for legislators who become lobbyists.

Governor Jim Hunt, Mr. Jim Goodmon, CEO & President of Capitol Broadcasting, Cobey and others of the more than 50 members of the coalition all pitched in to support the cause.

Coalition members consistently contacted legislators, wrote several op-eds, columns and research reports, conducted dozens and dozens of radio, newspaper and television interviews, and spoke out throughout the state, educating the public about the need for lobbying reform and encouraging citizens to get involved.

Thousands of grassroots supporters from West to East visited with, emailed, wrote and/or phoned their state legislators, encouraging them to pass these common sense reforms.

Now, the coalition is fighting for more reforms in 2006.

The proposed lobbying and ethics reform legislative package is listed below:

NC Coalition for Lobbying Reform calls for Independent Ethics Commission and Ban on Gifts and Contributions

I. Ban registered lobbyists from providing gifts ($10 exception) to lawmakers, their staff and family members

Flat ban ($10 exception) on food, beverages and gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers, their staff and family members, with exemptions including:

(1) Events hosted and funded by city or county governments, and universities that are a public policy activity.
(2) Educational items, such as books, articles, periodicals, other written materials, audiotapes, videotapes, or other forms of communication.
(3) A ticket to attend an event if the legislator buys the ticket at face value.

II. Ban fundraising or campaign contributions from registered lobbyists to Legislative and Executive branch candidates

No lobbyist, immediate family member of a lobbyist, or any person on behalf of a lobbyist or political committee established or controlled by a lobbyist shall directly or indirectly offer, solicit, facilitate, make or provide a campaign contribution in any amount to or on behalf of any:

(1) Candidate for Executive Branch
(2) Candidate for Legislative Branch
(3) Political committees sponsored by these candidates
(4) Legislative leadership or caucus committees
(5) State political party committees

III. Create an Independent Ethics Commission that uniformly covers Legislative and Executive branches

(1)Establish ethical standards for state government service.
(2)Have authority to perform routine audits and issue subpoenas at its own initiative.
(3)Commission should be bipartisan, non political and independent of any branch of state government.
(4)Have authority to impose civil penalties for non compliance and ethics violations.
(5)Consider funding the Commission independently of the legislature.

IV. Fully implement the Lobbying Reform bill (SB 612)

(1) Immediately - Close the goodwill lobbying loophole. Everything above $10 per day that lobbyists spend on lawmakers to lobby or create goodwill must be reported.
(2) Immediately - Prohibit registered lobbyists from serving as a campaign treasurer for a legislative candidate.
(3) Immediately - Institute a 6 month cooling off period before legislators become lobbyists. Currently a legislator can immediately move from voting in the public interest to lobbying for the special interests.
(4) Immediately - Create a "no gift registry" that allows legislators to voluntarily signal they do not want to receive gifts, meals or other perks from lobbyists or lobbyist principals. Currently there is no formal mechanism for legislators to tell lobbyists they do not wish to receive gifts.
(5) As soon as Secretary of State has necessary funds - Require monthly reports of what lobbyists are spending on legislators while the legislature is in session, and quarterly reports when not in session. Currently lobbyists report their expenses only twice a year.