Freebies at the Capitol on the decline

More pricey dinners being split to avoid overruns on gift cap.

Media scrutiny and public pressure have taken a toll on the dinners, drinks and other gifts lobbyists have long offered Georgia lawmakers in exchange for a listening ear.

For the third straight year, spending by lobbyists on legislators has declined, solidifying a trend that began when The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a coalition of good-government groups aggressively reported the millions spent to influence legislation under the Gold Dome.

The Legislature bowed to public pressure in 2013 and instituted a gift cap of $75 that took effect last year. Lobbyists are spending less. But they are also finding new ways to game the law.

The AJC found several instances when lobbyists split meal checks to stay below the $75 gift cap, and several more when they blew the cap entirely.

Two lawmakers told the AJC they planned to reimburse lobbyists for money spent on them after learning from the newspaper that they’d exceeded the cap.

Overall, lobbying spending declined 20 percent in 2014 and has dropped 60 percent since 2011, from $1.8 million to $763,933 last year.

Sen. Josh McKoon, one of the early supporters of lobbying reform in the General Assembly, said he believes the attention focused on spending by lobbyists has at least made politicians aware of the issue.

“I think people are much more cognizant of, ‘OK this is a lobbyist expense. How much is being spent on me?’ I think people are much more sensitive to that,” McKoon, R-Columbus, said. “In my first year coming in, it was sort of Katy bar the door.”

Still, Georgia lawmakers still don’t have to look far for a free meal.

When Gov. Nathan Deal gave his State of the State address on Jan. 14, lobbyists spent $23,288 plying legislators with food and drink.

That total includes 54 separate disclosures for meals or drinks between lawmakers and lobbyists representing cable companies, the Georgia Association of Realtors and Chevron, to name a few. Other lobbyists underwrote the large receptions of the day, including a legislative breakfast, a reception for the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, and $538 in alcohol for the “Okefenokee Occasion.” And that’s just one day. Last month, lobbyists spent $161,534 on lawmakers, almost half of which was spent in one night by the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce. The rest came in more than 900 individual gift disclosures from lobbyists representing dozens of interests ranging from car title pawn shops to AT&T.

Gaming the system

The reforms that went into effect in 2014 capped most gifts at $75, but the cap is hardly strict. Lobbyists common-

BOB ANDRES / AJC The Capitol halls were filled with lobbyists as the Legislature convened on Jan. 13. With gifts caps in place, lobbyists have become more savvy.