Ethics on agenda when lobbyists association meets this week

With two separate panels discussing ethics legislation in preparation for a special legislative session that could change the way lobbyists do business, Mark Greene said there is a lot to talk about.

“This is usually a laid-back time of the year, but it’s really taking off right now,” he said.

A bipartisan legislative committee, along with a citizen’s advisory committee appointed by Gov. Phil Bredesen, are studying ways to strengthen the state’s ethics laws in the wake of a series of scandals.

Bredesen is considering calling a special session of the Legislature to consider new ethics laws, and the panels are expected to be key in developing bills that would be considered.

The two ethics committees were formed following the May arrests of five current or former lawmakers and two lobbyists in a federal bribery sting code-named Tennessee Waltz.

On Tuesday, Greene said the association will hold three sessions. The first two will be open to the media, but the third will be closed.

Dick Williams, director of Tennessee Common Cause, said that one should also be open.

“I guess it raises questions of what they will discuss if they do exclude the public,” Williams said.

The governor’s too panels have discussed several laws to change the way lobbyists do business, including restricting cash contributions from lobbyists and eliminating the “revolving door” that allows a lawmaker to resign his position and immediately begin work as a lobbyist.