Tennessee lobbyists to hold annual ethics training sessions

With Gov. Phil Bredesen’s appointed ethics advisory group preparing recommendations that could require lobbyists to report how much money they make, a government ethics analyst told members of the Tennessee Lobbyists Association they should have a code of ethics.

Association President Mark Greene said leaders of the 230-member association decided at their annual convention to start the ethics training sessions in January. Greene also said the association was discussing the possibility of developing an ethics code.

About 70 association members Tuesday listened to Drew Rawlins, director of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, talk about a new electronic registration system for lobbyists and Peggy Kerns, director of the Center for Ethics for the National Conference of State Legislatures, describe differing state approaches to government ethics.

Greene said Tennessee lobbyists oppose reporting their personal incomes but are ready to make any changes the Legislature approves.

“How much money you make is kind of a sensitive issue for everybody,” Greene said. “Maybe there’s a way to do it when you find out the total spent (for client services) without determining how much somebody makes.”

Tausha Carmack, a lobbyist for the Tennessee Bankers Association, said negative publicity, some of it stemming from the FBI’s Tennessee Waltz sting involving alleged bribes paid to legislators, has been discouraging.

Carmack, an attorney, said lobbyists are resources of information for lawmakers and she’s proud of her three years of work as an advocate for banks. She said she’s surprised how many young women are going into the field.

“It’s a good profession,” said Carmack, 29, of Nashville. “I think it is hard not to be discouraged when an aspect of your profession is kind of being demeaned and targeted. Obviously legislators can’t be experts on all issues.”

About 30 of the 70 convention registrants were women. Fewer than a half dozen registrants were black but Greene said the percentage closely resembles the makeup of the Legislature.

“We are everyday Tennesseans and this just happens to be the profession we work in,” Carmack said.

Bredesen appointed his ethics advisory panel after the FBI’s two-year bribery sting became public with indictments in May. The investigation focused on a bogus company called E-Cycle Management and led to arrests of five current or former legislators and two lobbyists. The company created by the FBI looked like it was trying to set up business buying and reselling used government computers.

The panel has discussed ways to change how lobbyists do business, including restricting cash contributions to public officials and eliminating the “revolving door” that allows a lawmaker to resign his position and immediately begin work as a lobbyist.

Greene said the association was not taking sides in the revolving-door discussion.

A national study released by the Center for Public Integrity ranked Tennessee 45th for effectiveness of lobbyist-disclosure requirements.

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On The Net:

Bredesen-Ethics: http://www.tn.gov

Center for Public Integrity: http://www.publicintegrity.org