Commissioner Murman praised in this Tampa Bay Times editorial on lobbying reform at the county:
Editorial: Proposal brings rules for ethics in lobbying into modern era
Friday, September 25, 2015 4:14pm
Lobbying is an art, and the most effective arm-twisting with public officials takes place deep below the radar. But the proposal by Hillsborough County Commission Chairwoman Sandy Murman to tighten the county’s ethics rules is a good first step in bringing public oversight into the modern era and more in line with other urban counties.
Murman announced last week that she would propose a plan in October to close loopholes in the county’s current lobbying policy. As it stands, lobbyists who are interested in meeting with top county officials are supposed to sign a registry at County Center. Lobbyists who arrange off-site meetings are required to notify the county clerk within seven days. But this is a self-policing exercise that has not resulted in any violations for years, even as lobbyists weigh in on everything from contracts to commission appointments.
Murman’s proposal would keep the responsibility on lobbyists to self-report. But the registry would be converted to an online database. Lobbyists would be required to register and list the clients they represent, and the public could track interactions between lobbyists and elected officials and staff.
Importantly, the rules would apply to verbal and electronic communications as well, meaning that emails, calls, texts and other modern forms of daily contact would not fall outside the rules as they do now. That would close a loophole big enough to jam a sweetheart deal through without anyone knowing who pushed it for what client.
The measure is a response to the controversy surrounding a contract the county awarded to engineering consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff. At issue is whether Parsons won the job because it hired Beth Leytham, a public relations executive with close ties to several commissioners. While county auditors earlier this year found the contract was properly awarded, Sheriff David Gee has agreed to the county’s request to take a separate look.
This proposal addresses the Parsons’ controversy only in part. A broader problem in that case was the commission’s decision to give staff broad discretion to hire consultants from a list of pre-approved providers.
Still, this change allows Hillsborough to catch up to the times, by recognizing that lobbyists are more inclined to call, text or email than to show themselves in public at County Center. It mirrors the lobbying regulations in Pinellas County, which require that “all forms of communication” be reported. And it forms the basis for creating an accessible database the public could use to track those looking for government favors.
County commissioners should embrace Murman’s good proposal and look to build on it by expanding the database to Hillsborough’s three cities.
