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Food and beverages: Lawmakers benefit from lobbyists’ largesse
Buying lawmakers a meal or a drink is one of the most common ways lobbyists form relationships with lawmakers, and some lawmakers take more advantage of the free meals than others.
From Austin to New Orleans, lawmakers travel at the expense of lobbyists
Travel and lodging account for 12 percent of the money spent in lobbyist expenditure reports that include a beneficiary name from 2011 to 2012.
Power brokers: The most lobbied lawmakers and the busiest lobbyists
a small number of lobbyists spend much more money on lawmakers than the rest. And a select set of lawmakers attract more lobbying attention than others. Lobbying records required by state law hint at who these power brokers are, and give a peek into a small network of lobbyists, their clients and lawmakers who wield extra influence.
Lobbying record analysis methodology
The Arizona Capitol Times analysis of more than 9,000 lobbyist expenditure records that were filed in 2011 and 2012 included making decisions about what to count, what not to count and how to categorize expenditures. The goal was to evaluate different types of spending and to analyze records showing beneficiaries of the money.
Lobbying records reveals loopholes, reporting gaps and errors
Almost daily, Arizona politicians face an army of lobbyists who are ready to spend money on dinners, drinks, parties and travel, aimed at currying favor and eventually bending the public... […]
Lawmakers urging classes on sex, money and the Bible
Sex, money, the Bible and the U.S. Constitution are some of the subjects lawmakers are proposing this session to be taught in Arizona classrooms.
Most of the bills come from Republicans inspired by personal experiences, and they manage to reconcile their proposed classroom mandates with the principles of small government and local control of curriculum.
Push for transparency focuses on campaign spending, gift giving
In the wake of two of Arizona’s biggest political shake-ups of last year, lawmakers are hoping a little sunshine will help clean up the mess.
Shadowy groups involved in the recall of then-Senate President Russell Pearce brought to light some of the flaws in the current financial disclosure requirements. Meanwhile, the Fiesta Bowl scandal brought to light ethical questions about what s[...]
Scandal prompts bill to increase access to companies’ financial disclosures
As part of the state’s response to the Fiesta Bowl scandal, the Secretary of State’s office is planning to make financial disclosure statements more accessible to the public.
Montgomery: Lawmakers ‘screwed up’ but no prosecutions
Bad legal advice and confusing and conflicting lobbying statutes allowed 16 current and former lawmakers who accepted football tickets and other gifts from the Fiesta Bowl to avoid criminal charges.
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said today that after an eight-month probe he can’t prove whether any of the lawmakers “knowingly” failed to disclose trips they took at Fiesta[...]
Senate panel approves bill to overturn term limits
A proposal to ask voters to overturn term limits has overcome the first of many hurdles after a Senate panel approved it on Jan. 19. The committee voted 4-2 to send the bill to the Senate floor for a vote by the entire body.
Lobbyists lower expectations, mainly look to protect clients
So far this year, some lobbyists haven't even bothered to ask lawmakers to introduce a bill on their behalf. Others have big goals, despite the widespread perception that lawmakers will be focused almost entirely on the budget deficit.
AZ lobbyists run through $3.5M in 2008
Last year represented bad times for the United States economy, but the financial reverberations generally weren’t felt in Arizona’s lobbying community, though 2009 might be a different story.
