PACs pack it in, lobbyists send it out

MONTGOMERY -- Fifteen political action committees spent more than $1 million to influence the legislation process in Alabama a year ago.

Together, the 15 groups spent $42.5 million alone.

It has gotten so out of hand, according to some., that the inventors of the PAC system in Alabama want to get out of the money-shifting business.

Bob Geddie, of Fine, Geddie and Associates, said he's told clients the lobbying firm will no longer allow shifting money through their 11 PACs to disguise the source of funds.

Fine and Geddie virtually invented contract lobbying PACs and the transfer of money through them.

The Alabama Education Association's Paul Hubbert says he supports banning the shifting of money through PACs, a process known as PAC-to-PAC transfers.

"It's gotten out of control,'' said Alabama Ethics Commission Director James Sumner Jr. "This explosion of PACs has become a system of laundering money.''

Sumner said a PAC-to-PAC transfer ban and reducing the amount of money that can be spent on a public official are important aspects of lobbying reform expected in the legislative session that begins Tuesday.

"PAC-to-PAC, I think almost universally, is in a sense the 800-pound gorilla of election reform, getting that prohibition passed,'' Sumner said. "That's second only to decreasing the amount of money that anybody can spend on public officials and employees.''

State law allows lobbyists to spend up to $250 a day, or over $90,000 a year, on individuals before it has to be reported. Sumner said the reporting requirement is for anyone, not just lobbyists.

"The consensus seems to be either lower it significantly to the $25 or $50 range or to zero,'' Sumner said.

Public officials also are not allowed to accept a seasonal gift worth more than $100 from a vendor or lobbyist or anyone, he said.

PACs are the lifeblood of lobbying in Alabama, where on the average there are four registered lobbyists for each of the 140 members of the Legislature, at last count.

While 600 lobbyists seems a lot, about 150 defy the definition because they are state employees who have to register as lobbyists because they appear before the Legislature for budget and other considerations.

Technically, Gov. Bob Riley and his finance director or legal adviser could be considered a lobbyist. But the governor and his inner circle were written out of the law while someone like the state prison commissioner must register as a lobbyist.

Johnny Crawford, of Franklin Resources Group, is a contract lobbyist in Montgomery who fits the classical definition of what most people think of as a lobbyist. He represents client interests for a fee.

Crawford said the Ethics Law rewrite in the mid-1990s classified even some state agency employees as lobbyists, if they appeared before the Legislature. That means that some agencies and their top managers, three or four deep, have to register as lobbyists.

"It tripled registration numbers,'' he said.

Crawford said the Ronald Reagan revolution that shifted authority and funding from Washington to states also resulted in a corresponding movement away from lobbying Capitol Hill to lobbying Goat Hill.

"The Fortune 500 companies that used to play only in Washington moved to the state level,'' he said.

Crawford added that since Alabama's part-time Legislature has few staffers, in a way lobbyists act as information centers.

Riley wants to limit the impact money has on elected officials by requiring anyone to report what they spend. Sumner said it's not only lobbyists who are covered by spending limits.

"Our position is I don't mind reporting, if that's what the law is," Crawford said. "However, all I suggest is we have a level playing field. If we're going to have real reporting, maybe the recipient should have to report from all sources.''

Crawford's firm is a major one based on the number of clients.

Other contract lobbyists with major client bases include Hal Bloom, Tom Coker, Fine and Geddie, and Jeff and Deborah Miller.

A new one has emerged involving former state Sens. Crum Foshee and John Teague. Total Political Solutions, in addition to Teague and Foshee, includes Don Gilbert, Jim Gray, Jerry Spencer and Tami Teague, based on a company statement.

In all, political action committees spent more than $80 million on state and national politics. Crawford, like others, has a PAC and it is among the leaders financially, according to the secretary of state's office.

"It seems to have been over the 28 years I've been here that more percentage of dollars are coming from PACs and organizational sources rather than household sources,'' Crawford said.

"The fact of life is during campaigns, legislators are soliciting campaign contributions from associations who have PACS, from businesses and unions that have PACs and from contract lobbyists who have PACs,'' Crawford said.

Dana Beyerle can be reached at (334) 264-6605 or dtb12345@aol.com.