Tampa Tribune Editorial

Hillsborough County commissioners are scheduled today to discuss a revision of the county's lobbying rule. The measure needs updating.

The ordinance now requires lobbyists who appear before county commissioners and senior staff members to register as lobbyists. The lobbyists are required to submit annual sworn statements listing all sources of money and itemized amounts spent on each commissioner.

But the registration process is informal.

Lobbyists sign a registry at the County Center when they are to talk to commissioners. The process doesn't cover a lobbyist who phones commissioners or meets them away from the center. And the information isn't posted on the Internet.

Commissioner Kathy Castor suggests a change. She wants lobbyists to fill out a registration form that would be posted on the county's Web site. All lobbyists who contacted commissioners, in person or not, would be required to complete the form. The list would be posted on the Internet for public review.

This is a reasonable change. It applies only to paid lobbyists, so it wouldn't hamper citizens discussing a neighborhood issue. And it wouldn't be burdensome.

The lobbyists would be required to register the name and address of each principal represented and the general reason for the representation. It also would require a disclosure of any business relationship with commissioners or top staffers.

Lobbyists would not be required to fill it out each time they talked to a commissioner - unless they were representing a new client. Biannual expenditure and gift reports would be necessary, as they now are for lobbyists appearing before the commission.

While this is a useful addition to the lobbyist ordinance, the commission should also retain its requirement that lobbyists register when they meet with a commissioner.

This provides a useful log of how much lobbying is going on.

There is nothing wrong with commissioners listening to lobbyists, who have every right to represent their clients and who often provide key information on contested issues.

But problems can occur when citizens - who have neither the time nor the expertise to contest an issue throughout a long review process - are outgunned by lobbyists paid to doggedly pursue the matter.

Commissioners need to take care that they attend the concerns of all parties, not just those with the Palm Pilots and polished presentations.

This minor but useful change to the lobbying ordinance would give voters a clearer view of who is pushing commissioners - and why. The ordinance deserves adoption.