Ethics reform moves to full Senate

INDIANAPOLIS – A bill that calls for increased transparency in relationships between lobbyists and legislators moved out of committee Monday, 12-0, and now heads to the full Senate. 

Senate Bill 114 would require lobbyists to report their spending in communication with legislators.  Legislative branch lobbyists will report their expenses to the Lobby Registration Commission, and executive branch lobbyists will report their numbers to the State Ethics Commission.

These reports would be open to the public, and would help inform voters by allowing them to see just how much money lobbyists spend on particular legislators.  Lobbyists also will have to get a public official’s approval before giving him or her gift to ensure that both the lobbyists and the politicians are informed.

This bill also defines lobbying, and goes on to say that people that work at state educational institutions no longer will be considered public employees for lobbying registration purposes.

“We’re not opposed to the bill, just offering concerns,” Jeff Terp from Ivy Tech said after testifying at the committee meeting.

“We believe in transparency and full disclosure,” Terp said.

Terp said he believes that if this bill passes as written it could cause issues with communication between legislators and school employees.  The employees of the schools would have to register as employer lobbyists, which affects the ways in which school employees could contact and communicate with legislators. 

A representative from Ball State University voiced the same concern, saying that state educational institutions are already transparent to the public.