Submitted by Bud Jackson on Fri, 2006-02-10 01:55.
HALTER ANNOUNCES REFORM MEASURES
Little Rock – Democratic candidate for Governor Bill Halter today announced a set of reforms that take aim at special-interest influence and lobbying in Arkansas.
“We need to end the perception that many Arkansans have that their interests are taking a back-seat to powerful special interests,” said Halter. “We need to make our government more transparent to the people.”
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●Ban all campaign contributions from lobbyists and their PAC’s
“It’s time to restrict the role of money in the legislative process and expand the role of ideas,” said Halter. “We need to restore the public’s trust and faith that their interests are coming first.”
●Ban all gifts, meals and travel paid for by lobbyists
“It is time to ban all campaign contributions, meals and gifts from registered lobbyists and their political action committees (PAC’s),” Halter continued. “And there will also be no more travel junkets paid for by lobbyists.”
● “Cooling-Off” - Require retiring members of the Arkansas Legislature to wait at least two years before becoming lobbyists
Arkansas law would be amended to prevent former members of the Arkansas Senate or the House of Representative from lobbying for 2 years from the expiration of their term.
“Establishing a ‘cooling-off’ period will make certain that our elected officials are working on the people’s business rather than on attaining their next job,” said Halter.
●Increase Maximum Fines from $1,000. to $10,000. Repeated Violators to be Fined a Maximum of $25,000.
Currently, fines for lobbyist registration and activity report violations are a maximum of $1000.
“This is simply not enough, especially for big-money special interests” said Halter. “We need to increase maximum fines to demonstrate serious consequences for disclosure violations. Lobbyists who repeat their violations will be subject to even higher penalties.”