So the 2009 session of the Indiana General Assembly is in the home stretch. There are about two weeks left of session for language to move. The final two weeks are for conference committees. Around the halls, it's called death watch.
Death watch is when groups monitor as many conference committees as possible to watch for sneaky insertions into bills and to make sure their sneaky insertions into bills go through. Obviously not every bill gets some new language, but I'd say most do.
It's always an exciting time as everyone knows the final push is happening. Legislators are tired of hearing from lobbyists and lobbyists are tired of talking to legislators. In all though, it's one of the most exciting times of the year.
Showing posts with label lobbying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lobbying. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Revolving doors
Yesterday, the House Insurance Committee met. Pretty normal meeting. There were three bills. One of them was a mandate for hearing aids. A couple of people from the general public testified and all were respectful. One of the ladies was pretty fired up, but did a nice job.
The best part of the meeting came when former State Rep. Mike Ripley testified on a bill. He was a member of the committee last year and now serves as the health lobbyist for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. He got a good-natured ribbing from his former committee and was all in good fun.
Regardless of one's feelings on "revolving doors", Mike is a great guy and will be a great lobbyist. The public are told by the media that revolving doors are a bad thing and imply that there is something wrong with the practice. I've been at the Indiana Statehouse for over 10 years and while I obviously can't say it's never happened, but I can say that I've never seen a former legislator be given preferential votes for his or her issue.
They may be friendly with their former colleagues and they may have a more revealing conversation with their former colleagues, but legislators will continue to vote their conscience (or their caucus directives) regardless of the advocacy of a former legislator. Just my two cents.
The best part of the meeting came when former State Rep. Mike Ripley testified on a bill. He was a member of the committee last year and now serves as the health lobbyist for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. He got a good-natured ribbing from his former committee and was all in good fun.
Regardless of one's feelings on "revolving doors", Mike is a great guy and will be a great lobbyist. The public are told by the media that revolving doors are a bad thing and imply that there is something wrong with the practice. I've been at the Indiana Statehouse for over 10 years and while I obviously can't say it's never happened, but I can say that I've never seen a former legislator be given preferential votes for his or her issue.
They may be friendly with their former colleagues and they may have a more revealing conversation with their former colleagues, but legislators will continue to vote their conscience (or their caucus directives) regardless of the advocacy of a former legislator. Just my two cents.
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