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COMMENTARY
‘Cool off’ between legislative jobs
"'C JTour state senator or represen
V' tative is working for you in
JL the halls of the Oregon legis
lature today. Tomorrow he or she
may be representing a special inter
est in those same halls as a lobbyist.
I have a problem with that
arrangement.
The legislature should not be a
stepping stone for someone looking
for a lucrative job as a lobbyist.
There should be a clean break—call
it a cooling-off period—between
representing the people and repre
senting special interest groups.
House Speaker Mark Simmons
raised this ethical cloud recently by
accepting a job as political affairs
director for the Oregon Association
of Nurserymen. He plans to contin
ue serving as Speaker of the House
while working for the nurserymen,
although he has said he will not lob
by members of the Legislature until
next session — when he will no
longer be a sitting lawmaker.
Don’t get me wrong. Mark Sim
mons is a decent guy who is just
trying to make a living. But there is
a larger question here. Should spe
cial interest groups have the ability
to purchase the connections and
influence of a legislator while that
legislator is still in office?
Under the current system, a law
Guest Commentary
Mark
Hass
maker could be “interviewing” for
a lobby job while he or she is still in
office, in effect doing favors for the
prospective employer. I think that
stinks to high heaven.
Twenty-seven other states have al
ready put the brakes on this poten
tial for trouble by banning lawmak
ers from immediately becoming
paid lobbyists after they leave office.
Oregon should add its name to this
list and prevent legislators from lob
bying their former colleagues for two
years. Making them sit out for at least
one full legislative session may deter
special influence groups from trying
to buy their way into our representa
tive system of democracy.
Oregon already has a similar ban
for administrators of regulatory
agencies, such as the Oregon Lot
tery and the Department of Con
sumer Affairs and Business. They
can’t lobby or represent a group
with business before the agency for
two years after leaving their job.
More than 20 former legislators
lobbied the Oregon Legislature dur
ing the 2001 session, according to
the Portland-based Money in Poli
tics Research Action Project. Five
had left office within the previous
year. I’m not questioning the integri
ty of these people. But appearance is
important if we want to restore trust
in our government officials.
The public is already jaded about
government. Just the suspicion that
legislators spend time ingratiating
themselves with prospective em
ployers is like pouring grease into a
hot fire. Jumping from the legislature
to the lobby feeds into the very cyni
cism that keeps people from voting.
The legislature can take a big
step toward reversing this cyni
cism by passing the Revolving
Door Act to assure citizens their
leaders are looking out for them
— not looking for a new job.
The Revolving Door Act is drafted
and ready to go when the legislature
convenes. In fact, it could have been
considered in our recent special leg
islative session. But under Oregon
House rules, permission is required
for all legislation before it can be in
troduced in a special session.
Sadly, the Speaker of the House
never granted that permission.
Mark Hass, Class of ’80, is a state
representative whose district includes Raleigh
Hills, part of Beaverton in Washington County
and part of southwest Multnomah County.
Letter to the editor
University community
invited to attend hearing
Will the Moss-Columbia-Villard
neighborhood be razed? Do you care
about this idyllic 12 blocks owned
and neglected by the University?
It is possible that the right thing
will happen to these blocks and
the families living in them, but it
is far more likely if your opinion
is heard.
Please take the time to attend the
hearing on July 24 at 5 p.m. at City
Hall or submit written comments
to the City of Eugene Planning Of
fice anytime before the hearing.
Zachary Vishanoff
Eugene
u n i ve rs i ty
COMMONS
apaRTmenTS
90 CoMmoNs DRive
EuGenE, OR 97401
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