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Slate of lobbyist, campaign finance bills hit Dover

Delaware Public Media

 

A handful of Democratic lawmakers are trying to cast sunshine on lobbying and the influence money plays in state politics.

Three new bills would force lobbyists to pay a fee to the state for each client they represent and disclose how much they’ve gotten paid to lobby legislation and who paid them.

That money would go toward funding the state Public Integrity Commission, the ethics oversight agency that’s staffed by two people and sponsored by Rep. Paul Baumbach (D-Newark).

Sen. Bryan Townsend (D-Newark), who’s involved with the three bills, says more money needs to be given to the PIC to make any legitimate headway in making it a serious watchdog agency.

“I think that certainly having the resources and funding for the [Public Integrity Commission] to meaningfully investigate and enforce the integrity laws in Delaware is a key item, a key change that we have to make,” Townsend said.

Salaries of the two PIC employees make up 58 percent of the entity’s budget, which was cut by two 2.6 percent last year.

Another proposal would make donors to state campaigns reveal who they work for.

Townsend says that disclosure is already required at the federal level, helping voters decipher which industries or interests might be trying to sway a candidate.

“I know that there are people who go and look at contributions and say, ‘I want to make more sense out of this, out of these reports,’ and so I think having the employer and occupation information helps them make more sense out of it.”

The two-term state senator cited a 2015 survey from Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity, which gave Delaware a failing grade for transparency and ethical safeguards, ranking 48th out of all states.

Committees in the House and Senate will debate their respective bills first.

Note: Delaware Public Media's James Dawson collaborated on the project with Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity

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