New database makes Virginia lobbying a bit more transparent

RICHMOND

An online database being launched today will shed more light on the often murky relationships between state legislators and lobbyists.

But the data may raise as many questions as it answers, because gaps in Virginia law allow lobbyists broad discretion in how they report money spent on influence.

"If you talk to lobbyists about these forms, and we've talked to a lot of them, it's clear the law gives them wide latitude in what they can disclose," said David Poole, executive director of the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit group that has tracked campaign contributions in Virginia for more than a decade.

The site can be found by going to www.vpap.org and clicking on the "lobbyist" tab.

There, users can find data detailing how much lobbyists say they were paid, the bills they tracked, the legislators they wined and dined, and how much they reported spending on them.

Numbers on the Web site may be hard to compare, Poole warns, because state disclosure laws are open to interpretation and can be confusing.

Lobbyists are required to report any entertainment expense on a state official that exceeds $50. That requirement can be avoided, however, if several lobbyists dine together with a lawmaker and split the cost. For example, a dinner would not have to be disclosed if two lobbyists split the cost of a $90 tab for an official.

"There's no clarity about what is the right way to report," said Julie Rautio, a Richmond lobbyist who said it is common for a group of her colleagues representing different interests to take out a group of officials and discuss issues.

Rautio, a former board member of the Virginia Public Access Project, would like a standardized form with clear rules for how expenses should be disclosed.

The project 's database was created by compiling individual annual lobbyist reports that are filed with the secretary of the commonwealth.

The secretary's office keeps the records, but no government agency checks the disclosures for accuracy.

"The only policing power is the public and the press," said state lobbyist specialist Chris Frink, who oversees the records.

Virginia does not limit amounts that lobbyists can give officials. State lawmakers have long maintained that limit s are not necessary as long as all gifts are reported.

Lobbying has grown in Richmond over the past decade as lawmakers have been required to regulate ever-growing issues in science and technology.

According to state records, lobbyists spent $12 million influencing the state government in 2000-01; they spent $20.1 million in 2007-08, an increase of more than 67 percent.

Five years ago, Virginia was given a "D" for its lobbyist disclosure laws in a 2003 study by the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington non profit group. Only 15 states got higher grades.

Virginia last initiated a study of its lobbying laws in 2004. The effort did not yield major legislation.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com

Warren Fiske, (804) 697-1565,warren.fiske@pilotonline.com