I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that members of the Arizona Legislature are apparently preparing to wrap up the session and go home without imposing a ban on lobbyists’ gifts.
Again, that is.
On Tuesday, KPHO’s Morgan Loew aired a hidden-camera report, showing a stream of legislators marching into an exclusive steakhouse for a little wining and dining and lobbying from the American Legislative Exchange Council.
The most startling part of the report – apart from the price of a steak and a shot of Senate Appropriations Chairman Don Shooter carrying around what appeared to be a bottle of bourbon — was that this open-bar soiree was a membership drive for ALEC.
Me? I thought ALEC already owned the state Capitol.
Sadly, for the third year in a row, the Legislature is declining to impose a ban on gifts or even any requirement that they publicly disclose who is wining them and dining them due to their exalted status.
Then again, maybe they just didn’t have time to get to that bill. You know… with the need to adjourn and get home so they can start campaigning for your vote this fall. You might want to remember that.
By the way, that’s also Shooter – yeah, the guy who is depending upon special interests to pay his rent, his utilities and even his criminal defense via their campaign contributions – who spotted the Channel 5 cameraman at the end of the KPHO report.
