Posted: | February 9, 2021 10:13 AM |
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From: | Representative Tina M. Davis and Rep. Joanna E. McClinton |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Prohibiting Lobbyists from Consulting on Campaigns |
Pennsylvanians must have confidence that their elected officials put public interests above those of lobbyists representing wealthy and powerful special interests. Unfortunately, however, it is not uncommon for lobbyists to run the campaigns of elected officials and thereafter receive, or at least appear to receive, undue influence over the elected officials who they helped to elect. Some of the worst offenders have made it into a highly lucrative cottage industry with campaign consulting and lobbying done side by side by the same people and the potential to exercise exorbitant sway over the votes cast by those whom they helped elect. At a time when calls to drain the swamp are prevalent, this practice breeds public mistrust and must be stopped. We are introducing legislation that will prohibit lobbyists from serving as campaign consultants and will prohibit campaign consultants from later lobbying an elected official whom they helped elect for the term to which they were elected. The practice of wealthy and powerful lobbyists gaining undue influence over elected officials by running or serving on their political campaigns must stop. Please join us in countering this threat to our representative democracy and keeping elected officials out of the pockets of monied special interest lobbyists. |
Introduced as HB1039