Who’s the Boss (Editorial)

Everyone knows lobbyists carry weight. That’s what they do. That is their reason for existence: to persuade lawmakers to do what the lobbyist wants him to do.

But when lobbyists actually pay lawmakers — well, that’s influence of a whole other magnitude. Most people do what their bosses want them to do. That’s why you get the paycheck.

The Senate Ethics Committee of the Arkansas Legislature is considering an ethics rule change that would require legislators who are lawyers or consultants to disclose their relationships with lobbyists and how much they’re paid by said lobbyists.

The action comes in the wake of political corruption scandals that have seen five former state legislators convicted of criminal charges. One of the players in the corruption follies is Milton “Rusty” Cranford of Rogers, a former executive at Preferred Family Healthcare Inc. of Springfield, Missouri. Cranford was also a lobbyist, and he admitted to paying bribes to some of those legislators. He’s pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme.

In his guilty plea, Cranford said he made payoffs to state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, a Little Rock lawyer and Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s nephew. Some of those payoffs took the form of attorney’s fees, Cranford said. Jeremy Hutchinson’s lawyer, Tim Dudley, said that “Hutchinson’s work as a practicing attorney and part-time legislator” was “mischaracterized” and that his client hadn’t done anything unethical or illegal.

Hutchinson hasn’t been charged in the Preferred Family Healthcare case, though he has been charged with misspending campaign donations and underreporting his income. He has since resigned from the Legislature and pleaded innocent.

So now state senators think it might be a good idea if their colleagues reported whether lobbyists are actually paying them. It’s a good start, but it’s no solution. The solution is to elect lawmakers who answer to voters, not lobbyists.