August 16, 2006

NCSL Says Term Limits May Boost Power Of Lobbyists

NASHVILLE - A report on term limits released yesterday by the National Conference of State Legislatures, which is holding its annual convention in Nashville, offers a mixed view of the impact that term limits on legislators has had on lobbyists.

The NCSL annual meeting - reported to have drawn the attendance of some 1,000 state legislators and 2,000 lobbyists - was the backdrop for the release of Coping With Term Limits, A Practical Guide, a 36-page report produced by the NCSL, the Council of State Governments, the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and the Joint Project on Term Limits. The report is designed to provide ammunition to opponents of term limits seeking to repeal them in the 15 states where they exist for state legislators or fighting their imposition in the 35 states that don't have them.

Regarding lobbyists, the report says...

Most observers surveyed by the JPTL believe that lobbyists have gained at least some power with term limits, while observers in non-term limits states saw lobbyist influence as steady or even declining during the past decade.

New legislators' lack of policy information and experience and the knowledge that, with term limits, their time to acquire these is severely limited - forces term-limited legislators to rely on lobbyists for information.

It is clear, however, that under term limits, lobbying is more difficult than it used to be. Lobbyists have to meet, educate and establish relationships with many more lawmakers every two years than they did in the past. They cannot afford to ignore freshman lawmakers, because some of them will likely serve as leaders in a few short years. They spend much more time educating members on issues and bills and in traveling the state to meet new members. Interest groups and businesses often react to the extra work by hiring more lobbyists.

Traditionally, lobbyists have depended upon their reputation to effectively do their jobs. Lying to or misleading a legislator can lead to a loss of credibility that quickly ends a lobbying career. Thus, lobbyists generally have been careful to use reliable information and provide legislators with all sides of a policy debate

Under term limits, long-term lobbyist-legislator relationships have been broken, and lobbyists know that their interactions with a legislator will end at a particular point in time. In some cases, this has led to unethical behavior by lobbyists who may not be as careful about guarding their credibility as in the past. On occasion, short-term lobbying goals have come outweigh the importance of long-term credibility. Observers interviewed in the JPTL case studies reported instances of biased narratives of policy history and disrespectful behavior toward legislators and leaders. Although such behavior remains the exception, it is reportedly more common under term limits.

Although term-limited legislators may need the policy and procedural expertise that lobbyists hold more than their non-term-limited counterparts do, they also are more likely to be suspicious of lobbyists. This creates a new and unique tension in the legislator-lobbyist relationship.

New legislators may share the general public's negative impression of lobbyists, viewing them as manipulators who are interested only in biasing public policy toward their own special interest.

Because there are more new members than ever under term limits, legislators in term-limited states are more likely to distrust lobbyists than are their non-term-limited peers.

Coming tomorow: A look at how term limits impacts budgetary policy.

Previous coverage of the NCSL and its term limits report:
NCSL Agrees To Let Blogger Cover Session on Blogs
NCSL's Report Belies Its Press Release
Newsflash: Association of Legislators Doesn't Like Term Limits