New ethics rules’ Jan. 1 start creates uncertainty for lobbyists, lawmakers | www.myajc.com

via New ethics rules’ Jan. 1 start creates uncertainty for lobbyists, lawmakers | www.myajc.com.

The new ethics rules, approved by lawmakers this year, have already spawned a number of questions. Among them: Does the bill include an inadvertent exemption that allows lobbyists who are lawyers to avoid registering and disclosing their spending? Do lobbyists who are state employees have to register? Does the new $75 cap on lobbyist gifts to lawmakers apply to each individual instance or could a lobbyist, for example, spend $75 on drinks and another $75 on dinner?

Those kinds of questions are typically answered by the state ethics commission. But until Jan. 1, commission members and executives say their hands are tied.

“We can take a look at it, but I don’t think we can have a hearing to publicly discuss it or post comments until we have rule-making authority,” Executive Director Holly LaBerge told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday.

One of the key elements of House Bill 142, which Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to sign next week, is that it restores the state ethics commission’s rule-making authority. This ability to write regulations and interpret the law was taken away in 2009 when the commission interpreted the law governing campaign travel in a way that angered then-House Speaker Glenn Richardson, R-Hiram.