UGA football tickets a benefit legislators lose in 2014 | Online Athens

When recently signed ethics legislation goes into effect in January, state officials will lose a boon that tallied more than $14,000 in 2012.

That boon came in the form of tickets to football games from University System of Georgia lobbyists.

The legislation, signed last week — almost a year after voters in both summer 2012 primaries overwhelmingly supported ethics reform — will bar all event tickets and gifts of more than $75 to elected officials, costing the university a tool to bond with legislators and policymakers, officials said.

It has also spurred a change in one local legislator who went from benefiting from thousands in lobbyists spending to tracking down the donor of a tie so it could be returned.

Tricia Chastain, director of state relations for the University of Georgia, said her office will continue extending invitations for the upcoming football season, but will respect the wishes of legislators wanting to comply early with the law, which goes into effect Jan. 1.

via UGA football tickets a benefit legislators lose in 2014 | Online Athens.