Local government lobbyist ban is unfair

It’s subcommittee season at the Statehouse, when a lot of bad bills briefly see the light of day. Thankfully, many are scrapped before they do any harm.

We hope that’s what happens to a bill that would prohibit school districts, cities and counties from using any taxpayer funds to send lobbyists to the Capitol. It cleared a subcommittee but should go no further.

That means local governments would have no voices under the golden dome to articulate their position on bills affecting them and their constituents. No one would be there to explain issues facing local officials and possible solutions.

The city of Cedar Rapids is a good example of the benefits of having eyes and ears inside the Capitol. Since the flood of 2008, Cedar Rapids has often looked to the Legislature for support, including gaining the passage of a novel funding mechanism to help the city pay for its flood protection system.

The effort to push that bill to passage required a day-to-day effort the part of the city and its lobbyists on the scene.

Proponents of the bill argue that it’s just as effective for lawmakers to meet with local government officials on weekends. But those lawmakers know that’s not true.

It’s very difficult to know what’s really going on in the Legislature unless you are there watching the legislative process. The speed by which legislative circumstances change won’t slow down for a weekend meeting. The chance to weigh in and influence the outcome might have passed.

Often, lobbyists have longer institutional knowledge of the Legislature than lawmakers.

The bill is being portrayed as property tax relief. But eliminating the cost of lobbyists for the large local governments who hire them won’t make a budgetary ripple.

This is a political gimmick, playing on the fact most people don’t have a high opinion of lobbyists. And GOP lawmakers who have spent the last eight years ripping authority away from local governments, apparently don’t want pesky lobbyists around to point out the slow death of local control.

Like it or not, lobbyists are a part of the legislative process, especially in the critical moments when bills are taking shape. Barring local governments from having lobbyists on hand to plead their case is unfair and unnecessary. Scrap the bill.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com