Report on lobbyist spending makes a mockery of transparency

Transparency has evolved into one of those words that annoys me. Not because I don’t believe in it, I do, but because so often the transparency sought is never accomplished, and I suspect that’s deliberate.

One glaring example: The lobbying reports for the Nevada Legislature. They’re one laughable example of supposed transparency.

A little background is in order. Pre-1995, lobbyists reported what they spent on legislators overall for gifts and entertainment, but they didn’t name the legislator. In 1993, they reported spending an average of $4,800 for each of the 63 legislators.

But when the law changed and they had to name names, the per-Legislature-lobbyist expenditure plummeted to $380 per legislator in 1995. It became a matter of pride for some lawmakers to report they took absolutely nothing from lobbyists. The 2011 reports claim that lobbying expenses now total a scant average of $72 per legislator.

But get real, does anyone really believe that Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, actually accepted only $4 in “entertainment” from a lobbyist during the session? Or that Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, accepted “entertainment” totaling just $47.50?

The receptions, which aren’t broken down per legislator attending, totaled $118,381, an average of $1,879 per legislator.

In the most recent session, under the reporting-by-name records, Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, was the leader in accepting lobbying meals, gifts and entertainment at $1,093, followed by Sen. Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, who came in second at $305, the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Ed Vogel reported in November.

Those reports, of course, are big lies of omission. As Vogel noted, those numbers apply only to the actual 120-day session itself.

The rest of the year, it’s Katy bar the door. Meals, tickets, trips and other goodies given lawmakers don’t have to be reported by lobbyists or lawmakers. Neither did trips by Horsford to the Bahamas and Assemblyman William Horne and Kelvin Atkinson to London, all to learn about Internet poker.

How many other trips went unreported in violation of the spirit of transparency? Federal officials report their trips, so what makes Nevada’s legislators so special that they shouldn’t?

A lobbyist once told me about running into a legislator who said they should have dinner before the session started. That way it wouldn’t be reportable.

Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, tried to close that loophole by requiring lobbyists report quarterly, whether the Legislature is in session or not. Senate Bill 206 passed the Senate unanimously. Aren’t senators the ethical ones? But the bill was deep-sixed by Assemblyman Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, chairman of the Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee. He had a May 26 hearing and decided there wasn’t enough time to consider this rather simple bill.

This isn’t a partisan issue.

Years ago, Senate Republicans killed open government bills sent to them by the Assembly. Now apparently, it’s the Assembly’s turn to whack those bills. Leadership rarely takes the lead, and the committee chairs end up looking like the villains, although they are doing exactly what most legislators want.

Leslie told Vogel that her bill requiring year-round reporting won’t ever pass unless there is a public uproar. I’ve roared about the lack of open government in the Legislature for decades now, to no avail.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t roar one more time.

Yes, it’s true. You can’t legislate honest behavior. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pass laws requiring real transparency.

Few legislators seem to realize, as Leslie does, that the public doesn’t trust government at any level these days.

If Leslie says it’s going to take a public uproar, maybe it’s time to roar.

Silence reflects indifference.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison.