And when politicians get tickets to a sporting event or rock concert from a corporation, company lobbyists often end up sitting in the luxury box beside them. Many people I do things with, I do it because I want to get to know these people outside of a sterile committee room. And yes, that is a two-way street. In the first six months of 2000, Arco gave 135 Kings tickets to legislators, aides and other bureaucrats. Arco and BP Amoco, which took over Arco in 2000, lobbied legislators on numerous issues last year, which included bills to rein in gasoline prices, state air quality regulations, and next year's phaseout of the gasoline additive MTBE, which has been linked to cancer in laboratory animals.
Many legislators reimburse their benefactors for some or all of the costs.
Unless lawmakers refund gifts within 30 days, they and the companies that gave the gifts are required to disclose them. The Fair Political Practices Commission, created to enforce campaign finance and ethics laws, is supposed to take action against those who violate gift limits. But the cash-strapped commission does not review all disclosure reports. It typically looks into potential violations only after someone, usually a political opponent, registers a complaint. For example, two special interest groups can split the costs of entertaining a lawmaker.