Yet regulations are tighter today than a decade ago, before the federal Lost Trust sting caught more than two dozen lawmakers, lobbyists and state employees in ethics violations. The system is a lot better now than it used to be, said John Crangle, state president of Common Cause and a lobbyist for 15 years. Lobbyists would use gifts back in the old days. The lobbyists basically owned the General Assembly with corrupt relationships that were basically legal back in those days. Now, you can t give people anything of value.
State law restricts what lobbyists can and can t do for legislators or state agencies.
Nearly anyone hired to influence a state official using direct communication must register with the S.C. Ethics Commission. The commission is charged with prosecuting lobbyists who break the law, but it has made no prosecutions since ethics laws were tightened in the 1990s. I think lobbyists as a group have done a good job adhering to the law, said Herbert Hayden, the agency s executive director. Rep. Bill Cotty, R-Richland, said today s lobbyists are professional and helpful. They are a great research tool, said Cotty, in his sixth year as a legislator.