By Evan Wyloge and Hank Stephenson | Arizona Capitol Times
From lobbyists to lawmakers to advocacy groups, reactions to flaws in Arizona lobbying reports reflect an image of a system that needs to be improved.
Some call for increasing oversight, others for clarifying the laws and guidelines, narrowing loopholes or even banning certain kinds of lobbying. Lobbyists would like to see more clarity in procedures and statutes and ease in reporting.
But any agreement on solutions, not to mention the political will to enact them, still eludes lawmakers two years after the Fiesta Bowl lobbying scandal roped in dozens of politicians, top bowl officials and a handful of lobbyists.
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, who investigated the scandal, summed up the lobbyist reporting system with one word: “inadequate.”
An analysis of the system points to a variety of problems.
