Ethics panel weighs regulating agencies contracting lobbyists

The Clarion-Ledger, 11/20/8

Some Mississippi officials are calling for more oversight in lobbying on behalf of state agencies.

Senate Ethics Committee Chairman Merle Flowers, R-Southaven, said he anticipates legislation to “either ban the practice outright or make it transparent.” The 2009 legislative session begins in January.

The Senate Ethics Committee has uncovered nearly $2 million in taxpayers’ dollars spent on contract lobbyists, Flowers said.

“I think if you ask the taxpayers what they think about this, they will say it’s a waste,” said Flowers’ whose committee is holding a second day of hearings today at the Capitol on the issue.