D.D. 12/08/05

Looks like politicans are already ducking and running from ethics reform on specious grounds. According to the Nashville City Paper, some lawmakers are already voicing their concern over the bill produced by the Joint Ethics Committee up for consideration in January special session on ethics reform. The point of contention in the bill is a provision that requires registration of volunteer lobbyists who are reimbursed for their expenses:

"We better not put a roadblock in the way of everyday citizens coming up here every day to participate," Rep. Mike Kernell (D-Memphis) said.

Last I checked, every day citizen lobbyists weren't reimbursed by any organization for their expenses, unless they were becoming a semi-professional lobbyist.