Lobbyist thrives on entertaining lawmakers
And that would be when the 104 part-time lawmakers are not in their 45-day general session. When lawmakers are on Capitol Hill, you would be seeing them eight, 10, even 12 hours a day.
How about playing golf with legislators once a week, or traveling to what would be a fun city, like New Orleans, and spending your time talking to Utah legislators and/or entertaining them instead of seeing the sights?
For dozens of Utah lobbyists, building personal relationships with people who you may or may not have much in common with is all part of the job.
Still, some lobbyists thrive on their work. Recent lobbyist filings show that independent, contract lobbyist Paul Rogers from April 1 to June 30 paid for a meal with a Utah lawmaker on average two out of every three days. And some days, Rogers said, he had two breakfasts or two lunches with different legislators. In one six-day stretch he bought a meal for one lawmaker, sometimes two legislators, a day.
"It takes a lot of time, not just talking to legislators, but logistically setting up the time to talk to them," said Rogers, who as a partner in the independent lobbying firm the Tetris Group is one of the most successful lobbyists in Utah.
In his latest lobbyist report, Rogers spent $1,043.58 on 51 separate "expenses" with legislators over the last three months, by far most being meals. All of those expenses are under $50, and so don't come with the accepting legislators' names attached. (You can view lobbyists' reports at secure.utah .gov/lobbyist/lobbysearch.)
Rogers was a state senator during the 1980s, leaving in 1988 to start lobbying. His latest filing shows he has 33 clients, including some heavyweights in the business community like the Utah Bankers Association and PacifiCorp.
While lobbying is work, Rogers says talking with legislators is not a bad job. In fact, it is a good one.
"For the most part they are very pleasant people. Seeing them is not a challenge. But it is a challenge to get in front of so many people" so often, Rogers said. And in his mind, face-to-face talk is the best way to not only provide information to lawmakers, but to get feedback from them.
"Especially when you are at first framing an issue" that you are taking to the Legislature, "it is enormously valuable" to get legislators' views.
Some lawmakers don't want to talk face-to-face, but will talk on the telephone. A few don't want to talk about an issue at all, Rogers said. But most are willing to listen. In fact, they want the information a lobbyist has, Rogers said. "There are some (legislators) who will go Dutch — pay their half of the lunch. They don't want me to expense anything to them."
Recent comments
Interestingly enough all these lobbyists and their piglet snouts...
Behold the beam... | July 18, 2008 at 8:15 a.m.
Humm.....Are these the same legislators who are have been so concerned...
puzzled | July 17, 2008 at 10:41 p.m.
For all of you who want to get rid of lobbyists, there is a simple...
Commoner | July 17, 2008 at 9:36 p.m.
