CHARLESTON -- When Gov. Joe Manchin's chief of staff resigned from his position in early January and became a lobbyist a week later, it triggered a wave of discussion among state lawmakers.
Larry Puccio wasn't the first public official in West Virginia to take a job as a lobbyist. Nor was he the first gubernatorial chief of staff to make the career switch.
The debate centered on the quick turnaround time in which Puccio left his position in public office and registered to lobby for gambling, coal and health interests during the 2010 legislative session.
As a result, the Legislature now is considering a bill (HB 4016) that would prohibit an array of officials from becoming lobbyists for one year after leaving public office. The "revolving door" or "cooling off" provision, as it is often called, would apply to lawmakers, cabinet secretaries and agency chiefs, their deputies, and appointees of constitutional officers.
The proposal was the first piece of legislation to pass the House of Delegates and now awaits committee review in the state Senate.
West Virginia is among 19 states that don't have revolving door provisions for legislators and other public officials who become lobbyists.
The 31 states with such provisions have waiting periods that range from as soon as a legislative session ends to two years after an official leaves his or her government position, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Four other states in addition to West Virginia have proposed revolving door legislation this year.
West Virginia would be wise to join the majority of states that have the provision, said Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne. Such laws are in place to keep a reasonable distance between private interests and public officials, he said. When the two are perceived to have close ties, the public becomes leery of the governmental process, he said.
"Cynicism toward government is so great right now, and it will get worse if the kinds of things we've seen recently continue to happen," Perdue said. "Whether the negative view toward lobbying and government is based on reality or perception, it's only going to compound if we don't take action to make it more honorable."
Lobbying has been an integral part of state governments for decades, but it just recently became a billion-dollar business, according to the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit investigative journalism organization.
About 40,000 lobbyists representing close to 50,000 companies roamed the halls of the nation's 50 statehouses in 2005. That means there were more than five lobbyists for each state lawmaker, according to the center. And in the 42 states that reported lobbying expenditures for 2005, the total was $1.16 billion. That's an average of $190,000 per legislator.
Lobbyists in West Virginia are required to register with the state Ethics Commission if they receive compensation for lobbying or spend money on a public servant as a result of their lobbying activities. They also are required to file three reports every year to the Ethics Commission. The reports include all expenditures made by the lobbyist or by his or her employer on legislators, government officials or employees, as well as personal political contributions to incumbents or to successful candidates for state office.
According to the Ethics Commission's roster that was updated last month, there are 378 registered lobbyists who represent 491 businesses, associations and special interest groups. That's nearly three lobbyists for each lawmaker.
Lobbyist expenditures, meanwhile, totaled $318,726 for 2009, according to the Ethics Commission.
While the number of lobbyists and related spending in West Virginia falls short of the national average, that doesn't mean it's not an important part of the legislative process, said former House Speaker Bob Kiss.
Given that the West Virginia Legislature is a part-time legislature, it relies on lobbyists to disseminate information on a specific topic in a quick and efficient manner, Kiss said. If the information they are distributing is accurate, they can serve as a valid counterbalance to information coming from the executive branch, he said.
"Some of the biggest behind-the-scene fights I was involved in when I was House speaker were related to access to information from the executive branch," Kiss said. "We would get inundated with information from the administration, but the Legislature didn't have the staff or the resources to do all of the expert analysis and research that was needed. That's where lobbyists came into the picture."
Kiss said he viewed lobbyists as one source for information rather than the only source. The best lobbyists were the ones who could tell legislators "both sides of the story" regarding a bill's impact, he said.
Puccio, whose service under Manchin dates back to the Secretary of State's Office in 2001, said former legislators and public officials make good lobbyists because of their expertise in the legislative process.
"I don't think the issue is should or shouldn't it be done as much as what changes should be made to make the system better," he said.
Puccio registered to lobby for The Greenbrier resort, CONSOL Energy, United Health Services and the Charles Town Races & Slots during this year's legislative session. He said that he followed Ethics Commission guidelines when making the transition to the private sector. That includes getting an employment exemption, which allowed him to look for a private-sector job while he was still working for the governor's office, he said.
"Dozens of legislators and member of the executive branch have taken jobs as lobbyists," Puccio said. "I complied with the law, and I'm happy to have the opportunity to lobby on behalf of companies that provide a lot of jobs to West Virginians."
Ned Jones, who represented Cabell County in the state Senate between 1986 and 1994, said he often divided lobbyists into three categories: The good, the bad, and the ugly.
"The good lobbyist is one who helps legislators better understand the merits and consequences of a bill," he said. "The bad lobbyist is one who uses undue influence to sway the legislator.
"And the ugly lobbyist is one whose actions break the law."
Jones saw two Senate presidents -- Dan Tonkovich and Larry Tucker -- resign because of lobbying scandals during his tenure in the Legislature. He also recalls a few occasions in which senators would look up to the gallery from their desks on the Senate floor for a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" sign from a lobbyist.
Jones said he believes those days are long gone, partly because of legislation in 1989 that created the state Ethics Commission. The legislation, which Jones co-sponsored with several other lawmakers, made the commission responsible for implementing and enforcing a code of ethical conduct for public servants.
Perdue tends to agree, but says lawmakers are still faced with ethical dilemmas on a regular basis.
"Does lobbying declare within its edict that developing friendships with lobbyists is part of lobbying?" he said. "I say it shouldn't, but they will talk to you about your kids or your favorite football team. Anything to get close to you. We don't have those types of discussions with our constituents during the session.
"It's a dangerous tightrope to walk. On one side, you have a personal relationship with a lobbyist and on the other side you have the professional relationship. Keeping them separated requires a constant effort on behalf of every legislator."
Kiss sides with Perdue on the issue of whether the Legislature should adopt a revolving door policy. Puccio's move to the private sector was within current guidelines, and the former chief of staff will be a respectable lobbyist who will follow the law, Kiss said.
"But it just looks bad," Kiss said. "At the end of the day, legislators have to ask themselves whether a revolving door policy would cause any undue harm to anyone. I say it wouldn't. Because of that and because of the perceptions that have arisen from this recent case, I think a revolving door policy is a good move."
