Lobbyists Still Buying Meals for Md. Legislators

Sean Dobson, executive director of Progressive Maryland, is critical of the current system but said the state should not revert to allowing individual meals.

"There should be zero tolerance for giving a lawmaker anything of value," said Dobson, whose group advocates for working-class families.

A better solution, he said, would be to ban lobbyist-sponsored meals altogether and increase the $41-per-day allowance that lawmakers receive from the state for meals while in session. That would put legislators in a better position to pay their way if they want to eat with lobbyists.

A review of ethics filings from the 228 meals and receptions reported last session shows that many were hosted by perennial players in Annapolis, apparently attempting to maintain familiarity with lawmakers. In several cases, the hosts had obvious interests at stake.

Speed cameras are one of many government services offered by Dallas-based ACS State and Local Solutions. Among the localities for which it provides speed camera services are the District and Montgomery County, the only Maryland jurisdiction now authorized to use the devices. A bill backed last session by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) would have extended the authorization to all counties.

In January, shortly after O'Malley introduced the bill, the entire membership of the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over the legislation was invited to Ruth's Chris Steak House by Alexander & Cleaver, the firm hired by ACS. Among the attendees was the company's director of marketing.

Del. Tom Hucker (D-Montgomery) said that no hard sales pitch was made at the dinner but that it did provide a chance for the company to make its case in a relaxed atmosphere to lawmakers with qualms about speed cameras.

"If people went in agnostic about how they were going to vote on the bill, they probably had their questions answered," Hucker said.

Kevin Lightfoot, an ACS spokesman, said the dinner was "an opportunity for us to engage legislators on issues important to them and to their constituents."

Different versions of the speed camera bill passed the House and the Senate, but a compromise bill was not debated in the Senate in time for final passage on the closing night of the session.

In early March, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on another controversial bill, which would have made it easier to bring lawsuits against lead paint manufacturers.

In late February, shortly after the hearing was announced, two law firms that specialize in lead paint poisoning cases, Saul E. Kerpelman & Associates and the Law Offices of Evan K. Thalenberg, invited the entire House committee, as well as its counterpart in the Senate, to a dinner at Jerry's Seafood in Annapolis. The tab for the night was more than $3,600.