From 2002 until 2007, Pennsylvania was the only state in the nation with no law to control lobbyists. Now we have a weak law that does not give citizens what we want - a ban on gifts, meals, travel and entertainment for public officials and complete reporting of expenses designed to influence decisions by public officials.

Read what the Allentown Morning Call had to say in October 2006.

Take a break with the Hartman cartoon, "Teeth."

Take a break with the Hartman cartoon, "Blind."

Coalition Position:

• Ban gifts and entertainment
• Quarterly reporting for lobbyists with expenses greater than $2,500 per quarter

DR Position:
DR would go farther.

• At least 32 other states require reporting of all expenditures. That's what 87 percent of Pennsylvanians want, too. See the questions and the responses at IssuesPA.
• DR believes reports should be more frequent, especially when the legislature is in session, and should be published as searchable databases on the Internet. They also should be presented together with other relevant information, such as campaign contributions, when meetings occurred and when votes were taken.
• DR believes Pennsylvania's lobbying control law should be the best in America - a combination of laws that already exist in the state of Washington and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. See the report at the Center for Public Integrity.