Posted on 03/18/2015 7:47:36 AM PDT by csvset
One month after the State Ethics Commission ruled that sex between lobbyists and government officials doesn’t constitute a gift, a bipartisan group of N.C. House members filed legislation Tuesday to make it clear that sexual and romantic relationships are indeed a conflict of interest.
House Bill 252 would require legislators and other government officials to recuse themselves if they’re in a “current dating relationship or current sexual relationship” with a lobbyist who stands to benefit from the issue at hand.
While the legislation doesn’t offer a definition of a “current sexual relationship,” it does provide one for a “current dating relationship.”
“A dating relationship is one wherein the parties are romantically involved over time and on a continuous basis during the course of the relationship; a casual acquaintance or ordinary fraternization between individuals in a business or social context is not a dating relationship,” the bill says.
The bill is sponsored by two Democrats – Rep. Grier Martin of Raleigh and Rep. Rick Glazier of Fayetteville – and two Republicans, Rep. Leo Daughtry of Smithfield and Rep. John Faircloth of High Point.
The bill doesn’t apply to relationships that have ended. So if someone is no longer having sex with a lobbyist, they wouldn’t have a conflict of interest under the bill.
The proposal appears to be a response to a February opinion from the State Ethics Commission. The widely circulated opinion said sex with a lobbyist isn’t a gift that must be listed on disclosure reports.
“Consensual sexual relationships do not have monetary value and therefore are not reportable as gifts or ‘reportable expenditures made for lobbying’ for purposes of the lobbying law’s expenditure reporting provisions,” the formal advisory opinion said.
If the bill passes, it wouldn’t become effective until July 1. So until then, legislators and others could legally continue to take actions that financially benefit their sexual or romantic partner.
And they still wouldn’t need to list the sex on their ethics forms.
Bill Addresses Sexual Relationships Between Legislators & Lobbyists
If the bill passes, it wouldn’t become effective until July 1. So until then, legislators and others could legally continue to take actions that financially benefit their sexual or romantic partner.
Hear that horny political dude and dudettes, get that boinking done early and often, so your gal and/or guy pal can screw the constituents early and often too.
This is disgusting that we even have to bring up such lurid subjects in “legislation”.
Too bad “romantic” wasn’t enough - but it probably isn’t, since so many really are just immoral heathens who ultimately just want sex.
Sex not a gift? Hah!
Don’t forget the homos.
I guess that is why they did not bother to define “sexual relationship”.
Yeah, that could be a “sticky wicket” if you will. Possibly “homophobic”, we can’t have that now, can we?
I read a AP blurb on this yesterday that mentioned a ceiling of $10.00 before a gift would have to be itemized, notated, etc. I thought, wait, sex between a lobbyist and a legislator would be akin to two $5.00 hookers having a get together and therefore wouldn’t have to be reported?
You see it often in certain “sales” jobs in established industries where products/prices are identical between competitors. The only way they can increase sales is greasing the clients to switch.
So they have all pretty women doing sales calls who know nothing about the product yet see the client once a month. Wonder why?
Plenty of ways around that.
What if the lobbyist and the legislator are married?
They should make the same rule regarding journalists.
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