In 2012, the state of Florida received a C-minus grade in a corruption assessment carried out by the Center for Public Integrity. A large part of the corruption that went into that assessment was the lack of strict lobbying regulation and the lack of enforcement on ethics regulations in place.
While ideally the point of lobbyists is to represent the citizen’s interests to the government in shaping public policy, in reality they hinder the citizen’s interests by lending a bigger voice to the citizen’s or corporations who are able to afford it. Unless the lobbying industry sees major reform, its abuse will continue to prevent it from being effectively used.
Generally speaking, lobbyists are usually professionals, such as lawyers, that are paid …show more content…
As the “Sunshine State,” one would think it a given that Florida would pursue solar energy, as the pressure to find viable alternatives to fossil fuels is on. This is not the case though as regulations restricting third party sales of solar panels prevent them from being an option for many home owners, who don’t want to or can’t afford to pay the $15,000-$30,000 dollar price of installation up front. A ballot initiative for 2016 is proposing a constitutional amendment that would allow third-party sales, making it easier for interested citizens to invest rooftop solar panels of their …show more content…
Another example of an abuse of the lobbying system is the conflict of interest posed when lawmakers act as paid lobbyists.
The Florida constitution has restricted lawmakers from lobbying state agencies dates since 1976, when the “Sunshine Amendment” passed, also creating Florida’s ethics commission.
However conflicts of interests continue to remain a problem to this day. This can be seen through the recent case of Oscar Braynon II, Democratic senator and senior vice president of government and senior relations at the University of Southernmost Florida. Braynon used his position as a legislator to pose himself as an “interested lawmaker” at a recent meeting of Florida’s Board of Physical Therapy in Gainesville when the board was considering the idea of allowing students from unaccredited physical therapy programs to get licensed, should they pass the exam.
The decision to allow it would have benefited Braynon, as the University of Southernmost Florida was opening its own unaccredited program. As an employee of this for-profit company, Braynon therefore had a financial stake in the decision which he decided not to disclose, instead hiding his true motivation as a lobbyist behind the guise of his Senatorial
While ideally the point of lobbyists is to represent the citizen’s interests to the government in shaping public policy, in reality they hinder the citizen’s interests by lending a bigger voice to the citizen’s or corporations who are able to afford it. Unless the lobbying industry sees major reform, its abuse will continue to prevent it from being effectively used.
Generally speaking, lobbyists are usually professionals, such as lawyers, that are paid …show more content…
As the “Sunshine State,” one would think it a given that Florida would pursue solar energy, as the pressure to find viable alternatives to fossil fuels is on. This is not the case though as regulations restricting third party sales of solar panels prevent them from being an option for many home owners, who don’t want to or can’t afford to pay the $15,000-$30,000 dollar price of installation up front. A ballot initiative for 2016 is proposing a constitutional amendment that would allow third-party sales, making it easier for interested citizens to invest rooftop solar panels of their …show more content…
Another example of an abuse of the lobbying system is the conflict of interest posed when lawmakers act as paid lobbyists.
The Florida constitution has restricted lawmakers from lobbying state agencies dates since 1976, when the “Sunshine Amendment” passed, also creating Florida’s ethics commission.
However conflicts of interests continue to remain a problem to this day. This can be seen through the recent case of Oscar Braynon II, Democratic senator and senior vice president of government and senior relations at the University of Southernmost Florida. Braynon used his position as a legislator to pose himself as an “interested lawmaker” at a recent meeting of Florida’s Board of Physical Therapy in Gainesville when the board was considering the idea of allowing students from unaccredited physical therapy programs to get licensed, should they pass the exam.
The decision to allow it would have benefited Braynon, as the University of Southernmost Florida was opening its own unaccredited program. As an employee of this for-profit company, Braynon therefore had a financial stake in the decision which he decided not to disclose, instead hiding his true motivation as a lobbyist behind the guise of his Senatorial