Anti-lobbying bill killed, after sponsor has no examples of current abuse

An effort to ban government entities from using public money to hire contract lobbyists failed in the House State Affairs Committee on Monday, the Lewiston Tribune reports. No one testified during the public hearing on the legislation, HB 636, which was sponsored by Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird. The prohibition would have applied to cities, counties, local taxing jurisdictions and all state agencies. Giddings described the bill as “an opportunity for us to establish some guidelines and set expectations on how we want taxpayer money to be used.” When asked, however, she could not provide any examples of agencies that hire contract lobbyists.