It’s unclear how much influence the telecommunications lobby has in Tennessee because the state’s disclosure laws are weak.
A new report from the Center for Public Integrity released the results of its three-year study of state telecom lobbies. Since lobbyists in Tennessee are only required to disclose political contributions, a detailed look at the industry’s influence here isn’t available.
John Dunbar, a project manager for the three year study says it’s unfortunate for consumers.
“If you are a consumer of telecommunications services in Tennessee, you need somebody to watch out for you. You know, you have absolutely no ammunition to see what BellSouth is doing, or any other company in Tennessee that lobbies for that matter, if you don’t have a disclosure law. And if you think that it’s not a smart thing to require disclosure in Tennessee, then you should probably look at the 30 states that do require it and the fact that the federal government requires this information be made public.”
Bellsouth is the largest contributor to state political races in Tennessee. From 1999 to 2004, the company’s contributions totaled 295-thousand dollars. Dunbar says Tennessee is just one of the states where Bellsouth lobbies extensively to deregulate telephone service.
The amount of influence lobbyists have in Tennessee is a sticking point with many citizens. A citizen ethics panel appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen recently recommended requiring lobbyists to list how much they spend to influence legislators. The panel’s suggestions also included banning the extra money lobbyists sometimes receive when a bill they’ve worked on passes.
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