Assessing Ballard’s new rules

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has followed the lead of Gov. Mitch Daniels in tightening disclosure rules on lobbying.
Read the story by IBJ reporter Peter Schnitzler here.

In sum, if you’re a lobbyist and spend more than $1,000
a year trying to influence public officials in Indianapolis or Marion County, you must register and report your activities.

Some questions for John Q. Public:

–Lobbyists must register within 15 days of making contact. But the
activities are not required to be reported until the year following the lobbying. Is that soon enough?

–Have the
rules Daniels implemented made it easier for you to watch who might be influencing whom?

–Are the rules tough
enough?