PA legislature mulls new limits for lobbyist gifts

HARRISBURG - A Senate committee will hold a hearing today to explore whether the state should impose a strict limit on gifts that lobbyists have routinely lavished on lawmakers for years.

The State Government Committee has lined up several experts on the issue who are expected to testify today, including Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in California.

They will offer their opinions on legislation being drafted by the committee's chairman, Sen. Jeffery Piccola (R., Dauphin).

Piccola's measure would, among other things, ban gifts over $10 that a lobbyist gives to a legislator – effectively ending free ski passes, greens fees and pricey dinners that lawmakers now routinely accept.