Tag: Rich Wardner

One of the pulsing nerves of the state Capitol building is tucked away on the ground floor between a legislative locker room and men’s restroom. Its occupants work at a large roundtable, microphones still attached from the days when it was a committee hearing room. They fit in well at the capitol: business attire, cell phones in hand and a subtle expression of stress, cynicism and amusement. They’re a jovial bunch, seated around their makeshift workspace. There is obvious camaraderie between them, which could be a result of a general public distrust of their profession. The Secretary of State’s office does not keep track of how many registered lobbyists there are because they say it changes too quickly, but according to those in the lobbyists’ room, there are roughly 20 who are there every day. At a news conference last month, Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, said he had concerns about legislation that aims to limit influencers of the political process, such as lobbyists. The legislation comes as a result of last year’s ballot Measure 1, which amended the state constitution to set more guidelines about legislative ethics. Wardner cited wording in Measure 1 which "could be construed" to mean that if a citizen who comes to the Capitol to testify on behalf of themselves spends more than $201 in the process, that person would be classified as a lobbyist, creating more hoops to jump through. "Even the biggest industries here in the state — (agriculture) and oil, gas — we're really here for education, to help people understand what it means to pass this bill," Meske said.