The Georgia Alliance for Ethics Reform, which includes members of Common Cause and Georgia Tea Party Patriots, is pushing for gift limits that would cap lobbyist spending on lawmakers at $100 in the hopes of curbing lobbyist influence of elected officials. The group’s reforms would also ban public officials and their family members from serving on the state ethics board or holding government contracts.

State Representative Tommy Smith says he is willing to sponsor the bill this session and is looking for other lawmakers to join him.

However, House Speaker David Ralston downplayed the need for more ethics legislation. Speaker Ralston believes the existing reporting requirements sufficiently limit lobbyist influence by keeping the public informed.

Photo of the Georgia State Capitol dome by connor.carey on Wikipedia.