Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Bribery+Entitlement=Lobbying?

I'm no expert on this stuff, and I don't really know what to make of this. But according to Georgia state law, it looks like the big difference between lobbying and bribery is that when it's lobbyist money, public officials are entitled to it.
1) GA Code 16-10-2 (bribery)
16-10-2.
(a) A person commits the offense of bribery when:
(1) He or she gives or offers to give to any person acting for or on behalf of the state or any political subdivision thereof, or of any agency of either, any benefit, reward, or consideration to which he or she is not entitled with the purpose of influencing him or her in the performance of any act related to the functions of his or her office or employment.

2) GA Code 21-5-70 (Lobbyist expenditures)
(1) ‘Expenditure’:
(A) Means a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, or conveyance of money or anything of value made for the purpose of influencing the actions of any public officer or public employee;
(B) Includes any other form of payment when such can be reasonably construed as designed to encourage or influence a public officer;
There's a bit more to these statutes, but my untrained eye can't see anything that cuts against this basic point. People who understand this stuff better can look it up here.

1 comment:

Susan Klopfer said...

Well, now I understand SO much better. Thanks!