Fresh Loaf

Ah, MARTA oversight committee meetings. They must be really fun for transit officials, ya know?

According to Atlanta Unfiltered’s Jim Walls and the AJC’s Ariel Hart, yesterday’s meeting of the state committee tasked with overseeing how MARTA spends public dollars was the usual “berate-the-transit-agency-to-which-we-contribute-little-if-anything.”

States Rep. Jill Chambers, R-Dunwoody, who chairs the committee and has a reputation for ripping into MARTA, lit into transit honchos for their consulting deals. (Last week she picked up a 2010 opponent for her North DeKalb seat in Elena Parent. So she might not have been too happy.)

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Total amount lobbyists spent wining, dining and wooing state lawmakers in May, June and July: $193,000

Number of days General Assembly was in session during those months: 0

Amount lobbyists for Georgia Power, and the natural gas and beverage industries spent on House Republicans’ annual retreat: $26,000

Number of lawmakers who went on a lobbyist-paid trip in July to visit Mount Wilson Observatory near Pasadena, Calif.: 4

Amount lobbyists spent to charter boats for lawmakers during a coastal conference in June: $528

Amount the Georgia Food Industry Association spent packing a state senator’s “hospitality suite”: $545

Amount lobbyists spent on one night of “entertainment” for the House Republican Women’s Caucus: $935

Amount Sierra Club lobbyists spent on lawmakers during the entire year: $0

Number of water-conservation bills that lawmakers approved this session: 0

Sources: Atlanta Unfiltered, State Ethics Commission, AJC

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Much like its subsidiary Georgia Power did under the Gold Dome with its controversial Plant Vogtle bill earlier this year, Atlanta-based Southern Co. has cranked up production in its lobbyist factory and ordered more than 60 well-dressed foot soldiers to march through the halls of Congress.

Their mission: Twist lawmakers’ arms about the global warming bill that last week narrowly passed the House and is on its way to the Senate.

From the Center for Public Integrity:

Southern Company, the nation’s largest electric power generator, also had the largest force of lobbyists among the hundreds of businesses and interest groups that were seeking to influence the landmark climate change legislation that just passed the House.

With 63 lobbyists, the Atlanta-based energy giant had nearly twice as many climate lobbyists as any other company or organization, according to registration statements filed with the Senate Office of Public Records for the first quarter of 2009. (The second quarter filings won’t be available for a few weeks.) Eleven of Southern’s climate representatives were in-house, while the rest came from a dozen different lobbying shops.

It’s for good reason, too. The center reports that “more than 80 percent of the 200 million megawatt hours of electricity [Southern Co.'s] plants generate annually is fired by fossil fuel — the main source of greenhouse gases.” Should the bill pass, it could greatly impact Southern Co.’s — and in the process, your — bottom line.

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Ethics complaints filed by a Sierra Club lobbyist for alleged improper influence-peddlin’ at the state Capitol for the controversial “private cities” bill require further investigation,  says Rick Thompson, executive director of the Georgia State Ethics Commission.

The complaints, filed by Gold Dome-fixture and eco-lobbyist Neill Herring, allege Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders, political consultant Derrick Dickey and two developer brothers from Dublin, Ga. lobbied without registering for “infrastructure development districts” — a mechanism that would’ve allowed developers to issue tax-free bonds to pay for sewers, roads and schools on their properties. The districts are legal in 17 other states. (You may have seen television advertisements for one, Florida’s “The Villages.”) Opponents of the concept call them “private cities” and say they are catalysts for sprawl. The legislation passed the General Assembly but failed a statewide referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot. (CL weighed in on the issue prior to the General Election.)

Thompson says commission staff needs to gather additional information to investigate Herring’s complaints.

The commission sifted through a laundry list of ethical complaints at its hearing yesterday against state representatives, lobbyists and Mayor Shirley Franklin. (According to the AJC’s Jim Galloway, the mayor’s agreed to pay a fine for “paperwork violations” and “failing to fully explain some of her campaign expenditures.”) Thompson says complaints filed by ethics watchdog George Anderson against Fulton County Superior Judge T. Jackson Bedford for not adequately completing campaign finance disclosures were dismissed by the commission because Bedford corrected the error.

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Lobbbyist parties held by Southern Co. for “the Southern delegation” sound like they’re just a step up from fraternity band parties.

Case in point: According to CQPolitics, Atlanta-based utility giant Southern Co. co-sponsored a private party last Sunday in honor of our distinguished gentlemen that featured Sammy Hagar, world-famous curly-haired rocker and tequila enthusiast .

From the article (bold text added to imply outrage and disgust):

For example, the rules weren’t necessarily as tough for the Southern Company sponsoring a Sammy Hagar concert Sunday at the venue First Avenue, billed as a tribute to the Southern Delegation.

Posters and television screens reminded guests of numerous sponsors, including “partners” the National Association of Home Builders and Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, and “additional sponsors” such as Aflac, Wal-Mart and Lockheed Martin.

The message might have been lost on giggling women spilling out of limousines ahead of men with their collars loosened and ready to rock and roll.

But the doormen studiously lined up congressional aides and other guests with convention credentials, for tickets priced at $75 or $125. The House ethics committee had ruled that, depending on a performer’s fame, staffers should pay for tickets to avoid receiving a gift of free entertainment.

“Southern Company co-hosted this event along with many others,” said spokeswoman Valerie Holpp. “We fully complied with rules.”

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It takes money to make money. And when you’re Atlanta-based carbon king Southern Co., it takes even more money to maintain the status quo.

The ever entertaining and informative Joe Romm at ClimateProgress passes on news of the hometown mom-and-pop business.

The nation’s energy bill is now about a trillion dollars. That means the super-rich fossil fuel companies have enormous profits they can spend on lobbying to ensure their continued dominance. How much? Jeff Goodell has the answer here:

…

The 800-pound gorilla in coal politics has long been The Southern Company, the big Atlanta-based coal-burning electric utility.

Once again, Southern didn’t disappoint its friends, doling out $2.8 million in lobbying expenses in Q1 of 2008. That’s close to surpassing the All-Time Lobbying Champion of the Fossil Fuel Industry, ExxonMobil, which spent $3 million in the same period.

Last year, the company spent $14 million on handshakes and head nods in Washington, D.C.

UPDATE: Forgot to even mention this. Romm also points out that the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity — a King Coal front group  — spent $1.9 million in the first quarter. The Solar Energies Industries Association, in comparison, spent $75,000.

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Number of registered lobbyists in Georgia, as of 2007: 1,492

Amount lobbyists spent on Valentine’s Day for legislators and their spouses last year: $16,000

Amount lobbyists spent in 2007 on meals, tickets, entertainment and other perks for legislators: $1.4 million

Amount spent during 2008 legislative session, as of press time: $311,620.58

Number of groups represented by lobbyists under the Gold Dome in 2007: 5,203

Ratio of lobbyists to legislators: 6:1

Georgia’s grade, out of 100, for lobbyist finance disclosure reports: 63

Georgia’s national rank in terms of disclosure reports: 18

Number of legislators who became lobbyists after leaving office, as of 2005: 41

Number of years a legislator has to “cool off” before going from public office to professional lobbyist: 1

Annual salary of Georgia legislator, excluding per diems and expense account: $17,341

Average monthly retainer paid to a business lobbyist by one company: $2,000-$6,000

Sources: The Center for Public Integrity, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia Trend, State Ethics Commission

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Why wear neckties and wingtips when you can don leather jackets and boots? These two gents lobby for the American Bikers Active Toward Education, or ABATE, and if you dare try to pull some chickenshit closed-door rewrite in committee, they will kick your ass.

(Below screenshots pulled from the State Ethics Commission’s 400-plus page directory of lobbyists.)

First, the inimitable Eddie Andross.

And fellow awesome individual Charles Kriston.

Hell. Yes.

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