The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so the saying goes. And that must be an article of faith among the persuasionists who flock to Raleigh on behalf of many a cause and pecuniary interest.

OK, so we're trafficking in stereotypes. Not a single one of our fine Tar Heel lawmakers is going to have his or her mind swayed by a fistful of free crustaceans, even if the cocktail sauce is out of this world. Of this our noble lobbyists presumably are well aware.

Yet the old tradition of wining and dining continues apace. And it does so hand in glove with other, more sophisticated forms of blandishment. Common denominator: They tend to cost money. Which gives those with money the upper hand.

Speaking of traditions, lobbying itself has a grand pedigree. Its lineage in this democracy of ours traces to the First Amendment itself, with its guarantees of free speech and of the right of assembly "to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

A lobbyist is simply an agent, typically for hire, who tries to mold legislative or executive-branch action in one manner or another. There's nothing dishonorable about that. Many lobbyists perform valuable services in pointing out problems, explaining the consequences of this or that policy decision, bringing specialized information to bear.

But the activity of lobbying poses its own challenges to the democratic system when it's allowed to veer too close to the line of what can only be called influence-buying. The bestowing of conspicuous generosity plainly driven by ulterior motives easily can, or should, set off alarm bells. People are only human, after all, and who's eager to bite the hand that feeds him?

If there's a state that doesn't attempt to place some reasonable constraints on lobbying, with the idea of shielding decision-makers from undue influence and temptation, it would come as a huge surprise. A common tack, and the one favored in North Carolina, hinges on disclosure. Lobbyists here are expected to register, to list clients and to report expenses.

But there is a large body of opinion to the effect that North Carolina's lobbying regulations need to be toughened. That was the bottom line of a major report last spring from an advisory council named by Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, whose office has the enforcement of lobbying regulations among its duties.

Several legislators moved to follow up on the council's recommendations in the wake of its report, but none of the bills introduced during the 2004 session caught fire. Now one of Jones Street's deans, Demo-cratic Rep. Joe Hackney of Chapel Hill, the House majority leader, again has piled up the kindling.

Hackney is sponsoring a bill (he's joined by Raleigh Democrats Deborah Ross and freshman Grier Martin) that would subject the lobbying rules to a big-time overhaul.

Requirements for the reporting of expenditures would be improved, making it easier to track how lobbying horsepower was being brought to bear and to judge its impact.

A dramatic change would expand the regulatory scheme so that it applied to lobbying of officials within the executive branch. That would amount to an overdue recognition of the stakes involved in those officials' decisions -- which industries to target (or not target) for pollution controls, for example, or which roads to build.

And then there's what might be viewed as the unkindest of cuts: a ban on the freebies that are common currency in the lobbying trade. No more gifts to legislators, or their staffers or family members, worth in excess of $25. No more "tickets, fees or expenses for or to any sporting, recreational, or entertainment events." (ACC tournament? Pinehurst? Dutch treat!) No more meals on the lobbyists' tab.

Hackney's rationale for the meal ban is sensible enough. He told me it would "increase confidence on the part of the public in our ability to act independently in Raleigh." The new restrictions also would have the effect of addressing a big loophole in the current rules -- the one that allows "goodwill" lobbying expenses, those not overtly tied to attempts to influence specific legislative decisions, to go unreported.

Asked how the lobbying scene has evolved during his 24 years in the House, Hackney chuckled. "The restaurants are nicer," he quipped. But some things haven't changed. The best responses on the word association test, when the prompt is lobbying, are money, access, influence and power. Makes those shrimp kind of hard to swallow.

(Dyslexic moment in last week's column: The total cost of a year at UNC-Chapel Hill for an in-state student is $13,800, according to Chancellor James Moeser, not $13,700. The chancellor, in a speech last fall, pegged the cost at $400 more than the average annual family income for a Carolina Covenant scholar, which he said was $13,400.)

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