Reforms are a start, not a cure

'To hell with reform." It was a Tammany Hall motto.

The Democratic organization in Raleigh held its nose -- as if it were swallowing cod liver oil -- and pushed through a package of ethics reforms last week.

Anything to get those pesky reporters off its back. Whatever it takes to defuse the issue in the November elections.

The Democratic legislative machines are not Tammany Hall -- not even close. But many insiders privately acknowledge that the pay-to-play legislative culture in Raleigh has gotten out of hand.

The ethics package is a modest effort to rein it in.

Lawmakers' behavior is now policed by the Legislative Ethics Act of 1975, which is little more than a joke. Only a handful of legislators have run afoul of it in 31 years. You practically have to be caught rifling the cash register or fondling a page to get in trouble. And even then, you are likely to be punished only if you are considered a pariah.

The new law improves on that, putting in stiffer penalties, forbidding most gifts from lobbyists to legislators, stopping the practice of blank campaign checks, and stopping lawmakers from pocketing campaign money, among other things.

Joe Mavretic, who was elected House speaker in 1989 on a reform platform, says the package is a step in the right direction but doesn't go far enough to significantly influence the legislative culture.

"I think we are now in the middle of the evolution," Mavretic says. "The old cliche is power is never given away, but it is taken away."

The pay-to-play culture evolved because North Carolina is one of the most fiercely politically competitive states in the country. To maintain control of the legislature, Democratic leaders have created sophisticated political machines that require millions of dollars. The machines are funded by special- interest groups with business before the legislature: power companies, banks, optometrists, trial lawyers, labor unions, home builders, real estate agents, automobile dealers and insurance companies, to name just a few. Things were no different when the Republicans controlled the House in the mid-'90s.

The ethics reform won't change that.

One seasoned observer says the ban on lobbyists' contributions will do little to impede the flow of special-interest money into legislative coffers.

"Money and politics is like water," said John Davis, executive director of NCFREE, a business-financed group that monitors legislative political spending. "It follows the path of least resistance. All this reform does is create a barrier of resistance."

Nor will the changes reduce the influence of lobbyists, who are an essential part of the legislative process -- especially with a part-time legislature.

Andy Taylor, a political science professor at N.C. State University, says he finds it striking that, when faced with questions of its own ethical lapses, the General Assembly has responded by placing new restrictions on lobbyists.

"They didn't decide to look in the mirror," Taylor says. "It's the other guys' fault. I couldn't stop myself. They are giving me all of this stuff."