They've got it right in South Carolina

I figured that Texas couldn't be the only state that has taxpayer-funded lobbyist groups.

Turns out that at least one state, South Carolina, is ahead of the curve in dealing with it:

State agencies shouldn't be allowed to use taxpayers' money to lobby for more is an article published on January 11, 2007 in a South Carolina newspaper.

When a state agency hires a lobbyist, it is turning taxpayers' money against them.

The State Ports Authority made the correct decision this year when it declined to hire lobbyists to work on lawmakers in Columbia.

Usually, agencies hire lobbyists to maximize their budgets, but in this instance, the authority is concerned about a conflict over construction of a new port in Jasper County.

The authority chairman said the decision not to rehire lobbyists was made because: "We've heard assurances that the state's interests will be protected … ."

The Ports Authority should have recognized that the General Assembly's duty is to make sure the state's interests are protected. Agencies always speak of their own interests as if they represented the interests of the state. The truth is that they usually hire lobbyists to make sure they get the biggest piece of the state budget pie possible or to make sure that their area of authority in the state is not compromised. These interests do not necessarily coincide with the best interests of the state.

Gov. Mark Sanford has introduced plans to merge some state agencies as part of government restructuring to increase efficiency and save money. You can expect lobbyists for these agencies to oppose these plans. And it won't be because of the state's best interests. It will be because of the bureaucrats' interests.

Agencies also will be pushing for more money in their budgets. This is an egregious abuse of taxpayers' money. The government takes money from the people of the state and gives it to an agency to fulfill that department's work. The agency then uses the money to hire a lobbyist to convince lawmakers to take more money from taxpayers and give it to the agency.

When multiple state agencies do this, the sum of their actions is to lobby for a larger state budget and higher taxes.

It is the job of lawmakers to look at the interests of the state, to judge which agencies need more money and which do not, to decide which policies are in the state's best interest. Agencies can advise lawmakers, but it is not their role to make policy. And they have no business using taxpayers' money to pay for lobbyists to influence policy.

Whether the purpose is to influence a port location or a budget decision, state agencies have no business hiring lobbyists. The governor recognized this fact when he prohibited agencies under his control from doing so. Lawmakers should extend this rule to all state agencies.