Veteran lobbyist Fred VanNatta is arguing that gifts from lobbyists to public officials should be unlimited because they amount to expressions of free speech.
Veteran lobbyist Fred VanNatta is arguing that gifts from lobbyists to public officials should be unlimited because they amount to expressions of free speech.
VanNatta won a similar case banning limits on campaign contributions in 1997.
His attorney, John DiLorenzo, told the justices that a gift is no different from a campaign contribution, and said gifts ensure lawmakers will listen to lobbyists.
Justice W. Michael Gillette responded: “Nothing keeps you from listening. It just keeps you from taking money for listening.”
Anna Joyce, an assistant attorney general, defended the $50 limit on lobbyist gifts, saying campaign contributions are different because they cannot be converted to personal use — unlike gifts.
Read the full story in the Statesman Journal.
{biztweet}Oregon lobbying {/biztweet}
