Would a ban on political contributions by lobbyists clean up Beacon Hill?

State Rep. Jennifer Callahan, a Democrat from Sutton, doesn’t think a ban would end corruption, but she feels it would help reduce the appearance of impropriety. In the wake of a rash of indictments of Beacon Hill political figures, she is pushing ethics legislation that would, among other things, ban all lobbyist contributions.

“After a scandal, we need to rise above previous expectations,” Callahan says. “The way to do that is to wipe those $200 contributions off the books. You don’t need that in the building.”

Lobbyist contributions have been targeted after previous scandals on Beacon Hill. The current law, which allows lobbyists to contribute up to $200 to a single political candidate in a year (everyone else can contribute a maximum of $500), was passed following the 1994 scandal that ensued when the Boston Globe reported how lobbyists were entertaining lawmakers on a Puerto Rican junket. That scandal led to the downfall of then–House Speaker Charles Flaherty, who is now a lobbyist himself who donates heavily to lawmakers (see chart below).

Paul Pezzella, a lobbyist who is an active contributor to lawmakers on Beacon Hill, said there are bad apples in any profession, but he didn’t think a ban on $200 contributions by lobbyists would do anything to lessen corruption. He said no lawmaker can be bought for $200.

“This job is about ideas,” he says. “I sell ideas on behalf of my clients.”

A search of filings with the secretary of state’s office indicates that lobbyists contributed a total of $483,000 to lawmakers in the first half of 2008. Lobbyist contributions in the second half of the year, during the runup to the November election, weren’t available at press time.

The biggest beneficiaries of lobbyist largesse in the Legislature were the major power brokers. Senate President Therese Murray garnered $26,000, while House Ways and Means Chairman Robert DeLeo pocketed $25,800 and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi received $19,300. House Majority Leader John Rogers, who has ambitions of succeeding DiMasi, received only $1,725.

Outside of the Legislature, Gov. Deval Patrick received $4,800 from lobbyists in the first half of 2008, according to the filings, while Lieutenant Gov. Tim Murray raked in three times as much, pocketing a total of $16,786.

The lobbyist who donated the most money to lawmakers was former House Speaker Charles Flaherty ($9,250), who represents such clients as the Massachusetts Hospital Association, the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, and OneBeacon Insurance Group. Other big lobbyist donors include William F. Kennedy, a partner in the law firm Nutter McClennen & Fish, who contributed $9,125, and Robert Rodophele, a partner with Ferriter Scobbo & Rodophele, who contributed $8,425. Efforts to reach Flaherty and Kennedy were unsuccessful.

According to data on the website of the National Conference of State Legislatures, 13 states — including Maine, Connecticut, North Carolina, and South Carolina — either ban or place special restrictions on the political contributions of lobbyists.

Pezzella, the lobbyist, questioned whether it was constitutional to limit how much an individual could contribute to a political candidate just because of the type of work they do. Callahan said she believes special restrictions for lobbyists are constitutional. She noted Massachusetts already bans corporate contributions.

Callahan said Massachusetts needs to pursue bold measures to clean up Beacon Hill. “You can’t take a mop and a bucket of water and diluted soap and expect the floor to come clean,” she said.