New leaders must stop hostile takeover of the Legislature

In the business world, the concept of a hostile takeover of a public corporation is well understood. A recent example in Florida was the unsuccessful attempt by Comcast to acquire the Disney Co.

In these circumstances, the takeover corporation proceeds without the support or encouragement of the board of the target company. A similar pattern can emerge in the public sector, but the concept is less well understood and often hidden from the scrutiny of the board, i.e., the voters.

The recently concluded session of the Legislature provided a clear example of an institution in the advanced stages of a hostile takeover by professional lobbyists. Fortunately, the next Senate president, Tom Lee, R-Brandon, has spoken out eloquently on this subject. He has expressed increasing concern about the ability of influential lobbyists to make significant changes in legislation with little debate or public notice.

Calling attention to the connection between large gifts to the parties and legislative influence, he believes that we have reached the point where lobbyists often assume that they, rather than the people, are in charge of the process. <snip
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/8615561.htm

Has anyone seen this article in the TD?