Advisory panels are an integral part of our government, whether it's Washington, the state Legislature or a local city council.
It is understandable that anyone elected to a government position isn't going to be an expert on every issue that they deal with. That's why advisory panels are necessary to provide objective research and information to elected officials so they can make intelligent decisions.
When done right, advisory panels can give elected officials opinions unrelated to politic influences.
Unfortunately, the advisory panel has been usurped by the political process and has now become a haven for those with an agenda to push.
We are talking about lobbyists, of course.
That's why we are encouraged by a little-noticed initiative by the Obama administration to curb the influence of lobbyists on recommendations issued by federal advisory committees. It is not unusual for many bills introduced by lawmakers to have been originally penned by lobbyists, who then use advisory panels to recommend passage.
Such committees advise government agencies on trade issues, environmental policy, troop levels, consumer protection, drug enforcement and hundreds of other topics.
According to the Washington Post, federal officials estimate there are about 1,000 advisory panels with more than 60,000 members. Under a new policy being phased in this year, none of the thousands of registered lobbyists will be able to hold a seat on any of these committees.
The action is a sound measure that governments on all levels should pay attention to. Having such a policy in place will help cut down on the conflict of interest issues that are now cropping up.
Lobbyists and their clients don't like the idea. They say it will handicap federal regulators who rely on such panels for technical advice before issuing opinions on a particular industry or business.
However, where does it say lobbyists are the only industry experts? We're sure there are plenty of experts out there who can offer advice and aren't paid lobbyists.
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