Michigan

…or Scrupulous Senator Reports Regaled Shill Stubs

State law bans lobbyists from giving officeholders gifts worth more than $76. However, lobbyists [slimy creatures that they are, tell me I'm wrong -- r^2^ ] have used various strategies to circumvent the prohibition, including providing tickets to lawmakers and then privately sending them letters asking for the value of the tickets over $76 to be paid back to the lobbying firm, according to more than 10 sources with direct knowledge of the arrangements. […] Whether lawmakers ultimately hand over what they owe the lobbyist is a mystery.

Sen. Paul Wojno, D-Warren, mistakenly thought he had to disclose tickets he received from lobbyists to a Detroit Lions game, to a Detroit Red Wings game and to the North American International Detroit Auto Show's annual Charity Preview event. The auto show tickets were worth $700, Wojno wrote in his disclosure.

Eric Doster, an Okemos attorney who advises clients on how to comply with state lobbying and campaign finance policies, said it's become a common practice for lobbyists to ask lawmakers to reimburse them for the cost of tickets over the gift limit. Such transactions are perfectly legal, Doster said.

Rep. Dylan Wegela, D-Garden City, a first-term lawmaker who has called for greater transparency, described the strategy of lobbyists using letters to seek reimbursements after sporting events as a loophole. […] Wegela said receiving tickets from lobbyists should be banned over a certain financial threshold. […] “Certainly, it should all be reported, period,” Wegela said.

[All emphasis in the above quotations is mine -- r^2^ ]

I was thinking (working without tools, I know), "what if your preferred politician isn't a sports fan or car buff?" It's a rhetoric question, kids.

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