Lobbyists who work the corridors of Los Angeles City Hall are up in arms over a plan to make them wear badges identifying their profession each time they enter a municipal building.
The City Ethics Commission will meet this week to begin reviewing a planned overhaul of its lobbying ordinance, which contains a proposal to require lobbyists to wear the badges at any city-sponsored event and any other location where they are "engaged in lobbying."
The proposal is part of a larger effort to help the commission smoke out those who fail to disclose that they are getting paid to influence city decisions, from the award of city contracts to the approval of large-scale development projects.
Still, the badge concept has become a particular lightning rod, with lobbyists accusing the city of trying to shame them -- by sticking the equivalent of a "Scarlet L" on their lapels.
"It's another attempt by the Ethics Commission to make it undesirable to be a lobbyist, and it has no public policy benefit," said lobbyist Steve Afriat, whose firm represents billboard companies and other businesses.
Others have gone so far as to liken the proposed badge to the Star of David imposed on Jews in Nazi-era Germany.
"I refuse to wear the equivalent of a yellow arm band," said lobbyist Harvey Englander, whose firm has represented hotels near Los Angeles International Airport that fought a new living wage law for their employees.
Ethics officials have been taken aback by the references to anti-Semitism, saying their proposal has a valid and inoffensive policy goal. Elected officials have complained privately that they can't always tell if the person talking to them is getting paid to sway them on an issue, said David Tristan, the commission's director of program operations.
The badge "was never meant as something negative," he said. "In fact, we were hoping it could be viewed as something positive, where people could get familiar with who these people are."
The four-page lobbying proposal will be reviewed over the next two months and would ultimately need to be approved by the Los Angeles City Council. Although some of the changes are minor, one major objective is to help officials and employees identify unregistered lobbyists who are working on behalf of city contractors, real estate developers or other special interests.
