POV: California Lawmakers in Maui

Los Angeles - Who could pass up a free Hawaiian vacation at a five-star luxury hotel?

KTTV Vice President and General Manager Kevin Hale takes a look at why some California lawmakers should have turned it down.

You can watch the full video of the editorial in the media player... and share your comments on the topic below the editorial transcript.

Full Editorial Text:

At a time when California is facing its largest fiscal crisis ever and citizens are pointing the finger at legislatures who seem oblivious to their role in this crisis, we learn 15 lawmakers took a trip to Maui as part of a five-day special interests junket.

The tab, which includes plush accommodations at the Fairmont Kea Lani hotel, is being picked up by a prominent state union and major corporations.

All are part of a group dubbed the “Independent Voter Project,” which hosts the conference.

California lawmakers are prohibited from accepting gifts worth more than $420, but the caveat in this case is, it’s allowed because the conference is being paid for by a “nonprofit” group.

But what’s shocking is, according to maplight-dot-org, the sponsors of the conference have collectively given more than five million dollars to California state legislators.

And let’s look at what some of those contributors are concerned about: Take Altria, for example, they’re a cigarette company worried about a cigarette tax. Or look at the prison guards, who want to stop budget cuts.

Among those who were scheduled to attend are republican Senator Tom Berryhill of Modesto, democratic senator Curren Price Jr. of Inglewood, democratic Senator Ron Calderon of Montebello and democratic Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. Other names have yet to be released, but we’d sure like to see them.

That lawmakers are hanging beachside, paid for by groups that have millions of dollars at risk in legislative decisions is obviously wrong, and because these aren’t isolated incidents, it says something about the culture in Sacramento.

Other states have banned such activities, and we should do the same.

If lawmakers want to get chummy with special interest groups, they can do that in here in California.

Maybe if they spent more time focusing on the public's best interest, rather than cocktailing at bars in Maui, something could actually get done to fix California.

Thanks for listening. 

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