#ncga: Sex And The (capital) City
We all remember the hubbub over the chief of staff (and roommate) to then-speaker Thom Tillis getting caught in a tryst with a Jones Street lobbyist. 
Then, late last year, the state ethics commission said sex does not count as trading something of value.
Now, a quartet of House members — Faircloth, Glazier, Grier Martin, and Leo Daughtry — have decided to address the whole matter with some legislation:
[…] SECTION 1. G.S. 138A-31 is amended to add a new subsection to read: “(d) A covered person shall recuse themselves from any legislative,
executive, or official action if that action may result in a reasonably foreseeable financial benefit to a registered 9 lobbyist or liaison personnel,
or that lobbyist’s lobbyist principal or that liaison personnel’s State agency or governmental body, if the covered person is married to the lobbyist or liaison personnel, or the covered person has a current dating relationship or current sexual relationship with the lobbyist or liaison personnel. A dating relationship is one wherein the parties are romantically involved over time and on a continuous basis during the course of the relationship; a casual acquaintance or ordinary fraternization between individuals in a business or social context is not a dating relationship.”
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective July 1, 2015, and applies to legislative, executive, and official actions taken on or after that date. […]
Soooooo — be sure to get all of your canoodling in BEFORE July.
One has to wonder if this is targeting anyone in particular, or if it is simply — like so many things on Jones Street — a not-so-subtle attempt at CYA.
Sorta stupid.
Sex has been around longer than state legislatures and will likely be around when the Dems take back over.
Lobbyists who use sex save us all a lot of money and the IRS has a tough time getting a handle on it. Now that same-sex marriage is all the rage I imagine adultery will be the next to fall.
“A dating relationship is one wherein the parties are romantically involved over time and on a CONTINUOUS basis during the course of the relationship;”
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The “continuous basis” part reeks of loophole.
Especially if a lobbyist or their associate is servicing multiple legislators.
I guess we will see some lobbying firms hiring some curvy associates who get a paycheck that amounts to a wholesale rate in their profession to help persuade legislators.