The Office of State Ethics Steps Up

The data found on the Office of State Ethics website has been, at best, average. My predecessor first talked about the subject last summer when he wrote that the office took a wrong turn on data. His point was that the lobbyist data was filed in hard to read PDF documents that forced someone looking for information to pore through hundreds of pages.

I took a look at problems with accuracy within those documents in November, with a column entitled "Ethics Agency Sets Different Standards for Self, Lobbyists". A month later, the ethics office earned some praise here as it announced it would be stepping up the presentation of data on its web site.

I can report for those looking for lobbyist information that the Office of State Ethics lobbyist report site has dramatically changed. Instead of being forced to look at those PDF documents, the database is now searchable by lobbyist filings (by form type), by business and by lobbyist. Finding a client relationship or financial information is much easier to locate.

And, yes, those PDF files still exist at the bottom of the page, but with a twist. Those massive reports with every registered lobbyist are now available in an Excel file, which allows for someone to search through it instead of scrolling through page after page after page to find someone.

Kudos to the Office of State Ethics for listening to complaints from journalists and lobbyists alike and actually making change for the better. What a concept.