06/24/2007

Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
Lawmakers and their family and friends will be treated to a fish fry on Monday at the Shipwatch Marina in Manistee as part of the third annual Great Lakes Charter Boat Fishing Outing.

Politicians ready to set sail on outing

Sponsor represents charter, sport fishing industries

By Brian Mcgillivary

bmcgillivary@record-eagle.com

MANISTEE — Nearly two dozen state politicians and their families are set to enjoy a free Lake Michigan charter fishing excursion Monday, part of a northern getaway that also offers them free food and lodging.

The outing is billed as an event to educate lawmakers on the charter and sport-fishing industries and is valued at more than $5,000, not a dime of which is likely to show up on any lobbying report.

Nor are state politicians required to file any public report that details the perks.

State Rep. David Palsrok, R-Manistee, and Sen. Michelle McManus, R-Lake Leelanau, will be among legislators hosting the Michigan Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus' third annual Great Lakes Charter Boat Fishing Outing in Manistee.

The event starts today with a barbecue at Palsrok's house, followed by a free night's lodging at the Riverside Motel on the Manistee River. Cost of the lodging, estimated at about $1,000, will be covered by the Michigan Legislative Sportsmen's Foundation, which also will help pay for food.

Lawmakers and their friends and family then will spend about six hours Monday morning in pursuit of king salmon before returning for a fish fry at Shipwatch Marina.

Half-day charter fishing trips average about $500 per boat and the event will use eight boats, Palsrok said.

'Deluxe vacation'?

"I'm sure there are plenty of people, working people, who would look at this as a deluxe vacation,” said Rich Robinson, executive director of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network, who said the freebies should be reported as lobbying expenses.

The fishing is organized by the Manistee County Sport Fishing Association, with individual charter captains providing boats.

Kevin Hughes of Onekama heads up the fishing association. He said his group each year has a different agenda to address with lawmakers to build awareness of the fishing and tourism industries.

"People in southern Michigan don't have any idea of what's going on up here,” Hughes said. "If we're going to get lawmakers to vote on sea lamprey or cormorant control laws, we'll have a lot better chance if they've seen them.”

Hughes acknowledged the free charters likely meet the definition of lobbying, but said the sport-fishing group isn't the only recreation-based industry that casts its nets for politicians.

That's exactly what concerns Robinson.

"There's just all kinds of stuff that can go on that won't be reported under our current lobbying laws, and this trip for this group is just one example of it,” Robinson said. "The idea that you can give these legislators a charter fishing cruise is just not right.”

McManus and Palsrok both called the trip just one of many outdoor events their legislative caucus sponsors to educate lawmakers about hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.

'Very positive thing'

"I see this as a very positive thing for the local community and northern Michigan,” Palsrok said. "I'm trying to bring 20 legislators into my district to look at and understand how very important charter fishing is to my local economy.”

McManus said she's never been charter fishing and is looking forward to talking to her boat captain about Great Lakes issues.

"If they think this is such a valuable educational experience for them, why don't they use their legislative office accounts to pay for it,” Robinson countered. "Right now, it just looks like a party.”

McManus, who chairs the Senate Campaign and Election Oversight Committee, said there is nothing wrong with the trip or how it is funded.

"Let's be clear: This is a donation from the charter boat fishermen,” McManus said. "It would be no different than if a friend offered to take me out (fishing).”

McManus plans to take her daughter and rejected any notion that the fishing trip is a junket.

"If I was going to go on a junket, I'd go to Hawaii and all those other places with everyone else,” she said.

Robinson said such events are easy to hide because of the state's loose lobbying laws.

"If you were clever about how you did it, you could get people to Hawaii and technically never have to report it,” Robinson said. "This (fishing trip) is probably all legal, which just goes to show the problem.”

There are no reporting requirements because the expenses are divvied up among a number of related but legally separate entities. The largest single expenditure being made is by the Michigan Legislative Sportsmen's Foundation, a public charity created to "educate” lawmakers.

Palsrok and McManus indicated the sportsmen's foundation's educational expenditures are focused on providing food, drink and the occasional hotel room at the caucus' educational events, such as skeet shooting and fishing trips.

Foundation treasurer Jim Shaeffer said his group's funding comes from other nonprofit advocacy organizations such as the Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

"The foundation is doing great work so that legislators can exercise sound judgment when addressing wildlife (issues),” Shaeffer said.

Palsrok said just about every caucus in Lansing has its own foundation set up to help cover educational event expenses.

Robinson isn't impressed.

"In my mind, this has been a pretty ineffective legislature, and I think citizens should ask themselves if this is the kind of education that will make their legislature work better for them,” Robinson said.