It is a crime for legislators to receive gifts in excess of $250, (See AS: 24.60.080), and it’s a crime for legislators to represent individuals before the legislature in exchange for pay. (See AS: 24.60.100.)
It has become commonplace, but not legal, for legislators to accept “consulting fees” under what I believe to be, far more often than not, a false pretence that they supplied an unrelated legitimate consulting service.
While it is legal for lobbyists to represent individuals before the legislature for pay, when legislators do so, it is called “bribery.” (See AS: 11.56.110.)
The real breakdown in the system comes when those who’s duty it is to prosecute the powerful have more fear of losing their jobs for trying, than they have losing their self-respect if they don’t.
Ray Metcalfe
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