Dan Schnur wants to ban fundraising while Legislature is in session

When it was reported last week that state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, was taking a group of lobbyists to Las Vegas for a fundraising event, most veteran Capitol observers rolled their eyes. So what? And the fact that the trip was scheduled right before a key vote that would benefit the casino hosting the fundraiser? No big deal. Just one more politician selling access to deep-pocketed special interests right before a vote on a bill of tremendous financial interest to them. It was business as usual in Sacramento. Nothing illegal, nothing unusual, no overt quid pro quo. Just one more layer of sleaze in a state Capitol already waist deep in it.

The Sacramento Bee