IBM's contract with Beason

IBM hired Don Beason as a consultant.

A spokeswoman for the computer company said she could not talk about the specifics of the contract, but she did say that he was not hired strictly to lobby the legislature this year.

"Our records show that he was hired as a consultant, not a lobbyist," said Gretchen McWhorter, communications manager for IBM in the Southeast.

She said that usually prefers to deal directly with legislators, rather than hire a lobbyist.

But state records show that Big Blue paid Beason $4,200 in 2007 for lobbying — one-eighth what Catawba County paid him for lobbying in the same time period.

That's likely because of a loophole in state law that allows corporate consulting contracts to be kept private, but requires disclosure of lobbying fees.

In its 2004 contract, IBM noted that only 5 percent of its $60,000 payment to Beason was for lobbying.