Beason on lobbying

Don Beason served on a panel about regulating lobbyists in 2004.

The Lobbying Advisory Council was put together to advise Secretary of State Elaine Marshall how to regulate lobbying in North Carolina.

Beason, a longtime lobbyist, was one of more than 20 people on the committee.

According to minutes of two meetings the group held, Beason argued for regulations on lobbying the governor, against restrictions on retiring legislators becoming lobbyists and for the speaker of the House to be notified about lobbying law violations.

The minutes of the meetings held on Feb. 25 and March 24 were the only ones that the Secretary of State's office could find.

Beason resigned as a lobbyist in August of 2007, a few weeks after it was revealed that he had once loaned former House Speaker Jim Black $500,000.

Note: The minutes list Gene Arnold as chairman. That is incorrect. Former UNC-Chapel Hill law school dean Gene Nichol chaired the committee; former Rep. Arnold was a member.