There's fresh debate in Harrisburg about whether lawmakers should be banned from accepting all largesse from lobbyists. A report by the Philadelphia Inquirer shows why that debate not only is appropriate, but why the issue needs more than just discussion.

According to an Associated Press article that was published in the June 16 edition of the Butler Eagle, a number of state lawmakers failed to report freebies from special interests, as required by new disclosure rules that went into effect in January of last year.

That new disclosure law requires lobbyists and their clients to report how much they spend — over a certain limit — to influence legislation at the state Capitol. The newspaper compared lobbyist reports to separate filings lawmakers submit to the state Ethics Commission.

According to an Inquirer report, the newspaper identified more than a dozen cases in which lobbyists reported spending money on lawmakers who indicated in their reports that they had received nothing.

It would seem that the lawmakers in question either don't fully understand the contents of the disclosure law that their house of the legislature helped to pass, or they just don't care what the law says and have chosen to ignore it.

It's doubtful that the law is too difficult or complex for the lawmakers to understand, and at least some of the lawmakers involved are far from being legislative rookies.

For example, Rep. Camille "Bud" George, D-Clearfield, received Penn State football tickets worth $1,380. George has been a state House member since being elected for the first time in 1974.

Then there are Reps. John Perzel and George Kenney, both Philadelphia Republicans, who received $2,000 in golf balls from an international packaging conglomerate for outings thrown by the two lawmakers. Perzel, a former House speaker, has been in Harrisburg since 1978.

Also included in the Associated Press article was mention of Rep. Ron Raymond, R-Delaware, who was treated by the lobbying firm Greenlee Partners to a suite at a Hershey Bears hockey game — the value, $1,230.

To repeat, the purpose of the lobbying rule is to show how much lobbyists spend to influence legislation being considered in the General Assembly. But in each case listed by the Inquirer, the legislators, for whatever reason, did not live up to their obligation to the taxpayers.

Consider the reaction of Eric Epstein, founder of the watchdog group RockTheCapital.org:

"You can't regulate decency, but you can ban political gifts . . . there is a thriving black market in political swag."

Since some lawmakers can't follow the rules on disclosure, it is reasonable to conclude that banning lobbyist gifts outright would eliminate the opportunity for such omissions.

After all, lawmakers are elected to represent the best interests of their districts and the state based on their own intelligence and judgment, not vote on the basis of what special interest treats them the best.

A total ban on gifts from lobbyists is the logical objective for right-thinking lawmakers to pursue. The Inquirer report is just more fodder supporting that argument.