Who pays for what

Politicians and their lawyers are often several brainstorms ahead of the law. They seek out loopholes in conflict-of-interest and fundraising regulations, then exploit them. Having done so -- having hidden from the public the identities of the special interests that fund their travel, or their entertainment budgets, or their other expenses -- they protest, truthfully enough, that they never broke any laws.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, for example, does nothing strictly illegal when he flies around the world using money funneled through a nonprofit corporation by -- well, we don’t know. That’s the point. And Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez broke no laws when he used political contributions to wine and dine his way across Europe, hosting guests with interests then-unknown to the public.

Yes, they obey the law -- but they are hardly on the up-and-up. So it’s refreshing when one of our government watchdogs snaps its jaws, especially if that watchdog is someone as unlikely as Ross Johnson.

As a Republican lawmaker from Orange County, Johnson was one of the main movers behind the pseudo-reform measure known as Proposition 34, which in 2000 gutted some campaign contribution limits previously adopted by voters. But as chairman of the Fair Political Practices Commission, Johnson responded decisively to Times stories of Nunez’s extravagant travels. The FPPC last month required elected officials, for the first time, to disclose whether staff or family members were among the lucky folks being treated to donor-paid travel and meals. Under rules to take effect in July, officials will have to provide the public with more information to determine just how close the connection was between the travel and its supposedly legitimate governmental or political purpose.

Now Johnson has proposed rules, to be taken up Thursday for the first time, that would require Schwarzenegger to fully disclose details of the travel paid for by the California State Protocol Foundation, a nonprofit organization linked to the California Chamber of Commerce. Schwarzenegger has avoided such disclosure by making the laughable -- but legal -- distinction between gifts to the governor (reporting required) and gifts to the governor’s office, which then passes them along to the governor (reporting not required).

The FPPC should move forward swiftly on its chairman’s latest proposal but should by no means stop there. Until politicians begin acting in good faith on their own, laws, rules and regulations must be constantly updated to assure the public isn’t left out of the political process.