Lobbyists

Your article of Feb. 14 (“Lobbyists Use All Weapons in Legislative War”) obscures a serious California problem by focusing on the “process.”

The problem is California is facing increasing competition from other states for jobs created by financial institutions. The climate in California is being made increasingly hostile by a handful of class-action trial lawyers who sue banks on such things as late charges and reap million-dollar fees while the individual members of the class receive pennies, if anything. And it’s not just the banks. These legal opportunists have even sued a nonprofit public employees credit union, Golden One, on the very same issue.

If you are one of the 30,000 people employed directly or indirectly by California card issuers, you are probably not as concerned about “spot bills” and “committee shopping” as you are about whether or not your job is going to be located in another state. Perhaps the executive director of the Arizona Bankers Assn. put it best when commenting on the California Legislature’s failure to pass the legislation: “I hope they continue to do so because it is good for job growth here.”

Your reporter has described the twists and turns of the legislative process. And our industry abides by these well-established, legal and accepted rules of the road, the same rules that the trial lawyers and consumer activist groups abide by.

What is disturbing is your reporter’s surprising admission that he was allowed to “trail after” the consumer activist lobbyist who admitted “she hoped his (the reporter’s) presence might somehow slow efforts by the bankers.” Such a statement indicates, contrary to your reporter’s assertion, that the consumer lobbyist was engaged in more than “arguing the bill on its merits.” And with good reason: The class-action suits “threatened” by our legislation fund a good portion of the activist’s lobbying activity.

Yes, we intend to continue to fight for our industry and its thousands of California jobs. And yes, we intend to employ every legal and ethical means that the “process” provides us, just as the trial lawyers and consumer activists have. But if the business climate here in California does not improve, the next time The Times writes on this subject it might want to consider having its Arizona or Nevada bureau cover the story. If the lawyers and activists have their way, that is where the jobs will be located.

LARRY D. KURMEL, Exec. Director

California Bankers Assn., Sacramento