The State Ethics Commission has cleared a Washington lobbying firm of allegations that deceptive tactics were used to influence legislation before the General Assembly, the founder of the firm said.
The ethics panel launched an investigation in March after a health care advocacy group filed an ethics complaint about work Bonner & Associates was doing on behalf of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
The complaint accused Bonner & Associates and PhRMA of conspiring to influence lawmakers on prescription drug legislation without registering as lobbyists. The complaint by the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative Education Fund also accused Bonner & Associates of violating ethics laws by apparently misrepresenting itself to hide its affiliation with PhRMA.
"This has been the only ethics complaint in our 18 years that we have ever had, so we are very pleased to see it dismissed entirely," said Jack Bonner, the founder of Bonner & Associates, a lobbying firm that specializes in rallying public opinion on pieces of legislation.
Suzanne S. Fox, the executive director of the Ethics Commission, refused to comment.
The education fund's complaint was filed after an article in The Sun detailed how PhRMA and Bonner & Associates were attempting to defeat prescription drug legislation in Maryland and other states by teaming with obscure nonprofit community groups. The legislation, which did not pass, was designed to reduce the cost of prescription drugs for seniors and low-income residents who have no medical insurance. Bonner & Associates teamed with a Michigan-based group called the Consumer Alliance. In exchange for seed money from PhRMA, Consumer Alliance tried to generate opposition to prescription drug legislation before the General Assembly by making legislators think there was a groundswell of grass-roots opposition.
The practice is known among political insiders as "AstroTurf lobbying" because the grass-roots effort is manufactured.
The health education fund's complaint alleged that the leaders of Bonner & Associates and Consumer Alliance did not register as lobbyists until after their campaign began. Bonner is now registered, but he said his firm is not doing work in Maryland.
Vincent DeMarco, the education fund's executive director, said he is satisfied with the outcome of the investigation.
"Our view of the whole thing is what we wanted to get accomplished, got accomplished," DeMarco said. "I doubt we hear the name Consumer Alliance in Annapolis anymore."