Springfield lobbyist shares insider?s perspective

If one were to try to define lobbyist Scott Marrs with an identifying phrase, it would probably be, "It'll all work out."

That calm attitude has served him well since 1983 when he first became a "legislative consultant" i.e. lobbyist because it's not always calm in the capital city. This past year's session was particularly tense because of redistricting, Marrs recalled, and "tempers flared."

Marrs is a partner in Govern-mental Services Group Inc. with Jerry Burch, a former legislator from Walker, and they share some clients from southwest Missouri. They also work with Rodney Gray and Mark Rhodes.

Marrs likes to focus on the southwest Missouri area be-cause he lives here. He has about 20 clients across the state, including the Missouri Hospital Association, his first client. In this area his client list embraces the city of Springfield, Greene County, the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and area schools.

From D.C. to Jeff City

A Drury graduate who ma-jored in political science, economics and history, Marrs earned his graduate degree in public administration from the University of Missouri in Columbia just a short distance from where he spends most of his time from Decem-ber to June: Jefferson City.

After his graduate studies ended, "I thought about government service," Marrs said, and for a time he worked for John Danforth, who was then the junior U.S. senator from Missouri. During that time, Marrs was exposed to the exhausting 24-hour-a-day Washington, D.C., scene, but he was young then single and childless.

"It's constant motion. It never stops in D.C. At least in Jefferson City you have a little bit of a lull." He said the D.C. staffers have to be "the sharpest," but "they don't last long."

Today, married 20 years and father of a 12-year-old and a 9-year-old, the 43-year-old Marrs isn't wistful about the "good old days" in D.C. Jefferson City is demanding enough for him. Unlike D.C., "you can almost get a handle on state government or at least know why something happened."

Marrs started out in Jefferson City working for the Depart-ment of Economic Develop-ment for two years. There he marketed the state nationally to bring in outside business. "It was a great job."

His first lobbyist job was "a natural transition." He quickly learned the ropes at the knee of Sen. Richard Webster, the legendary House minority leader, and Springfield's Sen. Dennis Smith.

What he learned was to get to know people. "It's a community up there. It pays to know as many people as you possibly can." Marrs took their advice and made friends everywhere, from the governor's office to the House and Senate to the administrative departments.

Although there are about 7,000 to 8,000 lobbyists registered with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Marrs said there are only about 150 regular lobbyists, about 10 from this area. Anyone who is up in Jefferson City to promote legislation "ought to register as a lobbyist."

Getting a foot in the door

"If you've done a good job and people trust you and I think I've got a pretty good reputation up there generally you're going to be able to get into most doors."

Essentially Marrs is an "information sharer." He likes "to be behind the scenes offering representatives or senators information on different issues. I have to make it concise, be very truthful, because they'll say, 'Well, this is your side of the story. Now what's the other side of the story?'"

If Marrs lays out the information as honestly and as truthfully as he can, "they can make a decision from there," he said.

If the information doesn't affect the legislator or his district one way or the other, then Marrs' track record as a truth-teller can make the difference in getting the votes he needs for his clients, he said.

"But they'll say 'no' just as easily as they'll say 'yes.' I figure if I can give them the correct information, they can make a good decision." Sometimes, he said, it's enough for him if the convinces a legislator not to fight him "to not lead the charge" against a particular bill.

Before each session starts, Marrs meets with his clients to find out the most important parts of their agendas. Because he has taken the time to get to know so many people, "I can get the correct people in to talk (to legislators)" about particular issues. The client still has to promote its own position, but the legislator knows that if more information is need, Marrs is the conduit to provide it.

When a client gives Marrs preliminary information, "I'll pick apart (what) doesn't make sense to me. I definitely don't want to hurt my credibility, that's why I really question clients as much as possible." He said he advises the client on the best way to promote an issue and helps the client focus on what interests a particular committee or legislator.

Then the formal client meetings with the legislators begin. "Say we talk to the chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Then I go around to each member and make the same presentation. It's a lot of work, a lot of bases to cover."

Marrs sometimes presents the entire case for a bill, as well as testifying on pending laws. Toward the end of the session, he prefers to go it alone unless there is an emergency issue, he said.

The process continues on the Senate floor, where Marrs picks out five or six senators to educate so the issue can be debated in committee or explained knowledgeably on the floor.

In the House he looks to 15 or so representatives who "can present a proposal in a meaningful way so that other representatives look toward them and think, 'Oh, well, this representative ... usually knows what she's talking about on this issue.' They rely on each other to (know how to) vote many times." And, he added, "they have so many issues coming through, they can't be experts on everything."

Marrs said the legislators "all know each other fairly well" and know when to trust the speaker on an issue.

Endless work

During the session, the work never seems to stop, Marrs said. "It's extremely tense."

The legislators are in session from 10 a.m. to noon, then take a "break" from noon until 2 p.m. That time is usually spent in committee meetings where lunch is often catered. Then they're back at 2 p.m. and continue until 6 p.m. or even later, he said, sometimes as late as 9 p.m.

"Then the committee hearings start."

Early each morning Marrs reads the journal of the House and Senate, where action on legislation is reported, and then reads the committee reports "to make sure you haven't missed anything," such as an amendment to a bill.

Marrs catches legislators between 8 and 10 a.m. "a good, quiet time" when he might be able to talk to three or four representatives and two or three senators. A visit with the legislative leadership usually requires an appointment be-cause their time is taken up by party members who need to meet with their leader, he said.

And visiting is the name of the game. Marrs said "it's fun to visit with people," a requirement for his job.

Marrs always covers the committee rooms when the session is on. "And some hearings I go to no matter what" like Ways and Means, Appropria-tions and Budget committee hearings.

While debate is going on, Marrs will stay close by in his capitol office and listen on the public speaker while he makes telephone calls. If the debate concerns an issue he's watching, he'll go watch the debate in the chamber.

The wining and dining and playing of golf often associated with the lobby profession just "isn't a big deal anymore," Marrs said. "It's much more businesslike, and they like to do their business at the Capitol."

Instead of having to worry about reporting what a lobbyist may spend on a legislator, as is now required by law, many legislators would rather pick up their own dinner tab, he said. "I'd just as soon do business at the Capitol."

When he does go out to dinner with legislators, it's more of a chance to be one-on-one, or to get three or four to-gether as a group and discuss an issue, he said. Or just for fun, like watching a ballgame together late at night.

Marrs said he thinks people don't understand the importance of lobbyists. "I've seen so many uninformed decisions made and (the legislature) had to go back and correct something the following year because they haven't listened to the appropriate groups," or the groups didn't do a good job getting their message across.

He said many people belong to some sort of a trade organization food service workers, businessmen, lawyers, optometrists they just don't realize those groups have lobbyists. "Every-body's got somebody" in Jefferson City.

Area delegation

Legislators from Springfield and the southwest Missouri area work together well on regional issues, Marrs said. For instance, when the city was attempting to get approval from the state to release sales tax revenue increases to help fund Jordan Valley Park, Marrs was busy. "Every time there was something new or different or a change in sequence, I'd try to let the local delegation know. They're the ones that vote."

When area legislators vote as a bloc, they have a chance against St. Louis and Kansas City, Marrs said. The St. Louis area dominates the house with its number of representatives, but when an issue is important, he can count on the southwest area legislators working together.

Upcoming issues

Marrs said he worries about term limits, a looming issue.

It is important, he said, that there be someone in the legislature "for eight or nine years who understands the budget or the legislature ... someone who can say, 'Oh, we had that bill 10 years ago and it was a stupid idea then.' You're going to miss out on that."

Term limits eliminate institutional memory among legislators and leave "a power vacuum. It's great for business lobbyists are going to have to provide all that information," he added.

Maybe new people with fresh ideas are important, and some can learn quickly, Marrs said. But he fears that new legislators will have to depend too much on "what a bureaucrat is saying is a good idea," and he fears the bureaucrats will have their own agendas. But at the same time, the bureaucrats are a good source of information on their particular departments, he added.

Another example of where experienced legislators are needed is the upcoming school foundation formula change.

"I've been dealing with that for years and there's only about 10 or 12 representatives in the House and five or six in the Senate that understand. And they'll all be gone in 2002, so if they can deal with that this year, it'll be better," Marrs said.

Of course, the budget will be an issue, too. Although there is about $18 billion in the budget, he said, about $10 billion of that is from the federal government and we are required to match a certain amount.

That leaves discretionary income of about $300 million to $400 million. The big issue in the budget will be "trying to retain what we've got."