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Brown Gets Tough on Casino Lobbying

``Hours after Secretary of State Matthew Brown faxed a letter to Harrah's setting a June 26 "show cause" hearing, the gaming company's local lawyer, William P. Devereaux, indicated that the four Harrah's people in question will register as lobbyists, pay their $5 filing fees and file monthly reports on their compensation and expenditures wooing lawmakers, according to a Brown spokesman.

``As a result, the Harrah's lobbyists will no longer face hearings or fines of up to $1,000 per violation.

```Our primary goal was to get disclosure, and that's what's happened here,’ said Peter Kerwin, Brown's director of communications.

``…The secretary of state's action followed a series of published reports on the activities of some of these visitors to Rhode Island, the State House and the legislative fundraising circuit.

``…yesterday in his statement -- Brown said: ‘Lobbyists have serious influence over the decisons being made in the State House, decisions which affect our lives. The public has a right to know who is lobbying and how much they are spending. That is why lobbyists are required to file public disclosure forms.’…”

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