Corporations wield enormous influence with the Montana Legislature, and citizens need to pay particular attention to whom they elect if they want their interests represented, members of a panel discussion said Monday.

At a talk sponsored by Montanans for Corporate Accountability, representatives of interest groups, lawmakers and the state budget director weighed in on the clout wielded by corporate American in the halls of the Capitol.

Cedron Jones of MCA said the talk was one of a series of nine scheduled throughout the year on topics related to corporate power and human values. He invited four corporate lobbyists, but said that none were able to attend.

Al Smith, who represents the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, said business groups can marshal remarkable forces when they see a bill that threatens their industry. One bill in this spring's session drew the opposition of nine individual insurance companies, four insurance associations and 16 individual lobbyists.

"What you see reported is a gross understatement of what corporations spend to influence legislation," he said.

That point was echoed by Jim Jensen of the Montana Environmental Information Center, who said that money isn't available to audit any of the financial disclosure forms that lobbyists are required to submit, and that none of those forms have ever been audited.

Sen. Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena, said the association groups are an effective way for individual companies to influence policy without necessarily having their names attached to the lobbying effort.

She said that in her first session on the Senate Tax Committee, she saw lots of business lobbyists, and lots of testimony from the Department of Revenue, but practically nobody representing the general citizenry that would also be affected by the proposed policy change.

"There wasn't anybody there pushing that third side," she said.

Olivia Riutta recently completed her first session lobbying for the group Working for Equality and Economic Liberation. She said lobbyists hold even more sway now than they did in previous decades, because legislators are now limited to eight years in each chamber.

"The role of lobbyists has always been important, but it's especially important now with term limits," she said. Lawmakers learn to trust lobbyists, who spend countless hours in the halls of the Capitol, seeing and being seen and offering advice on particular bills.

David Ewer, budget director for Gov. Brian Schweitzer, said citizens can't be expected to understand the fine print of every bill that passes through the Legislature -- making it particularly important that they understand the views of the people they elect.

"Those are the people who are supposed to pay attention to the arcane items of insurance and electricity and real estate investment trusts and everything else," he said. Jones said part of his rationale for organizing the discussion was to put members of various citizen groups in touch with each other.

"These folks don't talk to each other about this," he said. "They all go up individually and lobby. Part of the goal for me is to build the ability for people who are concerned about corporate power in their own little niche to collaborate further on the issue of corporate power."

Reporter John Harrington: 447-4080 or john.harrington@

helenair.com