And with confidence, longtime lobbyist Willie Washington of the
California Manufacturers and Technology Association (CMTA), one of the
biggest and most powerful special interests in Sacramento, said that he
would have no problem being honest about the workers compensation
crisis. "I don’t feel I have anything to fear, and I’m not even going
to think about it and do what I always do," he told the Orange Country
Register on Friday on the question of testifying under oath.

How quickly things change! That evening, Willie’s boss at CMTA wrote to
Senator Alarcon that the Manufacturers Assoc. would not testify under
oath. Apparently, they reflected on the meaning of "oath," and
explained to the Senator: "The point is there is no way of guaranteeing
the truth and accuracy that could be presented by our representative. .
. "

Well, actually, there is. It’s called not lying. The real question is:
what do they have to hide? When Florida Senators put lobbyists under
oath last summer to explain that state’s medical malpractice insurance
crisis, it came out that the insurers, doctors and hospitals had been
misleading the Legislature about the impact of the crisis on healthcare
in the state. Under oath, they had to admit that doctors were not
leaving the state (doctor attrition was the crux of their campaign) and
that insurers were, in fact, very profitable in Florida.

It seems as though, the California Manufacturers Association had hoped
it could do with the truth what it does with all its members products:
manufacture it.

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) is calling on
the Governor and legislative leaders today to require all future
testimony on all bills be conducted under oath as the only way to
ensure that other special interests are not manufacturing the truth.