Elise,
I've said before the most cost effective return on investment the oil industry has made over the decades has been to get as many legislators elected who receive compensation either directly or indirectly from them. SB21 was their latest example. Tightening the conflict of interest rules would ruin the status quo for them. Any effort at change will be met with a lot of resistance from the industry and the legislators that benefit from them. However, I couldn't agree more that the continued effort is worth it. The huge deficit the State in now in is awaking the masses who tended not to pay attention to the blatant conflicts that have existed for to long. Ray Metcalf has long advocated for these changes but do not forget an equally important change that needs to be made is having the legislature comply with the Opens Meetings Act. Closed door deals have also been the cause of many of their shenanigans. Both efforts will require Constitutional amendments. Let's do it.