House Speaker David Ralston says he had a change of heart on lobbyist gifts to legislators.

Ralston told the AJC that a simple cap on the value of those gifts would do little to stem the influence of special interests, so he said he will propose to end the practice outright.

That is welcome news to advocates of cleaner government.

William Perry, Executive Director of Common Cause Georgia, says he's pleased the Speaker has heard the public clamor for an end to unlimited gifts to politicians, and when the speaker wants something, his colleagues listen.  "It's tough to go against the speaker, he holds all the card in the House and has influence on the Senate,"  says Perry.

Perry says he wants Ralston to set an example.  "So I think if the Speaker started today and did not accept gifts from lobbyists, that will show everyone that he is serious about his ban idea."

Common Cause and other groups in the alliance are still standing by their bill that would cap lobbyist gifts at $100, just in case. Perry also wants the state ethics commission revived.  "They need their rule making authority back and they need enough funding to do their jobs."

Ralston says he'll have some house colleagues look at how other states have handled lobbyist gift bans, and hopes to have a bill ready for next year's session. Common cause still supports a $100 gift cap, just in case.  "That's what you got to watch," says Perry.  "You can have a gift ban, but it can have so many exceptions that it could effectively be weakened."