Oil and tobacco companies [3] and other businesses hoping to press their agenda in the California legislature picked up most of the tab for a gathering of about 25 Republican state legislators and a dozen of their aides at a luxurious beach resort in Santa Barbara, California. The three day get-together included gourmet meals, gift bags (some worth almost $300 each), a tour of Ronald Reagan [4]'s ranch and a cocktail reception where the legislators mingled with lobbyists. The event cost $120,000, and the money was funneled through a non-profit group called the "Council for Legislative Excellence," which is headed by the spouse of a legislative aide, according to the group's most recent tax filing. The Executive Director of Common Cause [5] in California, Kathay Feng, called it "money laundering." She said the donations amounted to "buying access by interested parties through a third-party conduit." The event's biggest donors were Chevron [6] and Altria [7], the parent company of cigarette maker Philip Morris [8].