Mississippi currently has almost 500 registered lobbyists, most employed by private companies who hope to sway state legislators to vote a certain way.

But some state agencies have contracted lobbyists at a big cost to taxpayers to do the same thing. Now lawmakers are asking, why?

Executive director of the Legislative Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review committee, Max Arinder, says too much money is spent on contract lobbyists for state agencies.

"I think the key here is to determine whether agencies have established an appropriate need for those contract lobbyists," said Arinder.

But what the Senate Ethics Committee found out is state law neither prohibits or authorizes the use of contract lobbyists, meaning no laws have been broken.

You may be wondering what contract lobbyists have to do with common Mississippians. Well, according to a PEER Commission report over the last five years, state agencies have spent $1.2 million on contract lobbyists. But the ethics committee thinks it may be closer to $2 million.

Arinder said he thinks lawmakers need to find out if the service is worth the price.

"We're not saying in all situations that there was not benefit received," said Arinder. "We're saying this process needs to be carefully looked at."

And in tough budget times for the state, couldn't that money be spent better somewhere else? Committee chair, Sen. Merle Flowers, says, yes it could.

"We're facing a very tight, difficult budget situation in this coming calendar year when the session reconvenes in January," said Flowers. "It's a very easy thing to do to save taxpayers money, but I also believe it's the right public policy."

Lawmakers Wednesday questioned agency heads from the Department of Transportation and the Institutions of Higher Learning. They expect to call more to testify when they resume hearings once the legislative session starts next year.

Lawmakers say they hope to pass legislation to restrict the use of contract lobbyists by state agencies during that time.