It might be called progress that Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, a prominent Republican from Dauphin County, is showing such concern about Pennsylvania's lobbyist disclosure law. After all, until last year, the state was the only one in the nation that didn't have one and it was like pulling teeth to get action on it when Republicans controlled both houses.

Now Sen. Piccola is so concerned about lobbyist Leslie M. McCombs failing to register as required (until it was brought to her attention) that he announced he would sic a private detective on the case for the sake of the purity of the law and how it might illuminate its workings. As they say in hard-boiled detective novels, if you believe that, Sen. Piccola has a bridge you might want to buy.

True to the genre, Ms. McCombs is the blonde at the center of the story. What this is really about is that the former Fox TV reporter in Pittsburgh is a friend of Gov. Ed Rendell and she worked on behalf of Lionsgate Films to get the Legislature to approve the $75 million film tax break passed as part of the budget deal. For the record, Ms. McCombs has denied any inappropriate relationship with Mr. Rendell -- "absolutely not," she said of such insinuations.

For his part, Mr. Piccola denies suggesting an inappropriate relationship. But in a Sept. 6 interview with Capitolwire, he said: "I don't know the particulars of the relationship. But I expect that probably because of relationship, people think they can get around the law, get around certain statutes, they feel empowered because of the relationships. ... We have to shed light on relationships before these things take place."

Ah, yes, relationships. It's a wonder that Mr. Piccola didn't dislocate his eyebrows with all the nudging and winking that was going on.

To be sure, Ms. McCombs should have been registered from the beginning, but this oversight hardly warrants a private detective paid with tax dollars -- unless, of course, the search is hoping not only for "just the facts, ma'am" but "just the dirt." If Sen. Piccola wants to launch sleazy investigations, he should pay for them himself.