LANSING- There is a postcard-perfect view of the Capitol from the bay window in Rep. Tim Moore's office on the 12th floor of the House Office Building.

"The further north your district is, the higher floor you get," the Farwell Republican explained to two conservation activists who drove from Clare County to Lansing for a lobbying day. "I always say the guys from the U.P. are lucky because they get the penthouse."

Moore tells them that his favorite part about his job is meeting constituents. It's a phrase he'll repeat during each meeting he has today.

Several common threads run through each meeting this morning. Every visitor goes to the window to look at the Capitol. Every visitor hears about his concerns with domestic job loss. Every visitor comments about the pictures of his family on the wall. Every visitor asks how often he goes home to Farwell.

The first-term lawmaker said that he makes the 90-minute drive north  to see his wife and two sons every night. "It's much better to sleep in your own bed than to stay in some hotel in Lansing," he said.

"Plus, they don't let you sleep overnight in your office."

Another constituent commented on a picture of Moore standing next to a brown cow. He bought the cow for beef at a 4-H auction last year. "It's the best meat you can get," Moore said, adding that he was "out of the roast" cut of beef and almost finished with the hamburger.

"Plus it's a good cause," he said of the auction.

The pictures on the wall will include another member of the family next year as Moore and his wife are expecting a third son in June.

"My wife's really excited about it because she doesn't have to walk in the parades, she'll be sitting in a car," he said of the pregnancy.

His meetings largely consisted of complaints against the Department of Environmental Quality. Moore said that the DEQ is mired in regulations that can make life harder for his constituents.

"If we fixed that one problem, that would probably solve 40 percent of the calls that we get in this office," he said.

After his last morning meeting, Moore ducked out of the office to head to lunch.

He ate courtesy of the Michigan Petroleum Association (MPA) and Michigan Education Association (MEA). Both groups held lobbying events that offered free food for legislators willing to have their ear bent for a few minutes.

The MPA and its partner, the Michigan Association of Convenience Stores, represent independent petroleum marketers and convenience store operators.

The MPA buffet was centered in a large room in the Lansing Center and surrounded by circular tables where business owners tried to convince legislators to support a bill to prevent gas companies selling fuel below cost.  A projector flashed slides citing statistics to reinforce the argument.

Moore picked up some ham quesadillas and meatballs and sat in an empty row of chairs near the wall.

But his ear went unbent because the only person who came to talk to him was Sen. Michelle McManus, R-Lake Leelanau, offering to help Moore's re-election campaign.

"Nobody's told me this, but I'm convinced that some of these (lobbying) groups just check later to see if you came," Moore said.

As he crossed a bridge over the Grand River toward the Radisson Hotel for the MEA's lobbying lunch, he pondered whether luncheons changed his mind on any issues.

"No, not really," he said, adding that he's left some lobbying events with a different impression than he had going in, but that it doesn't happen much.

As he walked into the Radisson, Moore explained that the MEA, Michigan's largest education union, leans to the left, "but it should be OK. I've got the right votes."

MEA lobbyists seemed to agree, as they offered their support for Moore, while trying to ensure that he'd vote against proposed curriculum standards that they feel are "too high."

"You can't name courses," Moore said, prompting a relieved smile from a Bay City teacher who made the trek to Lansing specifically for these 15 minutes.

Minutes before 1, he excused himself and hurried to the Capitol for the afternoon session.

On the House session agenda was Moore's kidnapping bill; part one-of-three that would change the definition of kidnapping to include detaining people against their will.

Moore walked into the House chamber and sat down at his desk. Representatives, including William Van Regenmorter, R-Georgetown Township, and Rick Baxter, R-Hanover, came up to talk about future legislation.

Moore didn't try to lobby for the kidnapping legislation at all before the vote.

"It's a no-brainer," he said. "We don't have to convince anyone that imprisonment is kidnapping."

He was right - the bills passed 105 - 0.

The session was also marked by the GOP going into a closed caucus twice for a total of almost three hours. The first one was to talk about curriculum requirements, the second about Freedom of Information Act requirements for criminal background checks on teachers.

Moore brushed off questions about the atmosphere of the closed session, saying only that they "discussed both sides of the issues, some for, some against."

As with most first-term representatives, Moore said he has his eye on a committee chair in the next session If re-elected, he looks likely to get one.

"I hope he's back next year so we can give him a chair," said House Speaker Craig DeRoche, R-Novi. "He's made every case possible to say that he's got a lot more to give."

This observation is a far cry from Moore's first week in office, when he says he made his most embarrassing gaffe.

"At the bottom of my tablet PC in my office there's a stoplight. On my home computer, when it lights up red, it means I have a virus. So it lights up red, and I started clicking on it about 10-15 times.

"Well, apparently it calls security, and they thought that there was a really serious problem," Moore said with a smile.

He eventually convinced security officers that there was no threat.

"Down the road I'll probably be used in some training video," he mused.