Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause/Massachusetts, said the stark budget realities had much to do with the lobbying activity.
“Interestingly, during an economic downturn there is often more activity at the State House as interests try to protect their funding and sort of fight for the scraps than during flush times, when it is easier to fund everyone,’’ she said.
Wait till ethics reform goes into effect on January 1!!
Reports of spending are expected to increase more next year when new lobbying rules, contained in an ethics law passed in June, take effect. The rules broaden the definition of lobbyists to include consultants and advisers, and they increase fines and penalties for violations.
Please share widely!
It reminds me of something Jay Leno showed a few years back. At one point while Clinton was President the issues of the line-item veto and allowing the Ten Commandments to be posted in public buildings were in the news at about the same time. Leno set up the scenario by saying that Clinton was going to use his new line-item power on a law which would allow the Commandments to be posted. He then cut to a clip showing “President Clinton” taking his pen to a list of the Commandments and striking through the line that said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery”!
“I bring you these 15 — ” (he drops one of three tablets) — “Ten! Ten Commandments!”
And Judy, I am sure you are correct – the $$$ numbers will go up when the “analysts” and “Consultants” who try to impact legislation and governance are also forced to report or risk incarceration if found out….
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p>I also truly appreciate Sec. of State Galvin’s improved website and tracking, see http://www.sec.state.ma.us/Lob…
Just to play devil’s advocate, I wonder, Judy, do you draw a sharp distinction between how you feel about lobbying and how you feel about campaign contributors? I am no expert, but as I think this through, it seems to me that lobbying, per se, is not only innocuous but positively good for democracy, in the sense that lobbyists can provide information to legislators but that they, as lobbyists, do not give legislators incentives to vote one way or another. People who contribute money, on the other hand, do give legislators incentives to vote a certain way. No doubt there is overlap between lobbying and fundraising. But I wonder, are lobbyists really the target for good-government types?
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p>TedF
There is a detailed article in the Boston Phonenix article about how lobbyists bundle and fundraise
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p>”Bundling” is having members or employees of whatever group the lobbyist is representing write a number of individual checks, which are dropped off paper clipped together. As Martin Lomasney is alleged to have said, “Don’t write when you can speak, don’t speak when you can nod, don’t nod when you can wink.”
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p>I will add one more. Don’t exceed the limit for an individual contribution when a handy paperclip will make the point.
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p>For more discussion as to the lobbyist/lobbying firm and “fundraisers” and “bundling”,see:
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p>1. Lobbyists who bundle
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p>2. bundling in Massachusetts
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p>Lobbyists also loan houses, posh downtown offices, etc., and provide fundraisers. You and I can indeed have a coffee or tea in our home – but that’s not like having a Beacon Hill office with a reception floor to throw a cocktail party fundraiser.
No sharp distinction in my mind between lobbying and campaign contributors. Frankly, good information from a trusted lobbyist is a stronger incentive to “vote a certain way” than campaign contributions, large or small, from his or her clients.
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p>Transparent strict reporting standards, transparent easy to use searchable data bases, and transparent strong penalties for specific viotations are the key.
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p>Searchable data bases of campaign contributions has been around a long time when it comes to campaign fund raising. And until we are able to build public support for public financing — meaning candidates can only use public dollars raised through fees or taxes to pay for campaign materials including media, I think strengthening the reporting requirements, improving the public’s access to the information and imposing severe fines on transgressions is the best we can do now.
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p>The new strict and clear definition of lobbying and increased penalties in the ehics reform bill coupled with the daily improving data base in the the Secretary of State’s office will go a long way to improve transparency and accountability of lobbyists I think.
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p>Now all the candidates challanging incumbants will have more official information to bundle into an accusation that their opponent is being influenced by “special interest groups.”
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p>This clean air advocate certainly found it marginally useful to broadcast the amount of money opponents of tobacco control legislation took from the tobacco industry. We won the legislative changes we were looking for. They still take the money anyway.
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p>And I could tell you about the recently elected Rep who was confronted with a charge during a debate that he had accepted a check from a well known Beacon Hill lobbyist.
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p>I got the check back. He won anyway.
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I bet he needs a hug.
He got mention on Sunday’s Meet the Press, by the HHS Secretary!