Taxpayer-funded lobbying explained

Taxpayer-funded lobbying is the practice of using funds that come directly or indirectly from taxpayers for political lobbying purposes. Taxpayer-funded lobbying is one government lobbying another.[1] [2] Essentially taxpayer-funded lobbying is when tax dollars are used to pay lobbyists to go to state or federal legislatures to ask for more tax dollars.[3] "In other words, it's one arm of government trying to influence another arm of government, usually in a publicly funded quest for more money or power."[4]

United States

Variants

There are several variations of taxpayer-funded lobbying found in the United States. One variant is where state-level government agencies use public funds to retain lobbyists to lobby the state or federal legislature. Another form of taxpayer-funded lobbying occurs when local political subdivisions of the state use public funds to lobby the state or federal government.[5] [6] [7] [8]

State-level agency

Publicly-funded lobbying by state-level agencies is the use of public funds by a state agency to represent the agency's interests to their legislature.[9] [10] [11]

Local political subdivisions

Taxpayer-funded lobbying by local political subdivisions can take two main forms: direct and association.[12] [13] [14] In the first type, local political subdivisions of the state, such as, cities, counties, and school districts, use public funds to contract directly with a lobbyist to lobby on their behalf at the state or federal legislature. The second and most common form of taxpayer-funded lobbying by local political subdivisions occurs through associations of similarly situated governmental entities such as the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, or the National School Boards Association and the various state level affiliates of these types of associations, who collect tax-funded dues to lobby state and federal legislatures on behalf of their members.[15] [16] [17] [18]

Restrictions

Lobbyists on behalf of state and local governments who lobby the federal government are subject to the registration requirements under the Lobbyist Disclosure Act. Individual states issue their own rules that often restrict using state funds for lobbying purposes.[19]

By state

California

In the 2007–2008 legislative season around $92 million, 17% of all lobbying dollars spent in California, were spent by taxpayer-funded entities.[20]

In 2021 the City of San Diego allotted $840,000 for 4 years worth of lobbying on state and federal issues.[21]

Texas

In 2017 around $41 million, 11% of all lobbying dollars spent in Texas, were spent by taxpayer-funded entities.[22] In 2020, the City of Austin spent $435,000–$824,000 lobbying other governments for money.[23]

The Texas GOP established the abolishment of taxpayer-funded lobbying as a legislative goal for the 2019 legislative session.[24]

In a 2019 poll, 91% of Texans opposed taxpayer-funded lobbying.[25] In the March 2020 primary election, 94% of Republican voters approved of a non-binding proposition to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying.[26]

=Early efforts

=

A concerted legislative effort to ban taxpayer-funded Lobbying began as early as 2015. During the 84th Legislative Session, House Bill 1257, authored by State Representative Matt Shaheen, and Senate Bill 711 by State Senator Konni Burton, would have banned the use of public funds by political subdivisions of the state to directly or indirectly influence or attempt to influence the outcome of matters pending before the legislature.[27] [28] Neither bill advanced from either chamber of the Texas Legislature during that session.[29] [30] A similar measure did not advance during the following Legislative Session in 2017.[31]

=2019 Legislative Session: Senate Bill 29/House Bill 281

=Measures to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying moved further through the legislative process during the 86th Legislative Session of the Texas Legislature. Senate Bill 29 authored by State Senator Bob Hall advanced from the Texas Senate and was sponsored in the Texas House of Representatives by State Representative Mayes Middleton.[32] Senate Bill 29 failed to pass to Third Reading in the Texas House of Representatives by a vote of 58 Ayes, 85 Nays, and 2 Present Not Voting.[33] Despite support from a majority of Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives, a minority of Republicans joined a majority of Democrats to defeat the bill in this vote.[34]

=2021 Legislative Session

=The latest iteration of this measure was introduced December 7, 2020 in the Texas House of Representatives by State Representative Mayes Middleton as House Bill 749.[35] On December 8, 2020 State Senator Bob Hall filed an identical bill as Senate Bill 234 in the Texas Senate.[36]

New Jersey

In 2010, Sussex, Warren, Morris, and Hunterdon counties all voted to withhold dues from the New Jersey Association of Counties, a taxpayer-funded lobbying ground, when it emerged that its employees had been included in the state's already troubled pension system.[37]

Illinois

In 2009 Illinois taxpayers funded $6.4 million dollars worth of lobbying other governments.[38]

In 2020, the State-regulated near-monopoly utility ComEd was caught up in a federal investigation regarding the use of taxpayer funds to pay for no-show lobbying jobs for the allies of the previously all-power ex-State House Speaker Michael Madigan.[39] [40] Madigan's son-in-law was hired as the chief lobbyist by the Chicago metro's Regional Transportation Authority.[41]

Oregon

Public agencies in Oregon used about $3.7 million in taxpayer money for government-to-government lobbying in 2009 and 2011.[42] [43]

European Union

See main article: European Union lobbying. A large number of United Kingdom local governments have spent money lobbying Brussels for intervention and funding.[44]

Notes and References

  1. News: Quintero . James . Two Views: For something special, an end to taxpayer-funded lobbying . 14 February 2020 . Austin American-Statesman . 24 December 2018 . For those not well-versed, taxpayer-funded lobbying is “the practice of using funds that come directly or indirectly from taxpayers for political lobbying purposes.”.
  2. Web site: Taxpayer-funded lobbying . Ballotpedia . 14 February 2020 . Taxpayer-funded lobbying is defined as the practice of using funds that come directly or indirectly from taxpayers for political lobbying purposes..
  3. News: Kerpen . Phil . Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying Drives the Earmark Problem . 14 February 2020 . Fox News . 17 March 2009 . Essentially our tax dollars are used to pay lobbyists to go to Congress and ask for more tax dollars taken from across the country..
  4. News: Quitero . James . Two Views: For something special, an end to taxpayer-funded lobbying . 14 February 2020 . Austin American-Statesman . 24 December 2018 . In other words, it’s one arm of government trying to influence another arm of government, usually in a publicly-funded quest for more money or power..
  5. News: Britschgi . Christian . Local Governments Spend Big On Lobbyists . 13 March 2020 . Reason Foundation . 8 August 2018.
  6. Goldstein . Rebecca . You . Hye Young . Cities as Lobbyists . American Journal of Political Science . 2017 . 61 . October 2017 . 864–876 . Midwest Political Science Association. 10.1111/ajps.12306 . 26379532 . 13443593 .
  7. Web site: Maciag . Mike . Gov2Gov: The Lobbying That Falls Under the Radar . Governing . 13 March 2020 . July 2016 . Some governments employ dedicated intergovernmental relations staff, and a select few larger cities maintain personnel in Washington. Many contract with private lobbying firms to give them broader reach. State and national associations further represent governments and groups of officials on a range of issues..
  8. Web site: DeVore . Chuck . When Tax Money Is Used Against Taxpayers . Texas Public Policy Foundation . 13 March 2020 . 10 March 2015.
  9. Web site: Limiting Public Funds for Lobbying . ncsl.org . National Conference of State Legislatures . 13 March 2020.
  10. Web site: Clemens . Jason . Kaszton . Julie . Rufer . Karrie . Sucheski . Laura . State-Level Lobbying and Taxpayers: How Much Do We Really Know? . www.pacificresearch.org/ . Pacific Research Institute . 13 March 2020 . March 2010.
  11. Web site: Public Agency Lobbying . washington.edu . University of Washington . 13 March 2020.
  12. Web site: Montgomery . David . To Rein in Cities, Texas Tries to Ban Their Lobbying . pewtrusts.org . The Pew Charitable Trusts . 13 March 2020 . 17 September 2019.
  13. News: Weissmann . Shoshana . Governor Cracks Down On Government Paying Lobbyists to Lobby Itself . 13 March 2020 . Washington Examiner . 11 July 2016.
  14. Web site: Holman . Craig . Weissman . Jeremy . Restrictions on Government Entities Lobbying the Federal Government . citizen.org . Public Citizen . 13 March 2020 . 2010.
  15. News: Britschgi . Christian . Local Governments Spend Big On Lobbyists . 13 March 2020 . Reason Foundation . 8 August 2018.
  16. Web site: Montgomery . David . To Rein in Cities, Texas Tries to Ban Their Lobbying . pewtrusts.org . The Pew Charitable Trusts . 13 March 2020 . 17 September 2019.
  17. Web site: Emerson . Andrew H. . In Defense of Taxpayer Funded Lobbying: Securing an Affirmative Right to Intergovernmental Communication . imla.org . International Municipal Lawyers Association . 13 March 2020 . 11 April 2012.
  18. Web site: Maciag . Mike . Gov2Gov: The Lobbying That Falls Under the Radar . Governing . 13 March 2020 . July 2016.
  19. Web site: Holman . Craig . Weissman . Jeremy . Restrictions on Government Entities Lobbying the Federal Government . citizen.org . Public Citizen . 13 March 2020 . 2010 . Lobbyists on behalf of state and local governments who lobby the federal government are subject to the registration requirements under the Lobbyist Disclosure Act. Individual states issue their own rules that often restrict using state funds for lobbying purposes..
  20. Web site: California government sector lobbying.
  21. Web site: San Diego lobbying payments set to hit $1.7 million | San Diego Reader.
  22. Web site: Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying.
  23. Web site: City of Austin defends taxpayer-funded lobbying ahead of contentious legislative session. 27 November 2020.
  24. Web site: Texas GOP passes list of priorities that includes support for "bathroom bill" and "constitutional carry". 17 June 2018.
  25. Web site: 91% of Texans Oppose Taxpayer Funded Lobbying.
  26. Web site: Here's how Texans voted on the propositions on the Primary Election ballots. 4 March 2020.
  27. Texas Legislature Online "Bills Authored by Rep. Matt Shaheen" Retrieved 25 February 2021 https://capitol.texas.gov/reports/report.aspx?LegSess=84R&ID=author&Code=A2995
  28. Texas Legislature Online "Bills Authored by Sen. Konni Burton" Retrieved 25 February 2021 https://capitol.texas.gov/reports/report.aspx?LegSess=84R&ID=author&Code=A1090
  29. Texas Legislature Online, House Bill 1257 Retrieved 25 February 2021 https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=84R&Bill=HB1257
  30. Texas Legislature Online, Senate Bill 711 Retrieved 25 February 2021 https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=84R&Bill=SB711
  31. Texas Legislature Online, Senate Bill 241 Retrieved 25 February 2021 https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&Bill=SB241
  32. Texas Legislature Online, Senate Bill 29 Retrieved 25 February 2021 https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=86R&Bill=SB29
  33. Journal of the Texas House of Representatives, Day 69 of the 86th Legislature, Pg. 4088 Retrieved 25 February 2021 https://journals.house.texas.gov/hjrnl/86r/pdf/86RDAY69FINAL.PDF#page=22
  34. Id.
  35. Texas Legislature Online, House Bill 749 Retrieved 25 February 2021 https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=87R&Bill=HB749
  36. Texas Legislature Online, Senate Bill 234 Retrieved 25 February 2021 https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=87R&Bill=SB234
  37. Web site: N.J. Freeholder boards withhold dues from Association of Counties over agency's spending. 14 February 2010.
  38. Web site: $6.4 Million in Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying. 24 May 2010.
  39. Web site: The ComEd Scandal Shows Every Illinoisan the True Cost of Taxpayer Funded Corruption. 24 November 2020.
  40. Web site: Longtime Madigan Ally, 3 Others Plead Not Guilty in ComEd Bribery Case. 2 December 2020.
  41. Web site: Ill. GOP slams RTA's Madigan son-in-law hire WBEZ . www.wbez.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110303001930/http://www.wbez.org/story/house-speaker-michael-madigan/rta-hires-speaker-madigans-son-law . 2011-03-03.
  42. Web site: OR: Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying Costs Millions - Salem-News.Com. 2021-09-22. www.salem-news.com.
  43. Web site: Taxpayers are stuck with huge bills for government lobbying. 9 January 2009.
  44. Web site: Local Government and the European Union Lobbying. John. Peter.

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