The Politician and the Nine Lobbyists

He wore a green ultra-suede suit. It was amazingly terrible. He talked fast. He had an entourage. He also had a meeting with the Mayor of the City of Phoenix.

A state legislator had introduced a piece of legislation that, if passed, would have taxed motor carriers based on their weight per mile. It was known as the “ton-mile” tax. It had everyone scared to death.

At the time, the City of Phoenix, with its $1 billion a year budget, had some political clout in a state where the annual budget was $3 billion. City managers and planners were up in arms at the proposed legislation. This bill had to die.

He knew the bill would hurt. That’s why he was making strange bedfellows. Everyone was there: the Mayor, City Manager, City Attorney, support staff, and us — the Office of Intergovernmental Relations. We were the City’s lobbying wing. I was the intern fly on the wall of this meeting.

He met with us to discuss how best to defeat this bill. He and his entourage represented the trucking industry. The carefully planned death of this bill was my introduction to lobbying and politics where the stakes were high.

Due to the complexities of the issues that we ask our governments to regulate, we need specialists to help us shape our policies. We need people with special knowledge about police procedures to develop criminal laws. We need scientists to educate us about environmental impacts. We need number crunchers to tell us how to best spend our money. In essence, we need lobbyists to aid in bringing information to our legislators. Lobbying is not a necessary evil to our system of governance; it is simply necessary. This article will address the myths and realities of lobbying in a republican form of government.

What Is Lobbying?
The U.S. Senate defines lobbying as “the practice of trying to persuade legislators to propose, pass or defeat legislation or to change existing laws.” The key component missing from this U.S Senate definition is the reason for being.

In Texas, a person is required to register as a lobbyist when certain money criteria are met. As Tim Sorrells, Deputy General Counsel for the Texas Ethics Commission informed me, “Lobby registration is required if a person meets either one of two thresholds: the ‘compensation and reimbursement threshold’ or the ‘expenditure threshold.’” He added, “Under current Ethics Commission rules, a person who receives more than $1,000 in a calendar quarter as compensation or reimbursement to lobby must register as a lobbyist. A person who expends more than $500 in a calendar quarter for certain purposes must register as a lobbyist.”

But money alone does not denote lobbying. Sorrells also stated, “The lobby law regulates ‘direct communications’ with members of the legislative or executive branch of state government to influence legislation or administrative action.” “Direct communication” includes contact in person or by telephone, telegraph, or letter. The communication must be directed to a member or employee of the legislative or executive branch of state government. For example, if an organization publishes a newsletter for its members, the individuals writing the newsletter are not ‘communicating directly’ with members of the legislature, even if a legislator may read the newsletter.

The work of the lobbyist is not confined to statehouse corridors. Lobbyists must strike a delicate balance between client time and time spent in “direct communications.” To better understand the role of the lobbyist, Richard Kouri, spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association, explained, “We meet with elected officials to discuss legislation that is important to our members, draft legislation and amendments and attend a lot of committee hearings. However, we are also representatives of a large grassroots organization. We have local affiliates and leaders who have to be kept current on what is going on in Austin and involved in the process. Our lobbyists have to spend a equal time working on both facets of the job.”

Lobbying v. Special Interest Groups
Are there differences between lobbyists and special interest groups? That is a difficult question. First, you can be a special interest group and be required to register as a lobbyist. Second, a special interest group will lobby lawmakers. The subtle variance is that a lobbyist acts more like an attorney, a paid advocate for clients.

Bill Miller of Hillco Partners LLC describes a defined difference. "Some people have issues they feel strongly about, as opposed to a professional, and they will show up and lobby a member." Miller added, "If you're doing it professionally, that means you're an advocate for your client's interests, and those interests can vary widely, depending on what they want accomplished. That could mean passing something, or killing something, but a professional is paid to advocate for their client's interests."

Lobbying As A Non-Profit Organization
Many of us have the misconception that it is illegal for non-profit corporations to engage in lobbying. This is simply not true. The IRS allows non-profits to lobby, within limits. Of course, the IRS formulas are anything but readily understandable.

I offer the American Water Works Association and the Texas Cultural & Arts Network Tool-Kit explanations for two reasons: 1) to offer an easily discernible discussion of the IRS regulations for lobbying of non-profit organizations and 2) to demonstrate the breadth of the types of groups involved in lobbying efforts.

Lobbying In Texas
This statistic is eye opening — in 2003, there were 1,621 registered lobbyists in Texas. To put this in perspective, that's nine lobbyists for every legislator in Austin. I’ll bet one is wearing a green ultra-suede suit.