Reid Wilson at
The Washington Post has written one of those stories confirming what you've suspected all along. There's a lot more money pouring into lobbying at the state level than in the past. At the same time that state lobbying money has soared, it's fallen slightly at the national Capitol. In the 28 states where public data are available, "professional advocates" have reported they spent $2.2 billion to influence state lawmakers in 2013-2014.
And that's just the $2.2 billion that we know of. In addition to the 22 states where such information isn't made public or even collected, many of the 28 states where it is don't include everything that could be considered lobbying related, and enforcement of disclosure laws is spotty. Without good laws, figuring out how much is actually spent is simply impossible. Lobbying is, of course, just one area in which the gargantuan sums of often secretly contributed money warp our politics.
One reason for the increase over the past decade, as noted in the Post headline, is the gridlock in Congress. If changes in laws cannot be achieved in D.C., then interested parties will try to make it happen at the state level. If it works in one place, then spread it to others. And if Congress passes laws the people who hire lobbyists don't like, state lobbying may be tried as a means to undermine those federal laws. The state-level lobbying obviously isn't merely an effort by the right and their mega-rich pals. Environmental advocates, for example, are active lobbyists as well. But they, and other issue-oriented groups, tend to fund their efforts on a shoestring, operate as real grassroots organizations instead of corporate fronts.
Wilson notes:
“When nothing’s happening in Washington, D.C., it’s happening in the states,” said Frank McNulty, a former Republican speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives who retired from office earlier this year. “You tend to see all these public policy issues work their way down to the state level because, whether it’s an environmental organization or a Fortune 500 company, they’re still going to try to move their agenda.” [...]
“Money is the game in our political process, and we wouldn’t see this much money in our system if it wasn’t making an impact for the spenders,” said Jenny Flanagan, vice president for state operations at Common Cause.
The major problem with all this spending is the fact that, on a multitude of issues, the side with the greatest influence is usually the one with ample cash. The losers all too often are rank-and-file Americans for whose interests fewer lobbyists even exist, much less have the financial backing to get across their point of view with the same amplification as the big guys.
Ethics laws haven't kept up with this deluge of dollars. Even in states where disclosure laws are in effect, limitations on how the data are categorized and made publicly available make it difficult or impossible for citizens to find out who is lobbying for or against a particular piece of legislation, how much is being spent and where the lobby obtained its funding.
“There’s almost no enforcement in the lobbyist arena. The disclosure is awful, and it’s one of the areas where I think there is a serious need for some sunlight,” said Edwin Bender, executive director of the National Institute on Money in State Politics.
Improved transparency is hardly the only matter needing attention in the lobbying arena, but it's an important element of any attempt to tip the balance in favor of a more democratic assessment of laws and programs. But, no surprise, more transparency is something many lobbyists want no part of and have spent some of their money to lobby against.