lobbying

When does lobbying reform go too far overboard and to the detriment of all?  The Obama Administration may have reached that point.  Lobbying, just like other noble professions, is performed by intelligent, thoughtful, and dedicated people who believe in their issue and who follow moral codes of conduct.  Just like with other professions, not everyone matches this level of performance.  That shouldn't be the reason to paint all lobbyist with the same negative brush, putting constraints on careers.

The report also details several examples of seemingly qualified senior nonprofit employees missing out on appointments because of their lobbyist status. ...David Cohen, a CLPI board member and former president of Common Cause, said the issue is that “people who are quite qualified and bring a different perspective on things are really being kept out of government by critical levels."  [Full Article: Politico]

Judy Meredith and Lew Finfer are pooling their collective organizing, advocacy, and leadership experiences to form the Massachusetts Policy and Organizing Leadership Training Academy.  There's a wealth of knowledge to pass on to the next group of organizers and advocates and the current group of aspiring leaders.

State Representative Linda Dorcena Forry said the pair’s new focus on educating future activists comes at a critical time as non-profits struggle through a sluggish economy and new ethics reforms which she said has left many organizations scrambling to adjust...“I think it’s great what they’re doing,” Forry said. “There are a lot of non-profits that feel they don’t have the skills to address legislators. They find themselves paying out for a lobbyist when they could be doing much of the work themselves.”  [Full Article: Dorchester Reporter]

A concentrated effort to improve prosperity and the economy here in western Massachusetts. Local business people lobbied lawmakers during Wednesday's Beacon Hill Summit… A popular topic? Healthcare cost containment, how to keep Medicaid and employee insurance liabilities down. The Commissioner of Revenue spoke about fair tax collection practices and emphasized the importance of commerce. [Full Story: WWLP News] 

Here's an excerpt from GLOBE'S Andrea Estes article Mass. lobbyists on pace to have a record year.

Jon Hurst, president of the 3,200-member Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said his group spent more than ever in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent an impending sales tax increase from 5 to 6.25 percent. His group and others argued that consumers would take their business to New Hampshire or to the Internet.

“It was the biggest issue we’ve had in the past 20 years,’’ Hurst said. “Our expenditures went way up. It was important to us, because we were trying to save consumers $900 million in new sales taxes. But it goes to show spending money doesn’t always mean you’ll get the outcome you want in the Legislature.’’

So much for all of Jon's hard work.

On the other hand other "special interest groups" hard work hasn't paid off either (yet)

There are many things we can achieve together as a community that we are not able to achieve as individuals. Governor Deval Patrick’s proposed transparency and lobbying reforms are designed to restore in Massachusetts residents a confidence in government that makes those achievements possible. Yesterday, March 18^th, Massachusetts legislators held a joint hearing at the State House to discuss the Bill on ethics and lobbying reform.

State Administration and Regulatory Oversight Co-chair, Representative Steven Walsh, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo hope to have the bill on the House floor as soon as possible, certainly before the 2010 budget reaches the floor in late April.  There are rumors around the State House that this bill will be on the House floor as early as the last week of March.  Senator Brian Joyce, the committee's co-chair, called Patrick's bill a "very well thought out and very well developed proposal" that both leaders of the House and Senate would like to implement as soon as possible.