Research Center
National Lobby Disclosure & Regulation Study
A report on how states inform the public and regulate lobbying activities.
Synopsis of Report
In August of 2002, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared the state law regulating lobbyists' activities unconstitutional, because it included the activities of "lawyer-lobbyists" within its jurisdiction. CC/PA immediately went to work to revise the law to address the Court's concerns and regulate ALL lobbyists in a fair, equitable, and effective manner.
To bolster its information base, CC/PA leaders wanted to identify the range of components other states included in their lobbying laws — from the fairly commonplace to the most innovative. Unfortunately, there was no central clearinghouse describing the various components of states' lobbying laws.
CC/PA set out to compile a compendium of state lobbying law standards. To ensure accurate results and data interpretation, we developed a comprehensive questionnaire about state lobbying. The agency responsible for lobby law administration in each state was asked to respond. Responses were received from all 49 states. This study reflects the results of that survey.