New groups join climate lobby fray

Politico story
By MARIANNE LAVELLE - CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY

"The next round of the battle over climate change policy on Capitol Hill will involve more than the usual suspects – way more.

Watch soup makers face off against steel companies. Witness the folks who pump gas from the ground fight back against those who dig up rock. And watch the venture capitalists who have money riding on new technology try to gain advantage in a game that so far has been deftly controlled by the old machine.

An analysis of the latest federal records by the Center for Public Integrity shows that the overall number of businesses and groups lobbying on climate legislation has essentially held steady at about 1,160, thanks in part to a variety of interests that have left the fray. But a close look at the 140 or so interests that jumped into the debate for the first time in the third quarter shows a marked trend: Companies and organizations who feel they’ve been overlooked are fighting for a place at the table.

The amount of money involved likely rose as well. Although amounts spent on lobbying by issue are not disclosed, if the groups involved spent just 10 percent of their lobbying budgets on climate, they shelled out $30.5 million in the third quarter — up nearly 13 percent over the previous quarter.

Of course, the framework for climate change legislation developed by a trio of senators — Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, and Connecticut Independent Joe Lieberman — already makes clear that the climate debate will expand into new realms. Incentives for nuclear power construction and more offshore oil and gas production are key proposals they’ve floated for gaining Republican and moderate Democratic votes for a climate change package. But beyond what are sure to be high-profile battles over those issues, the lobbying records also reveal that a host of smaller battles are brewing — sure to greatly complicate the already immense challenge of writing a successful bill. It’s one of the reasons that — despite the pledge by President Obama and other world leaders of “strong political will” on climate — it likely will be months before the Senate moves on a measure to curb fossil fuel emissions."

Distributed by www.publicaffairslinks.co.uk

Lobbyist or not, it's disclosure that matters

Editorial: San Jose Mercury News

"Everybody believes in open government, or at least says so.

But nobody wants to be labeled a lobbyist. As one lawyer says, it's the Scarlet L.

The semantics of sunshine have become an issue in San Jose, with Mayor Chuck Reed's proposal to require nonprofits affiliated with advocacy organizations like the South Bay Labor Council or the Chamber of Commerce to register as lobbyists.

Like it or not, the lobbyist ordinance is San Jose's mechanism for requiring special interests to report contacts with city officials, so that it's clear to the public who is influencing whom. The new advisory group that's been asked to analyze Reed's proposal next year will be pretty much stuck with that reality — and its goal must be full disclosure, regardless of how people feel about the labels.

The immediate candidate to be labeled a lobbyist under Reed's proposal would be Working Partnerships, the labor council affiliate. Its policy director, Bob Brownstein, not only testifies at public meetings but also works behind the scenes with some City Council members to help them write proposals and memos. Brownstein and Cindy Chavez, who heads both Working Partnerships and the labor council, say they don't object to disclosure, just to the Scarlet L for their nonprofit. But unless the city wants to come up with some new labels, we don't see an alternative.

And if the Chamber of Commerce, labor's most frequent opponent on city issues, had a nonprofit policy arm whose head was helping council members write policy proposals behind the scenes, we'll bet labor would want that to be disclosed. As it should.

The semantic problem is rooted in the origin of the city lobbying ordinance. It originally was aimed at lobbyists for hire, who gained significant power during former Mayor Ron Gonzales' administration. Several had worked in the mayor's office before hanging out their shingles to sell influence; the mayor's staff and some council members in turn would encourage developers and others to hire lobbyists.

But as the lobbying law was crafted, it became clear that these were not the only people whose influence should be disclosed. Others included groups like the labor council and the chamber as well as business owners, such as developers.

These people generally hate registering as lobbyists. They say they're doing what they believe in, not hiring out to anyone who pays them. Lawyers say that when they visit council members, they're representing clients in a legal capacity, not as lobbyists. Professional engineers and planners say they're consultants, not lobbyists, because clients hire them for their technical expertise. But they have to register anyway.

So, Working Partnerships — welcome to the club.

The advisory group that will be reviewing this and other Reed proposals might want to look at the lobbying rules more broadly — although the better group to do this work would be the city's elections commission, which enforces the rules.

Regardless, the result needs to be greater public disclosure of behind-the-scenes influence. No matter what you call it."

Published by San Jose Mercury News
Distributed by www.publicaffairslinks.co.uk

SCVO appointment

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has appointed John Downie as its new director of public affairs.

Downie, who is also a director of New Media Corp, will formerly take up his role in the New Year.

He has twenty years experience of working in communications having acted as head of public affairs at The Federation of Small Business in Scotland and has also worked with consultancy New Media Corp as a director for over a year.

Downie said: This is an exciting and challenging sector, especially in the current economic climate and the SCVO will be hoping to protect the sector through the current public sector cuts over the next few years. That makes this job all the more interesting to me.”

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