Study Reveals New Trend in Lobbying : Elections: ‘Open Secrets’ shows how interest groups are bypassing campaign laws by ‘bundling’ individual contributions.

In the most pronounced example of a new phenomenon in campaign contributions, Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.) received donations of $20,000 or more from each of nine different Wall Street securities firms, five law firms and three Hollywood film studios in the 1990 election, a new study found.

Entitled “Open Secrets,” the 1,500-page analysis released Tuesday by the Center for Responsive Politics demonstrates the extent to which special interests now rely on coordinated personal contributions from corporate executives--along with political action committee contributions--in giving money to members of Congress.

The study by the center, a bipartisan advocate of campaign finance reform, showed congressional candidates received $159 million from political action committees and at least $101 million in individual contributions of $200 or more each in the 1990 elections.

Eighteen senators and 16 House members received PAC and individual contributions totaling $20,000 or more from a single firm or interest group. No other congressional candidate received such large contributions from so many companies as Bradley.

Under federal law, no corporate PAC can contribute more than $10,000 to a single candidate. But by collecting contributions from individual executives and passing them along to candidates in a single envelope, companies can easily circumvent the restrictions.

Known as “bundling,” this technique has become popular among the most active special interest groups lobbying in Washington.

The biggest practitioner of bundling appeared to be Goldman, Sachs & Co., the New York investment banking firm, which contributed nearly $450,000 to congressional candidates, most of it through individual contributions.

Other top bundlers were Time Warner, which contributed more than $388,000 in PAC and individual contributions; Salomon Brothers, which contributed nearly $395,000, and Walt Disney Co., which gave more than $277,000.

The study, authored by the Center’s Larry Makinson, shows that by concentrating on PAC contributions, many experts have previously misjudged the influence and generosity of some special interest groups. For example, while lawyers and lobbyists contributed only $4.6 million in PAC money to congressional campaigns, the study shows they gave $14 million in individual donations--making them the largest single group of individual contributors.

In addition, while labor PACs are always listed among the biggest contributors, their importance is dwarfed by more than 4-to-1 by the combined PAC and individual contributions of big business. Labor union members provide only scant amounts of money in individual contributions.

Bradley’s biggest contributor was Shearson Lehman Bros., which made at least $71,800 in individual contributions to his campaign. He got an additional $16,000 in PAC and individual contributions from American Express, Shearson’s corporate parent.

A member of the Senate Finance Committee, Bradley also got $50,100 from Goldman Sachs, $47,550 from Salomon Brothers, $44,225 from Bear, Stearns & Co., $43,143 from Prudential-Bache Securities, $39,350 from Smith Barney, $31,425 from Morgan Stanley & Co., $30,450 from First Boston Corp., $26,550 from Merrill Lynch.

His receipts from law firms included $37,700 from Skadden Arps, $34,250 from Wilkie, Farr & Gallagher, $26,753 from Bryan Cave, $22,460 from Sills Cummis, and $22,400 from Spear, Leeds & Kellogg. His movie industry contributions included $48,525 from Time Warner, $40,040 from Disney and $20,750 from Paramount Communications.

Bradley ended up spending more than $9.5 million on his campaign. His Republican foe, Christine Todd Whitman, spent only about $800,000 yet came within 3 percentage points of defeating him.

Bradley did not receive the most money from one company. That distinction belongs to freshman Rep. David Camp (R-Mich.), who collected slightly more than $100,000 from Dow Chemical sources, including the company PAC, corporate executives and their family members. His district includes Midland, Mich., where Dow is headquartered.

Other studies, including one by The Times, have shown even higher contributions by individual firms during the 1990 election cycle.