Spending by Lobbyists Rises to $31.3 Million
Oil companies, teachers, lawyers and other special interest groups spent $31.3 million to lobby the California Legislature in the first quarter of the year.
That was $1.3 million more than they spent in the same period last year, the secretary of state’s office said Friday.
Ironically, other government entities were the biggest employers of lobbyists, collectively spending $4.1 million. The money is spent to hire lobbyists, and does not include campaign contributions given to politicians.
The biggest employer of lobbyists among government entities was the League of California Cities, at $158,371.
“In most cases, lobbying activity affects every California taxpayer, whether they realize it or not,” Secretary of State Bill Jones said.
Ruth Holton of Common Cause said the big lobbyist employers can have far more access to state legislators.
“Groups that have a lot of money spend enormous amounts lobbying government,” Holton said. “That’s money that smaller groups don’t have.”
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