An Example of Why Towns Need Lobbying Codes

Small towns don't need lobbying registration, because no lobbying of
any consequence occurs there.<br>
<br>
Small towns don't need lobbying registration, because no lobbying of
any consequence occurs there.<br>
<br>
Say it often enough — as local government and lobbying associations
do — and people believe it's true. But it's not. And here's a good
example why.<br>
<br>

According to <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/05/8545204/lobbying-l…; target="”_blank”">an
article yesterday on the Capital New York website</a>, New York
State law requires the disclosure of local lobbying except in
municipalities with fewer than 50,000 people, which means the great
majority of municipalities. Why? Because New York legislators felt
that everyone would believe what the local government and lobbying
associations say. But most state legislators are former local
officials and, therefore, they knew that lobbying does go on in small
cities, towns, and villages.<br>
<br>
Right now, the big thing in New York state is getting permission to
build four casinos. Guess what. "[A]ll but one of the known
locations where the 22 different casino bidders have said they plan
to build casinos are in towns, hamlets and villages with populations
under the 50,000 population threshold."<br>
<br>
Since local officials in these towns haven't considered it valuable
to have their own lobbying codes, no one knows how much these casino
bidders are spending to get the permission they need from local
governments. Considering that they are going to spend hundreds of
millions of dollars, it's likely that these towns are getting
inundated with lobbyists and money. And it's not only legal, it's
legal for it to be done in secret.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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