Citizens Union Praises Speaker Quinn and City Council for Passage of New Lobbying Laws

Originally Published: December 10, 2013

Reforms will increase transparency and tighten oversight to further ensure a healthy democracy

Legislation results from 2011 city lobbying commission report and includes many Citizens Union recommendations

With the passage of landmark lobbying reform legislation today sponsored by Speaker Christine Quinn and passed by the City Council, New Yorkers will better know who seeks to influence important governmental decision-making.

“Today’s legislation is the culmination of 8 years of work to improve the City’s Lobbying Laws,” said Dick Dadey, Executive Director of Citizens Union.  “In 2006 when Citizens Union partnered with the Speaker and Mayor to tackle lobbying reform, most activity was hidden in the shadows, unknown to New Yorkers.  The reforms adopted then, and the subsequent reforms being considered today will shed new light on who seeks to influence the choices our elected officials make.  We see lobbying as helpful to the functioning of a healthy democracy, because it can provide needed information to public officials on a range of complicated subjects, so long as that activity is reported, transparent and conducted fairly and without undue influence.  We commend Speaker Quinn who began her term as Speaker championing lobbying reform and ends it doing the same by strengthening current laws.”

The legislation passed by the Council today largely reflects the recommendations of the City Lobbying Commission created in 2011.  The convening of the Commission in 2011 was a product of landmark lobbying laws passed in 2006, which Citizens Union helped bring about by releasing a report showing little enforcement or transparency of lobbying laws.  The 2006 laws resulted in real disclosure of city lobbying activity for the first time and changes to campaign finance law preventing lobbyists from having their contributions matched with public funds. Citizens Union testified at every public hearing of the City Lobbying Commission in 2011 and 2012, issuing 14 recommendations, seven of which were adopted in the Commission’s final report issued in March 2013.  Citizens Union also testified to the City Council on the proposed legislation in November 2013, which resulted in the law being amended to require the City Clerk’s Office to modernize their database within two years, ensuring that the lobbying information that is collected is actually made publicly available.  

“The expansion of the definition of lobbying in this legislation to include the period before bills are introduced, rules are written, and agendas are finalized by commissions and boards will require the reporting of much more lobbying activity,” said Alex Camarda, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy.  “We applaud the City Council and Mayor for ensuring this important information is made available to the public in an easily accessible database.”

Among the other provisions in the law for which Citizens Union successfully advocated is a mandatory training program for lobbyists, which will result in better compliance with the law.  Citizens Union also suggested an amnesty program that will give organizations like small non-profits the opportunity to come out from the shadows and disclose past lobbying activity without penalty.  Citizens Union found in its work related to the Commission that some social services organizations that advocated for funding in the budget were unaware that the activity was considered lobbying.