When is Lobbying Not Lobbying in New York?

A Gannett article from this past weekend looks at how the world of ‘lobbying’ has changed – moving from the halls of the State Capitol in Albany to advertising, direct mail and social media.

The article shows the increasing use of public relations firms to advance a particular issue or agenda. It also notes that many of these same firms get paid to help elect the people that they will later seek to influence, and that many of these firms are not required to register as lobbyists under the state’s existing lobbying laws.

As I explained in a prior post, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) has proposed expanding its guidance relating to the “lobbying” to expand the law’s coverage to “grassroots lobbying” that tries to get members of the public to contact a public official on some matter.

It’s unclear when, whether or how JCOPE intends to follow through on this proposal, which was first announced in March.