‘Tis the Season: Fa la la la Lobbying and Gifts

Tip Sheet

This tip sheet is from Sunlight's workshop session, 'Tis the season: Fa la la la Lobbying and Gifts. Here you'll find links to helpful resources for investigating lobbying activity at the federal and state levels. You'll also find resources for looking into gifts to elected officials at both levels.

Watch the recording of this workshop here.

---

State-level Lobbying

• OpenSecrets

  • OpenSecrets State Lobbying Disclosure Scorecard

• FollowTheMoney.org offers comprehensive state-level data, elaborating on:

  • Lobbying expenditure trends since 2002, including classifications of spenders and recipients.

  • Tools for downloading and manipulating data to understand patterns in lobbying across different states.

• State-level lobbying disclosure databases and ethics commissions

  • Most states have dedicated ethics or lobbying commissions with public databases. Some cities even have these databases. Some examples include…

    • California CAL-ACCESS

      • Los Angeles lobbying disclosures

      • San Francisco lobbying disclosures

    • Colorado Secretary of State

      • Denver lobbying disclosures

    • Nevada Legislature lobbyist site

    • Oklahoma Ethics Commission

    • Texas Ethics Commission

      • Dallas Lobbyist Registration System

      • City of Austin Lobbyist Data

    • Washington Public Disclosure Commission

      • Seattle lobbying disclosure database

    • Wisconsin Ethics Commission

    • Wyoming Secretary of State

Federal-level Lobbying

• OpenSecrets provides detailed insights into lobbying expenditures, including:

  • Ranked lists of top spenders, industries and individual lobbyists.

  • Breakdown of spending trends over time, allowing for year-to-year and quarter-to-quarter comparisons.

  • Recent registrations to monitor new lobbying activities.

• FollowTheMoney.org

• lobbyingdata.com provides comprehensive real-time and historical datasets on federal lobbying. It includes information on bills, government agencies, and specific lobbying issues. With its lobbying data updated every 24 hours, users can access detailed analytics on lobbying contracts, entity engagements, spending amounts and lobbying firm histories.

• Legistorm's lobbying software provides a comprehensive suite of tools for tracking federal and state legislative activities, including lobbying intelligence. It offers features such as state legislative tracking, lobbying software, grassroots advocacy tools and reporting capabilities.

• House Clerk Lobbying Disclosure Search

• House Clerk Lobbying Disclosure Information

• Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) Reports

• ProPublica’s Lobbying Data Explorer

• National Association of State Lobbying Administrators (NASL)

  • Use NASL to search for lobbyists and lobbying firms around the country. Various lobbying firms around the country are members of NASL, and they represent a range of clients, from small local organizations to large Fortune 500 companies.

Foreign Actors

• OpenSecrets Foreign Lobby Watch

  • FARA search for Christmas gifts

• Foreign Lobbying in the U.S.

• Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Database

  • Managed by the U.S. Department of Justice, this database tracks individuals and entities working as agents for foreign principals.

  • Registration Statements: Details about lobbying activities, including contracts, payments and services provided.

  • Semi-Annual Supplemental Statements: Information on expenditures and contacts made with U.S. officials.

Gifts to Elected Officials - State

• National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Legislator Gift Restrictions

  • This page provides information on the laws and regulations surrounding gifts to elected officials in every state.

Gifts to Elected Officials - Federal

• U.S. Senate Gift Rule/Outside Paid Travel Database

• U.S. House Clerk Gift Travel Filings

• U.S. House Gifts Guidance

• National Archives: Federal Register

  • Federal Register “Report of Tangible Gifts”

• Supreme Court Gift Rules, download the Judicial Conference Regulations on Gifts

• Foreign Gifts and Decorations defines foreign gifts and regulations.

🚨 These Tip Sheets are incredible resources, best used in conjunction with their live, hands-on workshop session component. Workshop recordings are available exclusively for Sunlight Research Center members.

Interested in gaining access to our full database of workshop recordings?

Learn more about Sunlight membership

Questions or comments about Sunlight's workshops and resources? Contact Elizabeth at elizabeth@sunlightsearch.net