Despite New Law, Some Lobbies Fail to Provide Membership Lists

29 Apr 2008 // While the National Association of Manufacturers fights in court to avoid revealing its membership list, it’s not alone. Some other lobbying organizations aren’t naming their members either, even though it’s required by law.

“There is a bit of a wait-and-see approach,” said Meredith McGehee, who fought for greater disclosure as policy director for the Campaign Legal Center. “Many of them didn’t wake up and smell the coffee until this was right upon them.”

Then again, it’s possible that some groups just filled out the wrong computerized form on House and Senate Web sites.

McGehee, a lobbyist herself, said that when she tried to electronically file her report, the Web site offered her the old version of the form instead of the new, expanded version with space for umbrella groups to list their members.

She had to call to get the correct version.

A few umbrella groups, including the Recording Industry Association of America and the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality, complied with the new requirements by listing membership names on the new forms, which were due last week.

Most appear to have taken advantage of the law’s option to refer to a Web-based list.

But some organizations failed to do either. Twenty-nine of 40 groups with “coalition” in their name filed lobbying reports without the new section naming affiliated members.

Yet even though they didn’t provide this information on their lobbying reports, all but a few of the groups’ Web sites provide a list of members, which should be enough to satisfy the watchdogs. Only three listed affiliates or referred to a Web-based membership list on their lobbying disclosure forms.

The Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports, which spent $160,000 lobbying during the first quarter, planned to file an amended lobbying report Tuesday naming the 10 lumber companies required under the law, a spokesman said.

The American Medical Association spent $4.5 million on in-house lobbying during the first quarter. But it didn’t list members because its members are doctors who each contribute less than $5,000, a spokeswoman said.

Failing to provide required member lists on either lobbying forms or Web sites carries a risk of fines and criminal penalties, but punishment isn’t imminent because lobbying groups have 60 days to file amended reports.

NAM‘s Appeals

The National Association of Manufacturers asked all the way to the Supreme Court for a delay in naming which of its 11,000 members help lobby, but NAM was rebuffed on the day the reports were due.

The group is continuing its fight before the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to keep its names confidential.

The law requires lobbying groups to report each member that contributes at least $5,000 to lobbying efforts during a quarter and “actively participates in the planning, supervision or control of such lobbying activities.”

The provision applies to groups with in-house lobbyists but not those that hire outside lobbyists.

The goal was to identify members of “stealth coalitions” that blossom to support or oppose specific legislation but whose financing often remains shrouded behind opaque names.

In offering guidance for filling out the forms, the House clerk and Senate secretary said that the name of a member that merely pays dues, expresses a legislative goal or offers “informal comment regarding lobbying strategy” wouldn’t need to be disclosed. Actively participating in lobbying — selecting lobbyists, setting legislative priorities or designing lobbying strategies — would trigger the disclosure requirement.

The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, for instance, spent $1.87 million during the first quarter lobbying on climate change and clean-coal technology. But its members rely on its board to plan its lobbying, so the member list on its Web site is more disclosure than the law requires.

“We’ve looked at the lobbying disclosure act’s requirement and determined that that doesn’t trigger any additional disclosure,” said Ron Jacobs of Venable LLP, who helped that group and others file reports.

The Coalition for Auto Repair Equality, which spent $80,000 during the first quarter, listed eight affiliated members such as Advance Auto Parts and Midas International.

“We have nothing to hide,” said Sandy Bass-Cors, executive director of that coalition. “We never heard one word of complaint from anybody about being listed.”