Review of State Entities’ Use of Contract Lobbyists
Executive Summary
Introduction
In response to a legislative request, PEER sought to determine the extent to which Mississippi’s state entities use public funds1 to obtain the services of contract lobbyists and to assess the public policy environment governing the use of contract lobbyists in other states.
In this review, PEER included state entities (i. e., state agencies,2 the institutions of higher learning, and community and junior colleges3) and set calendar years 2003 through 2007 as the review period. PEER did not review the lobbying expenditures of foundations, associations, and organizations related to state government (e. g., university foundations).
Although state law provides broad exemptions for public employees and officials regarding lobbying activities, some state employees are also registered as lobbyists. Due to this report’s limitation in scope to contract lobbyists, PEER does not address the issue of state entity employees who lobby the Legislature.
Conclusions
What is the legal environment in Mississippi for state entities’ use of contract lobbyists?
Each state agency must determine whether its enabling legislation contains authority for that agency to hire contract lobbyists. The Legislature has delegated authority to the IHL Board of Trustees to determine when and if individual institutions may lobby and the Attorney General has opined that community and junior colleges may use public funds to pay their presidents’ association to hire lobbyists. State law provides for disclosure of lobbyist information and public access to such.
PEER reviewed provisions of the MISSISSIPPI CODE, policies of the Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning, and Attorney General’s opinions to determine the legal authority of state agencies, institutions of higher learning, and community and junior colleges to hire contract lobbyists.
PEER determined the following regarding state entities’ legal authority to hire contract lobbyists:
Regarding registration and reporting requirements for lobbyists and lobbyists’ clients, MISS. CODE ANN. Section 5-8-1 et seq. (1972) sets forth the state’s public policy regarding disclosure of lobbyist information and provides for public access to this information. Although state law appears to exempt the State of Mississippi from filing financial annual reports as a lobbyist client, all of the state entities that hired contract lobbyists during calendar years 2003 through 2007 filed annual reports with the Secretary of State’s office detailing lobbying-related expenditures.
How much did state entities expend for contract lobbyists from public funds during the last five years?
According to information on file at the Secretary of State’s Office, state agencies and institutions of higher learning spent approximately $1,293,586 in public funds for independent contract lobbyists during calendar years 2003 through 2007. However, because applicable state laws provide for a system of self-reported information for lobbyist expenditures, PEER cannot attest to the accuracy of this amount.
PEER determined that nine contract lobbyists had contracted with state agencies or institutions of higher learning during the period of calendar years 2003 through 2007, as follows:
Thus from CY 2003 through CY 2007, state agencies and institutions of higher learning spent a total of $1,293,586.44 in public funds for contract lobbyists and related expenditures. See the Exhibit below for reported expenditures for those state agencies and institutions of higher learning that hired contract lobbyists during this period. PEER did not find expressed statutory authority for any of these state agencies or institutions of higher learning to contract with a lobbyist using public funds.
The state’s system of lobbyist registration and reporting consists of self-reported information. The information is not audited or independently verified and may not be an exhaustive accounting of the cost to public funds for lobbying.
Exhibit: State Entities’ Expenditures for Contract Lobbyists, Calendar Years 2003 through 2007
| Number of Contract Lobbyists Used | State Entities | Number of Calendar Years Using Contract Lobbyists | Total Expenditures for Contract Lobbyists, 2003 through 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center Commission | 2 | $33,999.76 |
| 1 | Mississippi Department of Transportation | 4 | 363,769.42 |
| 1 | Mississippi Industries for the Blind | 3 | 123,052.47 |
| 1 | Mississippi State Port Authority at Gulfport | 4 | 139,585.39 |
| 1 | Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor | 1 | 14,400.00 |
| 1 | Pearl River Valley Water Supply District | 5 | 277,386.51 |
| 6 | State Agencies | $952,193.55 | |
| 1 | Delta State University | 3 | $36,085.02 |
| 1 | Mississippi State University | 5 | 297,807.87 |
| 1 | University of Mississippi | 3 | 7,500.00 |
| 3 | Institutions of Higher Learning | $341,392.89 | |
| 9 | Total | $1,293,586.44 |
How do other southeastern states regulate state agencies’ use of contract lobbyists?
In its survey of eight other southeastern states, PEER found that only one reported that the practice of hiring contract lobbyists with public funds is expressly permitted in law. Three states in the survey reported that the practice is expressly prohibited in statute.
PEER surveyed eight other southeastern states--Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee--concerning their oversight of lobbying and whether their state agencies are authorized in statute to use public funds to hire contract lobbyists and learned:
What are the public policy implications of allowing state entities to use public funds for contract lobbyists?
The expenditure of public funds for contract lobbyists raises a concern regarding state entities’ stewardship.
The concern is that state entities are using taxpayers’ money to lobby when that entity’s managers have the expert knowledge to respond to any information needs that the Legislature might have. In such cases, the use of a contractor to do what veteran executive-level employees should be competent to do constitutes a waste of the state’s scarce resources. The money used for contract lobbyists could be used for ongoing programs and services.
Recommendation
The Legislature should enact law prohibiting state agencies, institutions of higher learning, and community and junior colleges from using public funds to hire contract lobbyists.
In the event that the Legislature chooses not to enact such a ban, the Legislature should amend MISS. CODE ANN. Section 5-8-9 (7) (1972) to require all state agencies, institutions of higher learning, and community and junior colleges to file annual reports of lobbying expenditures with the Secretary of State when they use contract lobbyists.
1 MISS. CODE ANN. Section 7-7-1 (1972) defines public funds as all funds received, collected by, or available for support or expenditure by any state department, institution or agency, whether such funds be derived from taxes or from fees collected by the entity or from some other source, although such funds may not be required by law to be deposited into the State Treasury.
2 For purposes of this review, PEER defined state agency as any state board, commission, committee, council, department, or unit created by the Constitution or statutes if such entity or head thereof is authorized to appoint a subordinate staff that either receives a required annual funds appropriation from the Legislature or is under the purview of the State Personnel Board. This definition excludes related associations, foundations, and all local and some state governmental entities (e .g., county port authorities, levee boards, and the Mississippi Home Corporation).
3 Records of the Secretary of State’s Office contained no information on registered lobbyists or expenditures for lobbyists for community or junior colleges reported during the period of 2003 through 2007.