Op-Ed: Lobby Laws Should Empower the Grassroots, Not Big Money
NPCC, Human Services Council for New York, and Lawyers Alliance for New York has an op-ed published by the Gotham Gazette regarding the Governor’s attempt to lower the dollar threshold for lobbyist filings. Read the op-ed:
Imagine two New Yorkers heading to Albany for a day of advocacy.
One is a lobbyist with multiple clients, traveling to the Capitol in Amtrak business class for the third time that week. She’s spent a career working behind the scenes with elected officials trying to influence legislation and get favorable treatment for her clients. The other is an entry-level employee at a homeless shelter, sitting in a coach bus filled with clients and nonprofit service providers. It will be his first-ever meeting with an elected official.
The average New Yorker understands that these two New Yorkers— a lobbyist and a nonprofit employee—have very different roles in our political system. Why is Governor Cuomo trying to treat them as the same?