Lobbyists are a growth industry in complex California

In the late 1990s, the late Jay Michael and I co -author of a bookPosted by the University of California, which explores why and how interest groups hire lobbyists to present them in Sacramento.

Michael was a retired lobbyist who provided countless stories about this Notorious “napkin deal“Willie Brown was mediated at the Sacramento Restaurant, which changed the responsibility of tobacco and another law on tort. I shaped the process in the context of a constantly changing state and a legislative body, subjected to cultural and ideological evolution.

At the time when there were about 1,200 registered lobbyists working in Capitol, not only those who seek to affect the legislation, but also those who focused on regulations, contracts and other actions in the huge bureaucracy in California.

As a hobby Chris Michelli, a lobbyist whose company represents 15 widely different clients, dives in legislative details and recently generated data on the growth of lobbying activity.

Michelli found that the number of lobbying companies has grown from 433 to 484 in the last 10 years. The more interesting thing is that the number of registered lobbyists has almost tripled since 1270 when Michael and I wrote our book at 3245 in the current legislative session.

This seemingly huge increase is, explains Micheli, a little misleading, since in 2011-12 it included 1116 newly registered lobbyists due to a change in the law. Responding to a corruption scandal The legislative power retirement system requires the registration of “accommodation agents” that persuade the huge retirement system to put millions or even billions of dollars in their customers’ investment firms.

“While the number of registered lobbyists has grown by 1 975 in the last 25 years, more than half of these registrations are due to the addition of accommodation agents,” says Michelli.

“Even if it removed these registrations from the total number, the number of registered lobbyists has still increased over 65% in the last quarter century.”

The Kalperi scandal is a great example of why interest groups hire lobbyists and why their number will probably continue to grow indefinitely.

Official solutions often have huge financial impacts. The state budget, which is currently around $ 300 billion, is just one of these high impact policies. Who receives the shares of this money – and who does not – is the subject of eternal lobbying activity and there are always winners and losers in what legislators and the governor’s decree.

In relatively slender times, budget lobbying becomes even more intensive – a cyclical phenomenon that is now being played as politicians CombatS

However, the budget is just one of the many places for the clashes of financial interests, and the policy of the left center in California breeds a continuously growing set of laws, agencies and employees with regulatory authorities.

The regulations of the regulatory agencies, such as the California Commission for Utilities and the Ministry of Insurance, may make or violate the lower lines of regulated industries and professions. This is very obvious now as an insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara It handles the fire insurance crisis.

Many high-value questions are practically invisible-like solutions by which medicines will be included in Formulary Medi-Cal“And what the state will pay pharmaceutical companies for these drugs.

When a person combines the state budget with the electricity rates set by the Commission for Utilities, the insurance premiums, which Lara approves and countless other legislative and non -free issues, it becomes obvious that the decisions taken in Sacrato control a huge part of the $ 3.5 trillion country.

Therefore, those concerned believe that they need qualified professional defenders, like anyone facing serious civil or criminal courts, needs a skillful lawyer.

It may not have to work that way, but in a state as huge and complicated as California, does it.