California's 1,000 registered lobbyists are so influential they're known as the "The Third House." Many work from gleaming office towers that overshadow the state Capitol dome, making it look like just so much cheese for the snatching.
Yet the price of such unmatched access is barely a bar tab -- just $25 in lobbying registration fees a year -- when some states charge up to $1,000.
In an email, the president of the Institute of Governmental Advocates, Christina Dillon DiCaro, said her lobbying group for the lobbyists is so far reserving judgment, until the bill is formally introduced next year. But she did note: "While we fully support public access to campaign finance and lobbying reports, to ask the lobbying community alone to fund upgrades to the system is not the solution, as there are many other affected parties who benefit from the use of Cal-Access."
LeBov and other lobbyists opposed the last attempt to raise lobbying fees, arguing that the profession was being singled out for disproportionate increases. But "in this instance," LeBov said, "you have an outdated system of vital public importance, and this would help ensure raising the necessary funding to make it functional."
More progress on the recent ratified CBA @ L3 Harris MAS up in Canada
