Who is getting paid to lobby in Virginia
VPAP provided an update on which companies are paying the most and who they are paying to lobby.
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A tool from VPAP provides an in-depth view of the money involved with lobbying in Virginia politics. I looked at the top lobbying clients and show who they have been paying to help them shape legislation.
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Headlines from around Virginia politics
The Virginia Public Access Project provided a new graphic and analysis for Virginia politics Monday morning showing who the largest lobbying clients are in state politics. The analysis also shows the individuals who are being paid by these companies to try and influence lawmakers as they craft and vote on legislation that impacts the entire commonwealth.
Using the tool from VPAP, I looked at who the highest spending companies were paying to lobby legislators in Virginia.
Before looking at who pays who, the following information provided by VPAP about how lobbyists are compensated is important to note: “How much compensation a lobbyist reports depends on how he or she defines ‘lobbying.’ Some use a broad definition that encompasses their year-round government affairs duties. Others simply make a general estimate to attribute, say, one-quarter of their salary to lobbying. Finally there are those who divide their workday into 12-minute segments and count only time spent in activities that fit the literal legal definition of lobbying — that is meeting with an executive or legislative official to influence the outcome of a specific action. This last approach can shrink a 12-hour day walking the halls of the General Assembly into, say, 24 minutes of reportable ‘lobbying.’”
Below are the top spending companies and the lobbyists they paid in the previous year. (Reported in July).