ALBANY, NY (Erie News Now)--IN 2023 LOBBY SPENDING REACHED A RECORD HIGH OF MORE THAN $360 MILLIOn, ACCORDING TO a RECENT ANNUAL REPORT FROM THE NEW YORK STATE COMMISSION ON ETHICS AND LOBBYING IN GOVERNMENT.  

WHILE THAT NUMBER SEEMS HIGH – THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE COMMISSION SAID THE REPORT ACTUALLY DEMONSTRATES HOW THE STATE IS IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN GOVERNMENT.

“Our agency is up to the task of ensuring that the Lobbying Act is being complied with and the registration reporting requirements are being complied with and therefore you’re seeing these big numbers being reported,” said Sanford Berland, executive director of the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government: 
 
THE ETHICS COMMISSION IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO ISSUE ANNUAL REPORTS AND LOBBYING DATA.
 
SOME RESEARCH EXPERTS SAid POWERFUL LOBBYING GROUPS WITH BIGGER BUCKS – CAN USE THEIR CASH ADVANTAGE TO DROWN OUT SMALLER GROUPS.
 
“Big money allows powerful interest groups to speak at the state capitol and municipalities across the state because it gives them the opportunity to speak with a megaphone and the vast majority of New Yorkers are left to speaking with a whisper when it comes to public policy,” said Blair Horner, Executive Director of the New York Public Interest Research Group. 
 
ALONG WITH HAVING A BIGGER VOICE IN GOVERNMENT—HORNER SAID THE CASH ADVANTAGE GIVES BIGGER LOBBYING GROUPS POSSIBLE INFLUENCE OVER ENTIRE INDUSTRIES.  
 
“There are things that happen that are really benefiting industries and not necessarily in the public's best interest,” he said. 
 
THE TOP LOBBY GROUPS WITH THE LARGEST SPENDING, ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, ARE HEALTH AND LABOR GROUPS – SUCH AS 1199 UNITED HEALTH CARE WORKERS, AARP, AND THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' FEDERATION.