Small groups’ voices muted
Nonprofits want to raise threshold requiring registration as lobbyists
Small nonprofit and other grassroots organizations, whose voices are often lost in the cacophony of New York’s powerful and well-funded lobbying industry, are pushing for lawmakers to double the $5,000 threshold that requires an individual or entity to register with the state when they seek to influence public policy.
A $10,000 limit for lobbying-related spending would enable many of those organizations and individuals to engage in lobbying — including requesting aid for community-based efforts — without the need to expend resources or money to comply with New York’s labyrinth of reporting requirements.
Nonprofit New York, a group that represents hundreds of nonprofits in the downstate region, has compiled a policy brief noting that according to national data, just 3 percent of nonprofit organizations engage in lobbying — and that many are dissuaded from engaging in that constitutional right because they are not equipped to handle the complex lobbying reporting requirements and fear the penalties that result from missteps.
“Nonprofits are often closest to communities, and uniquely understand community needs. But all too often I hear from small organizations that they can’t engage in advocacy, because they don’t have the resources to risk being out of compliance,” said Chai Jindasurat, a vice president with Nonprofit New York. “Their fear keeps diverse community voices out of the legislative process.”
The study conducted by the group found that roughly 99 percent of all lobbying activity would still be reported to state regulators if the threshold is raised from $5,000 to $10,000.
Laura Abel, a senior policy counsel with Lawyers Alliance for New York, which provides pro bono legal services for nonprofits that serve low-income individuals, said many of those groups
are grassroots organizations that fill integral roles in communities.
“When I tell them that they’re going to need to register with (New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics) many, many of them say, ‘We’re just going to have to stop lobbying,’” Abel said. “Even groups that have a handful of staff, they don’t tend to have someone whose job is figuring out lobbying regulations.”
Abel noted that the ethics commission’s regulations are about 92 pages and that the online registration system is complex.
“Even if you could figure that out, then you have to file reports every two months,” she added. “Groups without administrative staff, they just can’t do that.”
The threshold sets the amount of money that makes an individual, group or entity subject to lobbying rules if they exceed that limit. It doesn’t take much to cross the threshold, and some groups noted that renting a bus in New York City to bring a group to Albany to meet with lawmakers costs about $2,000 for a single trip.
If those groups assign employees to complete the registration and reporting requirements, their salary for the hours devoted to that work also must be logged.
When New York enacted the Lobbying Act in 1981, the threshold was set at $1,000. That was increased to $2,000 in 1999 and then pushed to $5,000 in 2006, an increase of 150 percent. At that time, the legislation noted that the increase was intended to “reflect inflation and to require that all thresholds shall be computed cumulatively for all lobbying activities,” according to Nonprofit New York.
Inflation is soaring in the United States, reaching a 40year high with no indication that it may not get worse, and it’s outpacing wage increases in the workforce. Nonprofit New York’s policy brief asserts that increasing the threshold to $12,500 would be a 150 percent increase — though they’re asking for $10,000.
“It’s a real shame that these groups end up having to go silent because they tend to be the groups working in the communities; they know what’s going on on the ground and Albany needs to hear from them,” Abel said.
The state ethics commission’s registration data indicates that two years ago, 476 filers spent under $10,000 and accounted for $1.86 million in lobbying-related spending. That compared to 3,052 filers that exceeded $10,000 and collectively accounted for more than $265 million in lobby spending.
Sheila Lewandowski, executive director of Chocolate Factory Theater, a small arts industry nonprofit headquartered in Queens, said it’s “a huge burden” for grassroots organizations with tight budgets and limited staff to try to navigate the state’s ethics regulations.
She said that paying staff members $20 to $30 an hour and saddling them with the duty of doing the work required to conform with lobbying — whether it be conversations with New York City lawmakers or asking members of the Legislature for more money for arts programs — are expenses that need to be recorded and count toward the $5,000 limit.
“If I want to take a train up to Albany, this stuff all adds up,” Lewandowski said. “So doubling that would be a lot.”
Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-rojas, D - Queens, and state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, D -Bronx, are sponsoring legislation that would increase the threshold requiring not-for-profit organizations to register as lobbyists to $10,000.
“Charities already face significant oversight by the IRS and the New York attorney general,” said Blair Horner, executive director of New York Public Interest Research Group. “Raising the threshold will simply make it easier for currently less-involved charities to more fully participate in New York policy-making.”