IN MARCH, Professor Julia Payson of New York University addressed a small group who had gathered at Boston University’s Initiative on Cities to hear about the new book she wrote — When Cities Lobby. Dr. Payson told the small crowd that the inspiration for her book came while she was a graduate student in California […]
Lobbying
Posted inCourts
SJC agrees to hear moot DiMasi case
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A YEAR AND A DAY after the case was rendered moot by the calendar, the Supreme Judicial Court last week decided that it will nonetheless rule in the case involving former Speaker Sal DiMasi’s registration as a lobbyist in Massachusetts and is working to schedule oral arguments for later this year. […]
Posted inThe Download
Health care fuels first-half lobbying
The State House remains closed to the public, but the business of lobbying on Beacon Hill keeps rolling along, particularly in health care. According to data gathered by Secretary of State William Galvin’s office, lobbying expenditures remained fairly stable in the first six months of this year, with the same players spending roughly the same […]
Posted inUncategorized
Health care fuels first-half lobbying
THE STATE HOUSE remains closed to the public, but the business of lobbying on Beacon Hill keeps rolling along, particularly in health care. According to data gathered by Secretary of State William Galvin’s office, lobbying expenditures remained fairly stable in the first six months of this year, with the same players spending roughly the same […]
Posted inUncategorized
Lobbying expenditures totaled $85.6m in 2020
THE STATE HOUSE is closed these days because of COVID-19, but for the most part businesses and other advocacy groups are continuing to hire lobbyists to represent their interests on Beacon Hill. Total spending on lobbying in 2020 was $85.6 million, down $1.8 million, or 2 percent, from 2019, according to Secretary of State William […]
Posted inPolitics
Getting a handle on Beacon Hill advocates, coalitions
HOUSE SPEAKER RON MARIANO recently announced that he was asking the House Rules Committee to take a look at the rules around “unregistered, or vaguely-affiliated, advocates and coalitions.” Mariano’s pronouncement created confusion – and some concern – among public policy advocates. But it has also highlighted the complex nature of lobbying on Beacon Hill, with […]
Posted inUncategorized
Lobbying remains lucrative during pandemic
[CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this story and the chart on lobbying firm revenues contained inaccurate information about the revenues of the Suffolk Group. Revenues during the first half off 2019 were $881,147, not the $1,827,842 reported. The larger number was the revenue for all of 2019. As a result, the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Judge rules DiMasi can work as lobbyist
FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER Sal DiMasi was cleared on Thursday to register as a lobbyist by a Superior Court judge who overturned Secretary of State William Galvin’s decision to reject DiMasi’s application based on his past convictions on federal corruption and extortion charges. The ruling could return to the State House a man who once wielded […]
Posted inPolitics
New No. 1 among Mass. lobbying firms
SMITH COSTELLO & CRAWFORD vaulted into the top spot among Massachusetts lobbying firms in 2019, raking in $4.2 million in fees and displacing the prior king-of-the-hill, ML Strategies. Smith Costello & Crawford has grown rapidly over the last four years, jumping from just over $1 million in revenues in 2016 to $3.2 million in 2018. […]
Posted inUncategorized
DiMasi: ‘I’ve paid my debt to society’
FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER Salvatore DiMasi on Tuesday made a public appeal for a “second chance” after his conviction on federal corruption charges eight years ago, resuming his battle with Secretary of State William Galvin over the Democrat’s quest to return to Beacon Hill as a lobbyist. DiMasi, a former North End Democrat who led the […]