Interest-group lobbying in New York state

At least since the term "lobbying" was coined in Albany in the early nineteenth century, New York State has been a showcase for interest-group activity of every type. Labor, high-tech, environmental, industrial, consumerrights, education, financial, agricultural, religious-these and many other sectors of the U.S. polity (aptly termed an "interest group society" a few years ago)1 have worked to establish or maintain a powerful presence in the state. In recent years, the extent of lobbying activity has reached new heights in New York, measured both in total group expenditures, sheer number of lobbyists, and eye-opening events such as an infamous "$500,000 phone call," of which more below. This continued expansion of an already-saturated interestgroup sector has helped fuel calls for toughening New York's lobbying laws, pressure that scarcely abated in the wake of a 1999 reform act. As interest groups settle more firmly into the role of an informal but undeniably powerful fourth branch of government in Albany and across the nation, their place in New York governance deserves extended examination. This chapter first provides a short summary of the growing prominence of interest groups in contemporary U.S. state politics, with particular reference to New York. The next section then looks broadly at the details of lobbyists' work and influence on state policymaking. A review of New York's fierce battles over lobbying reform since the mid-1990s follows in the third section, which also features selected highlights of interest-group activity in New York over the past few years. The chapter concludes by reviewing the drawbacks-and legitimate benefits-of lobbyists' increasing centrality in state and national policymaking.