Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T23:32:04.008Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Assessing the Impact of Legislative Lobbying Regulations on Interest Group Influence in U.S. State Legislatures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Joshua Ozymy*
Affiliation:
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Abstract

All 50 U.S. states currently regulate lobbying. Data restrictions, however, limit our understanding of the relationship between legislative lobbying laws and interest group influence within the legislative process over time. A comparable measure of these laws published in the summer 2005 issue of State Politics and Policy Quarterly suggests a dynamic analysis. The early 1990s witnessed a marked increase in the stringency of state legislative lobbying regulations. This article examines how lobbying regulation impacted interest group influence across all 50 state legislatures in 1995. I then determine whether changes in a state's regulations affected interest group influence over time from 1990 to 1995. Evidence suggests that increased regulation reduces influence both across and within states over time.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ainsworth, Scott H. 1997. “The Role of Legislators in the Determination of Interest Group Influence.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 22:517–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American National Election Studies. 2004. “The ANES Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior.” http://www.electionstudies.org/nesguide/gd-index.htm#5 (November 27, 2008).Google Scholar
Berry, Jeffrey M. 1997. The Interest Group Society. Boston, MA: Longman.Google Scholar
Bowman, James S. and Ensign, David. 1996. Public Integrity Annual. Lexington, KY: The Council of State Governments.Google Scholar
Brasher, Holly, Lowery, David, and Gray, Virginia. 1999. “State Lobbying Registration Data: The Anomalous Case of Florida and Minnesota too!Legislative Studies Quarterly 24:303–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brinig, Margaret, Holcombe, Randall G., and Schwartzstein, Linda. 1993. “The Regulation of Lobbyists.” Public Choice 77:377–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, John M., Niemi, Richard G., Powell, Lynda W., and Moncrief, Gary F.. 2006. “The Effects of Term Limits on State Legislatures: A New Survey of the 50 States.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 31:105–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, John M., Niemi, Richard G., and Powell, Lynda W.. 2000. Term Limits in the State Legislatures. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, John M., Niemi, Richard G., and Powell, Lynda W.. State Legislative Survey and Contextual Data, 1995 [United States] [Computer file]. ICPSR Version. Columbus, OH: Kathleen Carr, Ohio State University, Polimetrics Lab [producer], 1995. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2000.Google Scholar
Cigler, Allan J., and Loomis, Burdett A.. 2007. Interest Group Politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Clark, John A. 1996. “Congressional Salaries and the Politics of Unpopular Votes.” American Politics Quarterly 24:150–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Council of State Governments 1996. “Public Integrity Annual.” Lexington, KY.Google Scholar
Elazar, Daniel J. 1966. American Federalism: A View from the States. 1st ed. New York, NY: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Elazar, Daniel J. 1984. American Federalism: A View from the States. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Ensign, David. 1997. “Reforming Public Integrity Laws in an Era of Declining Trust.” In The Book of the States 1996–97. Lexington, KY: Council on State Governments.Google Scholar
Gerber, Brian J., Maestas, Cherie, and Dometrius, Nelson C.. 2005. “State Legislative Influence Over Agency Rulemaking: The Case of Ex Ante Review.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 5:2446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, Virginia, and Lowery, David. 1998. “State Lobbying Regulations and Their Enforcement: Implications for the Diversity of Interest Communities.” State and Local Government Review 30:7891.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, Virginia, and Lowery, David. 1999. “Interest Representation in the States.” In American State and Local Politics: Directions for the 21st Century, eds., Weber, Ronald E. and Brace, Paul. New York, NY: Chatham House.Google Scholar
Gray, Virginia. 2004. “The Socioeconomic and Political Context of the States.” In Politics in the American States: A Comparative Analysis, eds., Gray, Virginia and Hanson, Russell, 8th ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Grossback, Lawrence J., and Peterson, David A.M. 2004. “Understanding Institutional Change: Legislative Staff Development and the State Policymaking Environment.” American Politics Research 32:2651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamm, Keith E., Weber, Andrew R., and Bruce Anderson, R.. 1994. “The Impact of Lobbying Laws and their Enforcement: A Contrasting View.” Social Science Quarterly 75:378–81.Google Scholar
Hansen, John M. 1991. Gaining Access. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Herrick, Rebekah, Moore, Michael K., and Hibbing, John R.. 1994. “Unfastening the Electoral Connection: The Behavior of U.S. Representatives when Reelection is No Longer a Factor.” The Journal of Politics 56:214–27.Google Scholar
Hogan, Robert E. 2005. “State Campaign Finance Laws and Interest Group Electioneering Activities.” The Journal of Politics 67:887906.Google Scholar
Holbrook, Thomas M. 1993. “Institutional Strength and Gubernatorial Elections: An Exploratory Analysis.” American Politics Quarterly 21:261–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huckshorn, Robert J. 1985. “Who Gave It Who Got It? The Enforcement of Campaign Finance Laws in the States.” The Journal of Politics 47:773–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, James D. 2000. “Changes in Professionalism in U.S. State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 25:327–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowery, David, and Gray, Virginia. 1993. “The Density of State Interest Group Systems.” The Journal of Politics 53:488503.Google Scholar
Lowery, David, and Gray, Virginia 1997. “How Some Rules Just Don't Matter: The Regulation of Lobbyists.” Public Choice 91:139–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFarland, Andrew S. 1976. Public Interest Lobbies: Decision-Making on Energy. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute.Google Scholar
Moncrief, Gary F., and Thompson, Joel A.. 2001. “On the Outside Looking In: Lobbyists' Perspectives on the Effects of State Legislative Term Limits.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 1:394411.Google Scholar
Newmark, Adam J. 2005. “Measuring State Legislative Lobbying Regulation, 1990–2003.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 5:182–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nownes, Anthony J. 2001. Pressure and Power. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Opheim, Cynthia. 1991. “Explaining the Differences in State Lobbying Regulation.” Western Political Quarterly 44:405–21.Google Scholar
Polsby, Nelson W. 1991. “Some Arguments against Congressional Term Limits.” Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy 16:1516–26.Google Scholar
Reenock, Christopher, and Poggione, Sarah 2004. “Agency Design as an Ongoing Tool of Bureaucratic Influence.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 24:383406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roncek, Dennis W., and Swatt, Marc L.. 2006. “For Those Who Like Odds: A Direct Interpretation of the Logit Coefficient for Continuous Variables.” Social Science Quarterly 87:731–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenson, Beth A. 2003. “Against their Apparent Self-Interest: The Authorization of Independent State Legislative Ethics Commissions, 1973–96.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 3:4265.Google Scholar
Rosenson, Beth A. 2005. The Shadowlands of Conduct. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, Alan 1981. “Legislative Behavior and Legislative Oversight.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 6:115–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, Alan. 2001. The Third House: Lobbyists and Lobbying in the States. Washington, DC: CQ Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 2007. “Measuring State Legislative Professionalism: The Squire Index Revisited.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 7:211–27.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Justice, Public Integrity Section. Various Years. Annual Report of the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.Google Scholar
Walker, Jack L. 1983. “The Origins and Maintenance of Interest Groups in America.” American Political Science Review 77:390406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiggins, Charles W., Hamm, Keith E., and Bell, Charles G.. 1992. “Interest-Group and Party Influence Agents in the Legislative Process: A Comparative State Analysis.” The Journal of Politics 54:82100.Google Scholar
Witko, Christopher. 2007. “Explaining Increases in the Stringency of State Campaign Finance Regulation, 1993–2002. State Politics and Policy Quarterly 4:369–93.Google Scholar
Woods, Neal D., and Baranowski, Michael. 2006. “Legislative Professionalism and Influence on State Administrative Agencies: The Effects of Resources and Careerism.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 4:585609.Google Scholar