When lawmakers are in town for the 2024 West Virginia legislative session, so will be the gang of professional hangers-ons: lobbyists.
They’ll beat the doors down to delegates’ offices. They’ll congregate under the golden dome like crows on a power line. They’ll take senators out to the Cold Spot for wings. They’ll put on galas and parties.
And all that requires cold, hard cash.
During the 2023 legislative session, lobbyists spent around $364,000 on lawmakers. But West Virginia has some of the loosest disclosure laws in the country which limits how much is known about lobbying.
Here’s what the public can and can’t find out.
How do lobbyists spend money on lawmakers?
Last year, lawmakers were regularly showered with meals, events like karaoke nights and campaign contributions by lobbyists, according to disclosure forms.
At the West Virginia AFL-CIO, Secretary-Treasurer Andy Walters, a registered lobbyist, said the union and its affiliates have long found the way to get to a lawmaker’s time is through their stomach — last year, they spent $14,000 on a weekly luncheon open to all legislators.
“It gives us a platform to talk about all sorts of issues, from state police to teachers to construction,” he said.
The AARP West Virginia spent the most on lobbying for a single organization last year at around $60,000. Spokesman Tom Hunter said the organization invests about half on luncheon events and half in sponsoring MetroNews’ live radio broadcasts from the Capitol.
“It’s not really about specific advertising, but it helps raise our brand awareness for citizens around the state,” he said.
But only a portion of money spent lobbying is known publicly. Unlike other states, West Virginia doesn’t require lobbyists to disclose how much they’re getting paid by their clients to influence lawmakers.
Brendan Glavin, deputy research director at OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks money in politics, said keeping track of how much lobbyists are paid gives the public a better idea of what entities are trying to influence their elected officials.
For instance, if a lobbyist is only paid $5,000 for their services, they’re probably just monitoring the Legislature for the client. If they’re paid $50,000, Glavin said they’re probably making moves to push some legislation.
What do we know about lobbyists in West Virginia?
In West Virginia, lobbyists are required to submit a report every four months to the state ethics commission about all their activities, including gifts and meals they provide to lawmakers.
But those reports aren’t in real time.
State law requires reports from the first four months of the year — when the Legislature is in session and making laws — to be filed by mid-May.
By this point, bills have already been passed and signed into law by the Governor. Some have gone into effect or will soon.
More from the Legislature
Along with how much lobbyists are paid for their services, lobbying disclosure forms also don’t always highlight which lawmaker accepted a meal or a gift. Under current law, if all members of a chamber, committee or an agency are invited to an event, then individual names do not have to be put on the form.
However, if only specific lawmakers are invited, then their names do appear on the form.
And disclosure forms also don’t address any prior or existing relationships with lawmakers and state government. For example, if a lawmaker is married to a lobbyist, that’s not disclosed by the lobbyist, but it is disclosed by the politician. In fact, the commission said there’s no rule on that scenario.
If a lobbyist previously served as a commissioner to a state agency, that prior employment is not disclosed.
To be sure, Glavin said he’s not aware of any other states that track that either.
Certain officials, like delegates or senators, are banned from lobbying for one year after they leave their office under the state ethics law.
When registering in West Virginia, a lobbyist has to give the state ethics commission their phone number, address and a list of clients they are working for, among other key information.
But they don’t have to tell the commission if they’ve ever been reprimanded in another state or even convicted of bribery. When asked, a lawyer for the ethics commission said they don’t have the authority to perform background checks.
What’s considered ‘out of bounds’ and how is that policed?
While the public isn’t privy to a lot of information about lobbyists influencing their lawmakers, there are still rules they have to follow.
Lobbyists in West Virginia are required to maintain records for any lobbying activities and they must retain those for two years after filing their report.
The state ethics law also bars lobbyists from lying to lawmakers, playing both sides by working to introduce a bill for one employer then working to defeat it for another, extortion, retaliation, violating the $25 cap on gifts or using a lawmakers’ employer as means to put pressure on the lawmaker.
What can the state ethics commission do if a lobbyist breaks the law?
In the most extreme cases, the lobbyist can be stripped of their license. But they can also be punished with public reprimands, fines of up to $5,000 per violation, cease and desist orders and restitution.
Glavin said these administrative punishments are pretty typical across the nation.
How does West Virginia stack up to other states lobbying disclosure requirements?
Just like poverty rates, drug overdose stats, educational attainment, employment numbers, health outcomes and many other metrics, West Virginia ranks almost dead last when it comes to lobbying disclosure laws too.
In 2021, OpenSecrets conducted a state-by-state study of these laws, looking at key factors such as accessibility of the reports, whether or not compensation of lobbyists is included, how timely the reports are filed and if a lobbyist’s employment is disclosed.
The study found West Virginia ranked among the worst in the country. Among the states that did well, they include those dominated by both Republicans and Democrats, from Washington State to Wisconsin to Texas.
The key thing that sets those states apart from West Virginia is their websites are searchable. In West Virginia, the entire website is PDF files, with no search function to find a particular lobbyist name or employer.
Those states also list the amount a lobbyist is paid by a client. In Texas, there’s a database that breaks it down from volunteers lobbying for free to nearly $1 million in payment.
And they’re also timely: Texas requires a monthly disclosure, while Glavin said other states require a monthly disclosure while a legislature is in session, followed by quarterly disclosures the rest of the year.