At a time when lawmakers are wrestling with cost, access and regulatory questions, health care industry power players continued to dominate the Beacon Hill lobbying world last year, spending the most on employing influential insiders who sway development of public policy.
Lobbying
Posted inOpinion
The case for more Black lobbyists
Massachusetts has elected a Black governor, a Black attorney general, Black state senators and state representatives. There are Black heads of departments and secretariats. But there are virtually no Black lobbyists on Beacon Hill.
Posted inArts and Culture
Not easy turning artists into a political force on Beacon Hill
Paradoxically, the reason that artists need state support so desperately is the same reason they are often missing in political mobilizing: they are strapped for time and money.
Posted inState Government
Lobbying activity picking up on Beacon Hill
Health care is where the big money gets spent in state government, and that’s where lobbying money is spent as well
Posted inOpinion
A big chunk of lobbying in Mass. is not tracked
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 […]
Posted inCourts, State House News Service
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 […]