An Our Philadelphia Blog Post
The soda tax and lobbying reform
The issue of a soda tax in Philadelphia has quickly become a central dispute in city politics. Notably, citizens and the media have increasingly commented on the soda tax as an issue that will draw lobbyists to City Hall. The Inquirer, in a March 5 article by Patrick Kerkstra, confirmed that longtime Philadelphia political insider Lana Felton-Ghee had been “hired by Pepsi Bottling Group in Northeast Philadelphia to lobby against the sugary-drinks tax, making her just one of what will surely be many lobbyists hired to bring the proposal down.” (“Nutter presents 2011 budget with sugar tax, trash fee”) Later in the month, in reporting on lobbyists hired by PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, the Inquirer commented, “Such efforts have succeeded in other cities and states where sugary-drink taxes have been floated.” (“Loopholes in planned Phila. soda tax”) And on March 14, Inquirer columnist Karen Heller described the soda tax as “drawing lobbyists like locusts.”
This coverage of lobbying regarding a recent and contentious issue is important, but is it anywhere close to thoroughly informative? Does it ease any concerned citizen to simply know that lobbyists are actively attempting to influence the political decisions of our elected public officials, while being kept in the dark about how much money is being spent, on whose behalf is it being spent, and with whom these lobbyists are meeting? The city of Philadelphia is sorely lacking any semblance of lobbyist disclosure, regulation, and oversight.
In December 2009, Philadelphia’s Task Force on Ethics and Campaign Finance Reform released a 91-page report (attached below) of policy recommendations intended to “make Philadelphia a model for ethics reform and improved government performance.” Called for and created by Mayor Nutter in September 2008, in its report the Task Force made recommendations regarding many aspects of government ethics, openness, and accountability, including lobbying:
“In its review, one of the most significant gaps the Task Force identified was in respect to the City’s lack of control over lobbying. In fact, Philadelphia is the largest municipal government in the United States without any lobbyist registration and oversight. This is unacceptable…the public has a right to know how those whose financial interests are advanced or harmed by government action – whether administrative or legislative – have spent money to influence governmental decision makers whose actions might help or harm them.”
The Task Force’s report recommended that
1) all lobbyists be required to register annually with the city,
2) lobbying reports include detailed information regarding who is being lobbied, on whose behalf they are lobbying, types and amount of expenditure, and dates of contact with public officials,
3) the Ethics Board be given oversight of lobbying registration and reporting systems, and
4) lobbyists be banned from serving as treasurers for political action committees (PACs)
The Task Force’s report notes the online accessibility and searchability of New York City’s lobbyist search, available as part of their comprehensive Lobbying Bureau. While New York’s system is impressive and commendable, it is does not display date of contact with elected officials. When an issue as contentious as Philadelphia’s soda tax is thrown into the spotlight, the public has a right to know about the activities of lobbyists in a timely manner. A robust system of lobbyist registration and oversight for the city of Philadelphia would not be complete without reasonable and up to date disclosure of meeting dates.
In early March 2010, City Council announced an ethics legislation package backed by Marian Tasco and Bill Green. All Councilmembers aside from Rizzo and Blackwell supported the bill, which includes a requirement for lobbyists to register with the city. While this is a worthy step forward for lobbying disclosure and oversight, it is nowhere near comprehensive enough to truly protect the public interest.
For an idea of how a thorough lobbyist regulation policy could bring accessible, contextually relevant, and up-to-date data to the public regarding who is attempting to influence our elected officials, see the Sunlight Foundation’s (DC) Vision of Real Time Lobbying Disclosure mock-up. With the current power and potential of the internet, government has no excuse for side stepping disclosure in real time. In the meantime, as the issue of a soda tax rises and falls, the residents of Philadelphia will have next to zero knowledge about the extent to which outside corporate lobbyists were able to affect the final decision.