Weekly eNewsletter

Seven out of 10 people who responded to a survey strongly support grassroots lobbying disclosure, according to a results released by OMB Watch, a Washington, D.C. watchdog group.

In most cases, those at nonprofits supported exclusions from disclosure more than those not working at nonprofits. Nonprofit employees were almost twice as supportive of having $50,000 per quarter spent on grassroots lobbying be a trigger for disclosure as those not in nonprofits, along with excluding communications with members from disclosure requirements

A quarter of respondents identified themselves as working at a nonprofit organization. About three quarters of those who do not work at a nonprofit were strongly supportive of requiring grassroots lobbying disclosure, compared to 55 percent of those who work at nonprofits.

advertisement

Two-thirds of the 1,115 respondents said they would be willing to sign a letter to Congress calling for grassroots lobbying disclosure. While some of those surveyed said that they thought that grassroots lobbying should have been included in the Lobbying Disclosure Act that was passed in last decade, others opposed disclosure because they believed it would be a violation of free speech.

For a communication to be considered as grassroots lobbying, it must:

• Refer to specific legislation;
• Reflect a point of view on that legislation;
• Contain a call to action, whether it's providing a legislator's contact information or a petition; or,
• Specifically identify legislators who will vote on the measure and their positions on it.

Many comments indicated that disclosure would help distinguish "between genuine grassroots activism, which tends to be money-poor but people-rich, and 'Astroturf' lobbying, which tends to be money-rich." So-called "Astroturf" lobbying describes "contrived grassroots activities manufactured for a fee by companies."

Approximately one-third of respondents (32 percent) strongly agreed that only large expenditures on grassroots lobbying activities should be disclosed, which they argued would address the concerns about the impact on smaller entities. Some suggested a trigger of $50,000 per quarter in lobbying expenditures, while others argued for higher levels. About a quarter of respondents (25 percent) strongly disagreed with expenditure requirements.

Charities are required by the Internal Revenue Service to file information each year about their grassroots lobbying activities. A majority of respondents (69 percent) agreed that only those activities that require expenditures should be counted as grassroots lobbying, which is the case now.

A smaller majority (57 percent) agreed that communications with members and congregants as well as communication via the Internet (58 percent) should not be counted as grassroots lobbying activities. While most respondents thought it fair to exempt communications with members, there was some concern that such communications could lead to more loopholes and less disclosure.