The State of Local Lobbying

Abstract

Cities are some of the oldest lobbying organizations in the United States. Because states enjoy such high levels of fiscal and administrative authority over their local units, the vast majority of these advocacy efforts are aimed at state governments rather than at the federal level. This chapter draws from original lobbying disclosure data, interviews, city council documents, and other sources to paint a detailed descriptive picture of the current municipal lobbying landscape in the United States. How did city lobbying emerge in its current form? What are local officials hoping to achieve when they lobby, and how do they allocate their efforts? When do cities lobby as individuals as opposed to coalitions? This chapter introduces expansive new data to provide initial answers to these questions.