But sometimes, what seems to be a concerned public interest group is a front organization, largely or wholly funded by the interest group itself. It is unknown how many there are, but during the 1993-'94 session, several were active in tobacco, public safety and health care. It also is not always possible to tell where lobbying money goes. Although those employing lobbyists must now file reports on their activities, a loophole allows significant spending to be reported only in lump sums, without any itemization or detail. Tobacco interests may be the most aggressive practitioner of this technique.
Some lobbyists say the system needs reform, at least to eliminate contributions.
But it was a lobbying group that successfully sued to gut a provision of the Political Reform Act of 1974 that barred lobbyists from making contributions and acting as intermediaries for contributions. I'm good at that. I'm a former teacher, I am good at persuading on the issues. And I wish that's all I had to do.