The Sunday Observer: A bid to derail grassroots lobbying reform

Plus some more tasty tidbits from the redistricting plan

More than 100 nonprofits are trying to derail the Public Disclosure Commission’s plan to tighten the rules on “grassroots” lobbying, arguing that stiffer reporting requirements would be too burdensome for small organizations.

At its December meeting last week, the commission declined to remove the grassroots lobbying provisions from a proposed bill to be introduced in the 2022 Legislature, setting up a fight in Olympia that will pit the public’s right to know against some very politically connected organizations.

Here’s why you should care about this: Grassroots lobbying is any campaign aimed at the general public intended to influence the Legislature. Some of it actually comes from grassroots activists; much of it is performed by professionals paid by big monied interests — a practice known as “astroturfing¹” Such campaigns helped pass, kill, or alter pretty much all the impactful legislation before lawmakers last year. The rules on disclosing who’s paying for these tactics are lax, outdated, and easy to game.

Artificial turf has come a long way since the original AstroTurf, which cost your correspondent his right knee back in the day. Still ain’t real grass.