The Sunday Observer: Another push to tighten lobbying disclosure

Changes to lax oversight rules died earlier this year

Things are a bit slow on the politics beat here in the heart of summer, so we’re looking at something that might be news next winter when it’s raining sideways in Olympia.

This week, the Public Disclosure Commission will take a renewed look at pushing for tighter disclosure rules for lobbying campaigns, specifically the big-spending “grassroots”¹ campaigns that frequently surround major legislation.

Here’s why you should care about this. The rules surrounding these campaigns haven’t been updated since the 1970s, long before the internet ushered in myriad new techniques for influencing public opinion and persuading politicians to vote yea or nay. A multi-million-dollar campaign to pass (or kill) a bill that could affect the life of every Washingtonian is subject to far less disclosure and oversight than a city council race in Kent, Camas, or Kennewick.

Artificial turf is a lot better these days than the Astroturf that blew up your correspondent’s knee in the 1990s. It’s still not real grass.