Trade groups question new lobbying law

Trade groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce say a new lobbying law could require the release of their member lists, violating freedom of association protections granted by the Constitution.
    
The Chamber, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the American Society of Association Executives wrote Senate Secretary Nancy Erickson and House Clerk Lorraine Miller on Wednesday asking for clarification in how the new law will be applied.
    
{mosads}The potential problem relates to a section in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 that would impose new lobbying disclosure rules.
    
The trade groups said Congress wrote the section of the law to shine light on so-called “stealth coalitions” that often use innocuous-sounding names to anonymously represent specific industries.

But the imprecision of lobbying definitions in the law could mean disclosure requirements would fall on a variety of trade groups, the groups said in the letter.  
    
Groups that fail to accurately disclose their lobbying activities now will face criminal penalties, the letter also notes.
    
“The price for being wrong is extremely high,” said Steven Law, senior vice president and chief legal officer for the Chamber.

The letter was signed by Law; Jim Clarke, senior vice president of public policy for the American Society of Association Executives; and Jan Amundson, senior vice president and general counsel at NAM.  

The lobbying law, passed in response to scandals surrounding Jack Abramoff and ex-Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.), would require disclosure of any organization or entity that “actively participates in the planning, supervision, or control” in lobbying activities and contributes more than $5,000 per quarter for those efforts.

The “breadth and vagueness of the provision” require further clarification in how the new law will be applied, the letter stated.

The groups noted Supreme Court rulings that they say prohibit the government from forcing groups to disclose their membership without a compelling government interest in doing so.

“We take seriously the constitutional rights of our members to associate freely without government looking over our shoulders,” Law said.

Brett Kappel, a campaign finance and government ethics lawyer, said Congress wrote the provision to target ad-hoc associations that are formed to lobby on a particular issue.

“These typically spring up when there is legislation that would have a major economic impact on a small number of companies from a specific segment of the economy. That’s when they form the Coalition for Apple Pie and Motherhood and lobby against it,” said Kappel, who practices at the firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease.

The new law “wasn’t designed to get at trade associations,” he said.

Law said the lobbying law gives the clerk and the secretary broad powers in implementing the new requirements. He said he expected further guidance from those offices by Dec. 10.