Montana taxpayer-funded lobbying

1 Funds for lobbying
2 Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations
3 References

Taxpayer-funded lobbying is government to government lobbying. counties, cities, school districts, public facilities, and associations of public employees frequently use public funds to influence legislation and appropriations at the state and federal levels.

This practice is controversial because public funds are spent to lobby for an agenda not subject to direct approval by voters, and outcomes may be contrary taxpayers benefit.

[edit] Funds for lobbying

The Montana Policy Institute's investigative reporter, Michael Noyes, discovered that Missoula County was spending the most money on lobbyists of all Montana counties and the city of Missoula was spending the most money on lobbyists of all Montana cities.

The following are lobbying expenses reported by cities:

City of Missoula– $27,787.00
City of Billings – $19,600.00
City of Bozeman – $4,652.28
City of Glendive – $3,000.00
City of Great Falls – $2,673.30

The following are lobbying expenses reported by counties:

Missoula County – $15,310.00
Yellowstone County – $12,830.64
Lewis and Clark County– $8,500.00
Fallon County – $5,850.30
Teton County – $4,142.33
Rosebud County – $2,000.00^[1]

The Freedom Foundation of Montana also put together a report of the federal lobbying expenses from 2006 to 2010.^[2]

Rank	Government entity	Lobbying total (2006-2010)
1	Scott County	$815,000
2	City of Moorhead	$620,000
3	Hennepin County[ii]	$405,000
4	North Metro Mayors Coalition	$375,000
5	Anoka County Regional Railroad Authority	$369,000
6	Northstar Corridor Development Authority	$363,000
7	City of Minneapolis	$310,000
8	Anoka County	$280,000
9	Metropolitan Airports Commission	$220,000
10	City of St. Cloud	$180,000
11	City of Willmar	$180,000
12	St. Cloud Planning Organization	$180,000
13	Duluth Airport Authority	$180,000
14	Stearns County	$140,000
15	Bemidji Regional Airport	$140,000
16	Beltrami County	$120,000
17	Minnesota Association of Small Cities	$80,000
18	Minneapolis/Duluth Superior Passenger Rail Alliance	$50,000
19	Association of Minnesota Counties	$40,000
20	City of St. Paul	$30,000
21	Dakota County	$30,000
22	Ramsey County	$30,000
23	Marshall Transportation Group	$20,000
24	St. Louis County	$20,000
25	Olmsted County	$20,000
26	Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority	$20,000

[edit] Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations

The following is a list of Montana taxpayer-funded lobbying associations by type:

[edit] County

[edit] Emergency services

[edit] Justice

[edit] Municipal

Montana League of Cities & Towns

[edit] School

[edit] Other

[edit] References

Montana taxpayer-funded lobbying associations

Association of Montana Troopers • Montana Area Agencies on Aging Association • Montana Association of Chiefs of Police • Montana Association of Clerks and Recorders • Montana Association of Clerks of District Court • Montana Association of Conservation Districts • Montana Association of Counties • Montana Association of County Road Supervisors • Montana Association of County Treasurers • Montana Association of School Business Officials • Montana County Attorneys Association • Montana County Treasurers Association • Montana Judges Association • Montana League of Cities & Towns • Montana Library Association • Montana School Boards Association • Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association

	v • d • e Lists of taxpayer-funded lobbying associations
By type	National organizations Cities • Counties • Schools • Police • Universities
By state	Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming •

	v • d • e State of Montana Helena (capital)
Transparency	Public Records Act \| Transparency Checklist \| Government corruption reports \| Transparency Legislation \| Open Records procedures \| Transparency Advocates \| Transparency blogs \| State budget \| Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations \|
Divisions	State \| List of Counties \| List of Cities \| List of School Districts \| Evaluation of county websites \| Evaluation of city websites \| Evaluation of school district websites \|
Government	Montana State Constitution \| Executive \| House of Representatives \| Senate \|
Judiciary	Montana Supreme Court \| Supreme Court elections \| District Courts \| Judicial Nominating Commission \| Judicial news \| Judicial activist organizations \|
Ballot Measures	2008 ballot measures \| List of ballot measures \| Procedures for qualifying an initiative \| Amending the constitution \| History of direct democracy \| Campaign finance requirements \|