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New Hampshire taxpayer-funded lobbying

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] Disclosure

Main article: Taxpayer-funded lobbying disclosure

The Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire asked the Local Government Center of New Hampshire to disclose its schedule of salaries, and for seven years the organization responded that its status as a private nonprofit organization made that information not subject to public interest disclosure.[1] The state supreme court, however, ruled against the LGC, concluding that while the LGC is not a government agency, the LDC is "conducting the public’s business" and therefore should be subject to the Right-to-Know law provisions.[2]

[edit] Watrous disclosure bill

State Representative Rick Watrous introduced a bill into the New Hampshire House of Representatives that would compel the state’s nonprofits to comply with public sector right-to-know standards. The bill would have classified nonprofits as public agencies if they exceeded $100,000 in annual revenue and got half of their funding from state or local government.[2]

Nonprofits in New Hampshire were united in opposition to the Watrous bill. The state’s nonprofit association declared that the bill would have been too much of a burden on nonprofits. One major charity called the bill a "slap" against nonprofits. Nonprofit sector spokespersons declared that nonprofits are already transparent, making the bill unnecessary, and that the disclosure requirements, including financial disclosure, would make people "less willing to serve on nonprofit boards of directors if they knew they could come under increased public scrutiny."[2]

[edit] Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations

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

[edit] County

[edit] Emergency services

[edit] Local

[edit] Municipal

[edit] Public officials

[edit] School

[edit] Other


[edit] References

  1. ↑ "Quasi-public nonprofit opened up", Nashua Telegraph, March 18, 2010
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Nonprofits, Transparency and Sunshine," The Nonprofit Quarterly
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New Hampshire taxpayer-funded lobbying associations
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Lists of taxpayer-funded lobbying associations
By type

National organizations
Cities • Counties • Schools • Police • Universities

By state

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