• tyler@programming.dev
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    4 days ago

    So what defines corporate? What defines paid? You’re excluding mom and pop shops and even medium sized businesses from your definition. How are lawmakers supposed to know if their law is gonna harm specific industries if businesses can’t tell them?

    • alexc@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Paid is by definition anyone paid to do the lobbying. Corporate is definitely harder to define, but let’s say you’re only allowed to lobby on behalf of your own organization (or self)

      And, better yet, let’s make every single lobbying effort public - Times, dates, people involved, and the subject raised (but perhaps not the outcome). Good legislation should happen in the open

      • tyler@programming.dev
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        3 days ago

        So paid would include the owners (if it’s an llc or similar), it would include anyone sent by the owners even if it’s not their job title, etc.

        I’m pretty sure you can request all that information as well, with a FOIA request.

        • alexc@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          I concede this is complicated, but i think we can all agree that paid lobbying groups are a cancer on society.