Ethics Commission Weighs Expanding Lobbying Disclosure Rules

When companies and unions lobby state government in Sacramento, it usually takes one of two forms. You can pay a lobbyist to make direct contact with a legislator, or you can try to influence the public to lobby for your position. But money spent on that second type of lobbying -- called payments to influence -- doesn't have to be disclosed to the public. Today, California's Fair Political Practices Commission will decide whether to revise that rule.