Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying

Ms. Terry Lamboo, sr. Policy AnalystPublic Sector Integrity Division, OECD

What is Lobbying?

• Lobbying is defined as “the oral or written communication with a public official to influence legislation, policy or administrative decisions”.

• There is an increase in the number of lobbyists and in the amount of money spent on lobbying:

• 5,000 registered lobbyists at the European Commission and Parliament15,000 lobbyists in Brussels

• In the United States lobbying spending more than doubled between 1998 and 2012, increasing from USD 1.4 billion to USD 3.3 billion.

Worldwide Concern over Lobbying

• Lobbyists can influence government decisions and are a normal part of the policy-making process in modern democracies.

• The main responsibility of safeguarding the public interest and rejecting undue influence lies with those who are lobbied.

But countries are faced with:

• Declining trust

• “lobbying is perceived as an opaque activity of dubious integrity, which may result in undue influence, unfair competition and regulatory capture to the detriment of fair, impartial and effective policy making” (OECD 2014).

Transparency and Trust

Areas of concern

• Lack of transparency• Conflict of interests and revolving doors• Unbalanced advisory groups• Inappropriate influence-peddling

According to the OECD 2014 survey:

“inappropriate influence-peddling by lobbyists is a problem”

• According to legislators: frequently 36% (occasional 21.4%)

• According to lobbyist it has increased drastically between 2009 and 2013: from 9% to 24.8% (occasional 29.6% and 25.7%)

Regulation of Lobbying

The majority of OECD Members have NOT regulated lobbying, but countries increasingly opt to introduce rules on lobbying.

In the past five years, the number of countries that have regulated lobbying practices have almost doubled.

The Way Forward

• Mainstreaming lobbying regulations in the wider integrity framework remains central in effectively addressing the risks related to lobbying.

• OECD member countries adopted in 2010 a Recommendation on Principles for Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying as guidance to decision-makers on how to promote good governance in lobbying.

Transparency in Lobbying

How to define lobbyists? Levelling the playing field

Is included in current regulations (in order from most to some): •Lobbyist from a lobbying firm or a self employed lobbyist•Representative from a for-profit corporation•Private sector representatives•Representative from a non-profit organisation:

– Should be included according to 80% of lobbyist against 63% of legislators

•Representative from nongovernmental organisation•Lawyers/ Communications and contacts related to legal advice and consultations

– Should be included according to 59% of lobbyist against 68% of legislators

•Law firms•Think tanks

• Should be included according to 67% of lobbyist against 37% of legislators

•Media organisations•Churches Charities•Others

What to disclose: campaign contributions are an emerging issue

• Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Lobbying for Lobbyists and OECD 2013 Survey on Lobbying for Legislators

What to disclose?Lobbyists focus on:•names of lobbyists or lobby firms (89%), their employers (79%), contact details (59%)

Legislators focus relatively more on:•name of clients (68%), of the parent companies that benefit (68%), •source and amounts of any government funding received by the entity represented by a lobbyist (68%), lobbyists’ expenses (68%).

•A majority wants to include contributions to political campaigns (legislators 84%, lobbyist 64%).

•To a lesser extent focus on the goal of the lobbying, although legislators more so than lobbyists.

Varying Degree of Transparency

Countries have in recent years moved towards designing and implementing lobbying rules and guidelines with registries as a key component of their transparency scheme.

Information on identity: all: names (of individuals or organisation) most: contact detailshalf: name of clients / name of lobbyist employer

Information on subject:most: specific subject matterhalf: name of specific legislative proposal, bills,

regulationssome: information on governmental agencies contacted

Information on expenses or turnover: some.

What measures are considered effective?

1: raising awarenessMost effective ways to learn about lobbying rules/guidelines according to legislators; and integrity standards and transparency tools according to

lobbyists50%

17%

33%

67%

33%

67%

33%

33%

17%

55%

22%

67%

24%

37%

35%

36%

26%

36%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Briefing

Lecture

Workshop

Online training

Conference or learning event

Direct communication

Scenario-based training

Provision of training material

Information on the website of the officeresponsible for lobbying

Legislators

Lobbyists

Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Lobbying for Lobbyists and OECD 2013 Survey on Lobbying for LegislatorsSource: OECD 2013 Survey on Lobbying for Lobbyists and OECD 2013 Survey on Lobbying for

Legislators

What measures are considered effective? 2: Incentives for compliance

There are generally no effective rewards for agreeing to comply with lobbyist codes of conduct

Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Lobbying for Lobbyists and OECD 2013 Survey on Lobbying for Legislators

13%

32%

51%

4%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Yes, there are effectiverewards for agreeing tocomply with the code

Not really, there aresome benefits for

complying but they arenot compelling

No, there are noeffective rewards for

agreeing to comply withthe code

Don’t know

Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Lobbying for Lobbyists

What measures are considered effective? 3: Sanctions

Are there compelling sanctions for breaching the lobbyist code of conduct?

Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Lobbying for Lobbyists and OECD 2013 Survey on Lobbying for Legislators

38% 39%

12%

40%34%

18%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Yes, there areeffective penalties for

breaching the code

Not really, there aresome penalties but

they are notcompelling

No, there are nopenalties for

breaching the code

Lobbyists (2009)

Lobbyists (2013)

Source: OECD 2009 and 2013 Survey on Lobbying for Lobbyists

Revolving Door

Restrictions on lobbyists being hired to fill a regulatory or advisory post in government in place in OECD Member countries

• The revolving door phenomenon continues to pose risks to the integrity of public decision making.

• Less than a third of OECD Members have restrictions in place on lobbyists being hired to fill a regulatory or advisory post in government.

• Less than a third of OECD Members have restrictions in place on post-employment for (senior) public officials in executive or legislative office.

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For Further Information

Website: www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/lobbying

Selected publications:• Lobbying: Safeguarding the Public Interest in Public Decision-making

(September 2014)• Lobbyists, Government and Public Trust, Vol. 2: Promoting Integrity by

Self-regulation (2012)• Public Governance Review of Brazil - Managing Risks for a Cleaner Public

Service (2012)• Principles for Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying (2010)• Lobbyists, Government and Public Trust, Vol. 1: Increasing Transparency

through Legislation (2009)