Lobbyist fees Hit New Records in New Hampshire

Democrats have been in charge of all branches of New Hampshire state government for just over a year now, and it hasn’t taken them long to show the state why they haven’t been entrusted with this type of majority in over 100 years.

The latest fiasco is this story about the growing influences of lobbyists in the state.

Fees paid to lobbyists in New Hampshire soared to an all-time high last year, according to an analysis by The Telegraph of Nashua. The $9.6 million paid to lobbyists in 2007 was a 78 percent increase over the previous record of $5.4 million set in 2005.

Just a modest little jump, eh? 78%? Spending has risen across the board in New Hampshire in the last year. This is not a coincidence, and senate Republican leader Ted Gastas doesn’t think so either.

Senate Republican Leader Ted Gatsas, of Manchester, attributes the spike in lobbying fees to the fact that Democrats took control of the entire Legislature in 2006. “When Democrats took over, you saw a lot of corporations worried about where this would take them,” he said.

From this Nashua Telegraph article, here are the highest paid lobbyists and their best paying customers:

Sheehan, Phinney Capital Group $1,011,470 Cigna, Verizon, pharmaceuticals

Dupont Group $857,291 Loudon speedway, insurance, energy

Demers Group $844,451 Credit cards, gaming; trial lawyers

Devine, Millimet, et al $676,355 Telcom, gaming, energy

Rath, Young, Pignatelli $631,281 PSNH, Anthem, health care

Bianco law firm $524,747 Payday loans, health care, real estate

Gallagher, Callahan, Gartrell $524,139 NH Bankers, insurance, energy

Maura Weston $385,774 Cingular, health care, cable TV

Bouley Associates $364,225 Gaming, billboards, Teamsters

Orr and Reno $342,989 Domestic insurers, NH Fire Chiefs

Big government, nanny state, tax and spend, liberals coupled with special interest groups now emboldened to spend even more money (78% more in one year) is a recipe for the fiscal disaster that looms over New Hampshire.

But have no fear, there is legislation in the senate to reform the lobbyists laws in New Hampshire ( which is ranked 48th in the nation for it’s lobbyist laws), there is only one problem:

The only changes lawmakers are considering to lobbying laws would weaken them. The state Senate is considering a House-passed bill that reduces reporting to four times a year and eliminates the requirement that lobbyists disclose campaign contributions.