TRENTON — Legislation that would enable nearly every worker in New Jersey to earn paid sick leave drew the most attention from lobbyists in the state last year, according to a report Tuesday from the state Election Law Enforcement Commission.

The paid sick leave bill, which would allow employees to earn one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours they work, elicited a response from 69 different lobbyists who made contact with legislators on a total of 294 occasions, according to report.

The $32 billion state budget that passed last June drew only 240 contacts with 58 lobbyists, the report said.

And the bill that would allow convicts, who typically struggle to find work, to delay disclosing their criminal records until later in the interviewing process, drew 266 contacts with 48 lobbyists. In August, Gov. Chris Christie signed (S2124), known as the "ban the box" legislation because many job applications include a check box asking about an applicant's criminal background.

The failed "buy American" bill, requiring state contractors to use American-made products, tied for third, with 48 lobbyists making 292 contacts. The measure passed the legislature in December but Gov. Chris Christie vetoed it in February.

This is the first time the commission, best known for its work collecting and monitoring campaign spending, has analyzed the mandated reports lobbyists must file every quarter disclosing their activities, said Jeff Brindle, ELEC's executive director.

"ELEC collects thousands of reports every year from lobbyists and candidates that disclose their funding and activities. But disclosure doesn't stop simply because reports are on file," Brindle said. "One of our jobs is to plow through piles of reports and uncover trends and other meaningful information that can be useful to policy-makers, media members, academics and the general public."

By far, the paid sick leave bill, which could impact millions of workers and thousands of businesses, drove the most backroom discussion.

The New Jersey Business and Industry Association, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, and New Jersey State League of Municipalities were among the 27 lobbying group that opposed the bill, while AARP, the New Jersey Education Association and the New Jersey Hospital Association urged its passage. The remaining 23 lobbyists who weighed in did not indicate a position.

Ben Dworkin, director of Rider University's Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, said he was not surprised the paid leave debate loomed large.

"It involves some many well-entrenched and well-financed players on either side," Dworkin said. "I think both sides are motivated because advocates have been pursuing simultaneously a town-by-town strategy. Currently they have gotten the biggest cities on board, with Jersey City, Newark, Trenton and Paterson, and with that we are looking at 11 percent of the population" covered by local paid leave laws.

The "two-track pursuit makes the fight over whether there is a statewide standard even more contentious," he added.

The bill has cleared two Assembly committees, and is awaiting action by the full Assembly.

Source: N.J. Election Law Enforcement Commission

Other report highlights:

• The League of Municipalities, which represents the interests of local officials in 565 communities, was the busiest lobbying group, connecting 6,774 times with the legislative and executive branch leaders, the report said.

• Health issues drove the most interest and activity, with 8,112 meetings, calls and other contacts, followed by education with 4,031 contacts.

• The Department of Human Services, the largest state bureaucracy that controls Medicaid and services to the poor, and people with mentally illnesses and other disabilities, netted the most lobbying attention with 591 contacts. The Department of Environmental Protection followed drawing 576 contacts with lobbyists, according to the report.

Kyle Morgan, a Ph.D. candidate in political science at Rutgers University and an Eagleton Institute fellow, converted 59,000 paper records into a database and performed the analysis, Brindle said.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.