With Connecticut lawmakers now in session, the great state lobbying machine is in gear with representatives from the health care industry being among the most highly visible, ethics authorities say.
There are 539 businesses registered as “client lobbyists,” the Office of State Ethics reports. These entities are businesses and organizations that spend or enter into agreements to spend over $2,000 a year on lobbying.Â
By the Jan. 15 registration deadline, 581 additional lobbyists had registered as receiving or agreeing to receive $2,000 for conducting lobbying activities, the ethics office said. This number encompasses in-house lobbyists of the organizations noted above, lobbying firms, and individual communicator lobbyists.Â
So far in 2011, the top issues noted on the lobbyist registrations are “health and hospitals,” tied with “government” (including taxation, appropriations, and budget), the office said.
That’s no surprise considering all that is at stake this session in terms of shaping the future health care landscape in Connecticut. Lawmakers are not only trying to decide how best to implement federal health care reform, but they are also weighing the merits of Sustinet, a sweeping state-based reform proposal that calls for the creation of a public health insurance option
The top 10 issues this year also include human services, business, education, insurance, environment, utilities, and economic development.
In 2010, nearly $39 million was spent on lobbying, up from $38.6 million in 2009, the OSE said.
