Melissa Laurenza Quoted by WaPo on Lobbying State Officials
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The Washington Post quoted Akin Gump public law and policy partner Melissa Laurenza for its article “State legislatures tweak lobbying rules as influence industry targets their capitols” on what it reports as a number of state houses implementing new rules regarding the lobbying of state officials that focus on disclosure and definition of the role of, and limits on, lobbyists.
Laurenza observed that there has been a noticeable increase in such activity at the state level from what has previously been seen, stating, “There is more focus on the states, whereas five or 10 years ago, federal was the game.”
She also noted, regarding other policy debates on topics such as cybersecurity and online gaming where there are issues that states may be able to address, “people are turning to the states for that.”
Akin Gump recently issued a client alert—“2016 Political Law Update”—that tracks changes to state lobbying and gift laws. (Learn more here.)
