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Exposing the Influence of the Plaintiffs' Bar in New York State Politics

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Exposing the Influence of the Plaintiffs' Bar in New York State Politics PO WER OF ATTORNEY 2016 Exposing the Influence of the Plaintiffs’ Bar in New York State Politics 19 Dove Street, Suite 201 Albany, NY 12210 518-512-5265 [email protected] www.lrany.org Power of Attorney: Exposing the Influence of the Plaintiffs’ Bar in New York State Politics, April 2016 Author/ Researcher: Katherine Hobday Copy Editor: Adam Morey Cover image: Licensed from the Associated Press Contents About the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York ............................................................... 3 Overview ............................................................................................................................ 3 Notes on Political Influence in New York ........................................................................... 4 Summary of Findings.......................................................................................................... 5 Campaign Contributions .................................................................................................... 5 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 6 Sources ............................................................................................................................... 6 Findings .............................................................................................................................. 7 Lobbying ............................................................................................................................. 7 Lobbyists ............................................................................................................................ 7 Campaign Contributions .................................................................................................... 8 Exploring the Influence ...................................................................................................... 8 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 8 Executive Branch ............................................................................................................ 8 Campaign Committees ................................................................................................... 9 The Legislature ............................................................................................................. 10 Lawyers and Law Firms .................................................................................................... 13 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 14 Appendix .......................................................................................................................... 15 About the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York The Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY) is a non-partisan 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization which advocates for the reform of New York’s legal system in order to foster a better business climate, promote job growth, and address the growing cost of lawsuit abuse. LRANY’s members include local and national businesses, entrepreneurs, healthcare providers, taxpayers, and concerned citizens from across the state. Overview This report analyzes spending by plaintiffs’ lawyers on state-level elected officials between January 1st, 2015 and December 31st, 2015. The report builds upon LRANY’s 2015 Power of Attorney report, which is available at www.lrany.org. This report relies on publicly available information to examine the three main components of monetary influence: 1. Lobbying expenditures 2. Campaign contributions by plaintiffs’ lawyer political action committees (PACs) 3. Independent campaign contributions by law firms and lawyers Lobbying Lawyers PACs and Firms Influence 3 Notes on Political Influence in New York This report expresses power and influence following analysis of lobbying expenditures and campaign contributions as monetary inputs into state politics and does not attempt to quantify the outputs attributable to or resulting from such activity (such as the enactment or blockage of legislation). However, it should be noted here that in 2014 Governor Andrew Cuomo told the Crain’s Editorial Board that despite his position on the issue, it would be difficult to pass legislation reforming the trial lawyers-backed Scaffold Law because “the trial lawyers are the single most powerful political force in Albany.” While campaign contributions – which can be made through a variety of entities in New York – and lobbying are both common expressions of money in politics, they are indeed very different mechanisms of policy influence. Lobbying is defined as direct activity meant to influence the passage or defeat of any legislation or official act by either the houses of the state legislature or the executive branch. In short, lobbying involves any attempt to shape legislation, resolutions, orders, or regulatory rules. Entities spending more than $5000 on lobbying in any given year must register its lobbyists with the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) and disclose all lobbying expenditures to the public. New York does not have a limit on such spending. Campaign contributions include spending on the outcome of a public election. All contributions must be reported to the state Board of Elections which makes this information publicly available. Under New York law, limited liability companies (LLCS) and individuals may contribute up to $150,000 annually, incorporated businesses and not-for- profits can contribute up to $5,000, and partnerships – as most law firms are organized – may contribute up to $150,000 per partner. Additionally, special interest groups make contributions through associated political action committees (PACs). The New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) operates and makes contributions through its LAWPAC, and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers (NYSATL) operates its own ATL PAC. These PACs and their related organizations are used interchangeably in LRANY’s Power of Attorney reports for both convenience and precision. Although the arrest and conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver shines light on how outside income may influence the official duties of elected representatives, this report does not analyze any official’s employment or affiliation with plaintiff’s firms. Investigations into the possible impact of outside income on official activities are the responsibility of duly authorized law enforcement agencies and their agents. 4 Summary of Findings Lobbying In 2015, the two plaintiffs’ lawyer special interest groups, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) and New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers (NYSATL), spent a record high $1,375,433 lobbying New York elected officials, representing a 10% increase over the previous year and a 64% increase since 2010. Campaign Contributions In 2015, plaintiffs’ lawyers as a whole1 made $1,268,781.43 in political contributions to state elected officials, which is a decrease from last year’s record high due to the fact that 2015 was not an election year: - $450,250.00 from NYSTLA and NYSATL political action committees - $818,531.43 from individual plaintiffs’ lawyers and law firms associated with NYSTLA and NYSATL In 2015, NYSTLA, the dominant plaintiffs’ lawyer special interest group in New York, contributed $441,000 to state-level campaigns, including: - 63% of all the members of the legislature - 83% of the Senate - 55% of the Assembly In 2015, NYSTLA contributed $299,320 to campaign committee accounts: - $65,000 to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee - $109,600 to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee2 - $109,600 to Senate Republican Campaign Committee2 - $13,100 to the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee - $2,000 to the Senate Independent Democratic Conference In 2015, plaintiffs’ lawyers as a whole contributed $126,575 to statewide offices, including: - $65,325 to the Office of the Governor - $46,000 to the Office of the Attorney General - $15,250 to the Office of the Comptroller 1 Includes LAWPAC, ATL PAC, and contributions by individual plaintiffs’ lawyers associated with these groups. For more information see the “Methodology” section on the following page. 2 Maximum allowable by law. for more information see www.elections.ny.gov/CFcontributionLimits.html 5 Methodology Sources Data for this report was aggregated from publicly available reports. Figures for lobbying expenditures were obtained from the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE), and totals for campaign contributions were calculated using New York State Board of Elections campaign finance disclosure reports. Total lobbying dollars were calculated as the sum total of all “reportable lobbying expenses” and “reportable lobbying compensation” reported on the JCOPE Client Semi- Annual Reports of NYSTLA and NYSATL. These two groups overwhelmingly represent plaintiffs’ attorneys and their interests. Total plaintiffs’ lawyer PAC campaign contributions were calculated as the sum total of all campaign contributions to candidates by the two plaintiffs’ lawyer political action committees, NYSTLA’s LAWPAC, and NYSATL’s ATL PAC. In terms of total dollar contributions, LAWPAC is the dominant committee by an overwhelming margin. In the cases where ATL PAC did not make political contributions, only contributions by LAWPAC were analyzed. Contributions by law firms and lawyers were calculated
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