Companies trying to influence Maryland lawmakers and Gov. Wes Moore’s administration leading up to and during this year’s General Assembly session — one of the most consequential in recent memory — spent $58 million on lobbying, according to a review of thousands of new disclosures by The Baltimore Sun.
The spending — through six-figure payments to lobbyists, meals with legislators, and ad campaigns urging action — represented a $2.76 million increase over the previous year. It helped shape policy decisions both in public and behind closed doors, The Sun found in its analysis of data covering the past five full years of disclosures, as well as the latest six-month disclosure period.
The disclosures also reflected the dramatic realities of this year’s 90-day lawmaking sprint, where a $3.3 billion budget deficit dictated nearly every move.
“The flood of money being poured into the ongoing legislative work in Annapolis is concerning,” said Joanne Antoine, executive director of the good-government group Common Cause Maryland. “Unfortunately, money does mean access.”
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Sam Janesch over at Fox 45 News Baltimore
