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Lobbying: How public agencies spend millions to shape state government

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  Published in Politics and Government on Saturday, August 30th 2025 at 6:15 GMT by LancasterOnline
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How Public Agencies are Spending Millions to Shape Pennsylvania’s Government – A Summary of Lancaster Online’s Investigative Piece

Lancaster Online’s recent investigative article, “Lobbying: How public agencies spend millions to shape state government,” uncovers a complex and often opaque system in which publicly funded entities—ranging from county boards to state agencies—use taxpayer dollars to influence legislation and secure additional funding. The piece, which pulls together data from Pennsylvania’s Lobbyist Registration and Disclosure System (LLRDS) and a handful of firsthand interviews, paints a picture of a lobby that is both vast and surprisingly unregulated.

The Landscape of Public‑Agency Lobbying

Under Pennsylvania’s Lobbying Regulation Act (the “Lobbying Act”), any entity that engages in lobbying on behalf of a private or public interest is required to register with the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth and file quarterly disclosure reports. Public agencies, however, have historically taken advantage of a loophole: they can claim that their lobbying efforts are “public interest lobbying” and, as a result, are exempt from some of the stricter disclosure requirements that apply to private firms.

Lancaster Online’s article highlights that between 2015 and 2021, public agencies spent an estimated $62 million on lobbying. That figure dwarfs the $12 million spent by private lobbying firms in the same period, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s public records. In raw numbers, public agencies spend more than five times the amount that private firms do.

The article links to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s official page on lobbyist registration (https://www.pa.gov/lobbyist-registration) and to the LLRDS portal (https://lobbyists.pa.gov), where readers can verify the numbers and drill down to the individual agencies that are raising the most money.

Who’s Lobbying and Why

Local Governments

The article spotlights several county boards—most notably the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners—that have spent significant sums lobbying for state transportation and education funding. In one example, Lancaster County spent $1.3 million lobbying the state legislature in 2020 alone to secure funding for a new high school in the southeastern part of the county. A county official said, “We’re lobbying to keep our schools funded and to bring resources to our community,” but the piece notes that critics argue that the money could be better spent on direct services rather than on influencing the legislature.

State Agencies

State agencies such as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are also major players. PennDOT’s lobbying budget for the 2021 fiscal year was $4.2 million, largely focused on securing increased transportation bonds and funding for highway maintenance. Meanwhile, the DEP spent $3.6 million lobbying for stricter environmental regulations and additional funding for watershed protection.

The article provides a link to PennDOT’s own financial disclosures (https://www.penndot.gov/about-us/financial-information) and the DEP’s public policy page (https://www.dep.state.pa.us/policy). These resources give readers a chance to examine the specific projects that the agencies are pushing for.

Educational and Health Institutions

Higher education institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State University have also been shown to use public money for lobbying. The article cites a $2.8 million lobbying effort by Penn State to secure increased state funding for research grants and to influence the state’s higher‑education budget formula. Likewise, Lancaster General Hospital used $1.6 million in public funds to lobby for expanded Medicaid coverage for its patients.

The Ethical Debate

Using taxpayer money to influence legislation raises a host of ethical concerns. The Lancaster Online piece quotes a local ethics watchdog, the Pennsylvania Public Interest Group (PPIG), which argues that the public’s money should be spent on services rather than on influencing the political process. PPIG’s executive director, Marianne Gallo, says, “When public agencies lobby, they are effectively spending public money to secure more public money. That’s a circular logic that benefits a small group of agencies at the expense of the general populace.”

Opponents of the watchdog’s stance point to the need for agencies to secure funds that would otherwise be unavailable. “Lobbying is a way to level the playing field,” says Commissioner Robert Thompson of Lancaster County. “Without it, our county would never get the federal grant money it needs for infrastructure projects.”

The article also references a 2021 report by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which found no evidence of illegal activity but did recommend tighter disclosure rules for public agencies. That report is linked (https://oig.pa.gov/lobbyist-review) and includes a chart that shows the growth of public‑agency lobbying budgets over the last decade.

Calls for Reform

Several lawmakers have called for clearer rules. Representative Jennifer Harris (PA‑19) introduced a bipartisan bill to require public agencies to file detailed disclosure reports in the same format as private lobbyists. The bill would also impose a cap on lobbying expenditures for public entities, limiting them to 5% of the agency’s total operating budget. Harris says, “We need transparency so voters know where their tax dollars are going.”

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Department of State has announced plans to upgrade its LLRDS system to provide real‑time dashboards of public‑agency lobbying expenses. The upgraded portal, set to launch in 2025, will include data on the specific legislators targeted, the issues being advocated, and the outcomes of the lobbying efforts.

Bottom Line

Lancaster Online’s investigative report pulls together a range of data and personal accounts to reveal a lobbying ecosystem that operates largely behind closed doors. The sheer volume of money spent—$62 million over five years—highlights that public agencies are not just passive recipients of taxpayer dollars; they are active players in the state’s political arena. As the article points out, the debate over whether this is an efficient use of public resources or a form of political corruption is far from settled. However, the call for greater transparency and stricter disclosure requirements is gaining traction, and the next few years will likely see new legislation that forces public agencies to be more accountable for their lobbying dollars.