Who’s buying the store?

One of the nifty things about being elected to a legislative body is that it’s great preparation for a lucrative future career in lobbying. Whether you’ve been booted out by the voters or you’ve termed out and don’t want to leave town, the career options are, frankly, the best that money can buy.

California had the highest amount—$227.9 million—spent by lobbyists of any state in 2005 (the last year for which complete figures are available). Here’s more:

Ratio of lobbyists to legislators 10:1
Number of lobbyists 1,162
Number of lobbyists who were legislators 35

Top 10 California lobbyist groups (in terms of money spent in 2005)
1. California Teachers Association $9,456,813
2. AT&T and affiliates $4,065,146
3. Western States Petroleum Association $3,130,034
4. California Chamber of Commerce $2,570,516
5. California State Council of Service Employees $2,014,715
6. Edison International & Subsidiaries $1,873,265
7. BHP Billiton LNG International $1,765,541
8. California School Employees Association $1,570,845
9. Blue Cross of California (Wellpoint Health) $1,566,508
10. Consumer Attorneys of California $1,549,113

Top 10 lobbies (by industry)
1. government (state, county, local agencies) $35,167,319
2. miscellaneous $29,677,149
3. health $24,431,294
4. education $22,183,698
5. manufacturing/industrial $20,521,241
6. finance/insurance $17,513,727
7. professional/trade $15,052,457
8. utilities $12,383,904
9. labor unions $11,436,919
10. oil and gas $9,572,569

Sources: The Center for Public Integrity; the office of the California secretary of state.