Curious Iowa: What does a lobbyist do?

For some people, “lobbyist“ might sound like a dirty word. It may elicit images of back room deals and corrupt politicians. But talking with lobbyists who work at the Iowa Capitol, a different picture emerges.

Barbra Solberg is the public policy strategist at the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, but she started her career on Capitol Hill. She spent years working for Iowa Congressman Jim Nussle and served as a special assistant in the White House Office of Management and Budget during the George W. Bush administration.

  Buy Photo

When she moved back to Iowa, Solberg said the stories of bad actors in Washington, D.C. stuck with her. But when she started working for the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, she was surprised at how transparent the system for Iowa lobbyists is.

“I realized the lobby in Iowa is a really important cog in the wheel that makes the system work, and in a good way.”

In this installment of Curious Iowa, a Gazette series that answers readers’ questions about our state, its people and culture, we explore what lobbyists do at the Iowa State Capitol and how they advocate for their clients to make better policy.

The conversation about lobbying will be expanded later this week during Iowa Ideas, a free, virtual conference hosted by The Gazette on Oct. 10 and 11. A session featuring the people quoted in this story will begin Friday at 10:45 a.m. Find a full schedule and register for the conference at iowaideas.com.

What is lobbying and who is a lobbyist?

A lobbyist leads efforts to develop and implement strategies that advance local, state and federal policy initiatives that benefit their client. But lobbying isn’t always that formal.

“If you’ve talked to a legislator, if you talk to a U.S. senator … written to them, you are lobbying,” Solberg said of grassroots lobbying. “You are advocating for what you think is the right thing. We all have it in us.”

  Buy Photo

Professional lobbyists can serve one or many clients. Brad Epperly is a practicing attorney and founding partner of the lobbying firm CWL Group. (CWL Group represents the Iowa Newspaper Association, of which The Gazette is a member.) The firm represents about 30 clients.

“That probably sounds like a lot, but in reality, there are varying levels of engagement by those clients,” Epperly said.

While clients may financially support candidates, Epperly asserted that financial backing does not buy votes. He said being a lawmaker is “a thankless job.”

“These legislators are up there in overwhelming percentage for the right reasons. They are understaffed. Oftentimes they’re in areas they have no information about. They’ve never had any experience with,” Epperly said. “I mean, the leaders try and put folks on committees where they have had experience … but at some point in time you have to fill the committees and so our role is to make sure that they’re informed. Our role is to provide them support.”

How does lobbying work in Iowa?

Iowa law outlines who is and isn’t a lobbyist — and if someone meets the criteria, they must register and put their information on the Iowa Legislature’s website. There, the public can see which bills a lobbyist is tracking and whether they have declared a position — “for,” “against” or “undecided.”

  Buy Photo

Melissa Peterson, Legislative & Policy Director for the Iowa State Education Association, said registering as “undecided” doesn’t mean she isn’t invested in the bill, but rather that the bill needs improvement before moving forward.

Subcommittee meetings provide an opportunity for a lobbyist to argue their position. Peterson gave the example of a bill that supports preschool expansion.

“I’ll register in favor of the bill and then I’ll go to the subcommittee and I’ll speak about why it’s important for us to expand our preschool opportunities … I will use a combination of evidence-based research and also, depending upon who my audience is, I might share personal examples from some of our members that would include our early childhood educators, kindergarten teachers, for example, who can definitely tell kids that have been in preschool and kids that have not in preschool in terms of where they are developmentally,” Peterson said.

Sometimes there are opportunities to counter or reflect on what was said in the subcommittee meeting.

“And if not, that’s when you follow up with the legislators and make sure they understand if perhaps someone says something that you don’t believe is accurate, or if you know you can help explain why that is not something that ought to be taken into consideration.” Peterson said.

  Buy Photo

An organization like the Cedar Rapids Economic Alliance may use its membership to influence lawmakers.

“We will utilize our membership, from leadership to our innovation councils, and then on rare occasions we will send all-calls out to our members to say ‘Please contact whether it’s, you know, Representative Hinson or Senator Grassley’ … and we tell them what’s going on and ‘these are the three things you should say’,” Solberg said. “But again, I try not to do that too often because … that’s why they’re members of the Economic Alliance and why they have me doing this role is so that I can do that on their behalf.”

When the legislative process moves quickly, challenges can arise. Epperly said a big part of his job is checking draft legislation for unintended consequences.

“[O]ur founders did not create a system here that was easy to pass legislation, and once it’s in, then you have to go through that process again to fix it.” Epperly said. “Otherwise, you run into court and try to stop it judicially, but a lot of times that’s just not an avenue.”

What does the legislative session look like for a lobbyist?

  Buy Photo

It’s a marathon, Peterson said. Some days lobbyists may be on their feet for more than 12 hours while other days there’s time to engage in conversations with legislators and update bill registrations.

Lobbyists do not have offices at the Iowa Capitol, but being able to move around is an asset. Peterson said being strategic about when she talks to a legislator can impact whose information the lawmaker retains as they move forward in their conversations.

Peterson typically sets up near the capitol’s cafeteria so she can catch foot traffic. She said catching someone walking down a stairway or being able to see who is walking into the governor’s office can be informative.

Last legislative session, a hot-button issue was the area education agency reform bill. Peterson said that while waiting for movement by the majority parties, seeing who was going into the governor’s office gave her an idea of what was moving forward and who was supporting the bill.

“We saw that during the [private school] voucher debate as well. I could tell because I knew who was not in support and I knew, with all due respect, who was being called down to the principal’s office,” Peterson said. “Just seeing, watching, catching folks, that’s a lot of it.”

Building relationships with lawmakers is important in the lobbying business, and being able to have conversations on both sides of the aisle can be challenging.

“We like to say here at the Iowa State Education Association, it’s not about the D, it’s not about the R, it’s about the E for education and so that has required an awful lot of education on my part, for legislators who are elected to office who perhaps have a stereotypical understanding of what our organization does,” Peterson said. “…[space]and it’s just one more challenge that I look at, that I have to overcome and often leads to really good relationships.”

Get curious at Iowa Ideas

The questions “What does a lobbyist do?” and “What is Iowa’s environmental history?” will be answered during two live Curious Iowa sessions this week at Iowa Ideas, a free, virtual conference hosted by The Gazette. Register for the conference and find a full schedule — including more than 55 panel discussions and keynote addresses — at iowaideas.com.

What does a lobbyist do outside of the legislative session?

Beyond the 30-day veto window, lobbyists report to their clients on what happened during the session, including what did or didn’t pass and what passed in other states that the client should be aware of. Lobbyists also will report at their organizations’ government affairs committee meetings, board meetings or summer conventions.

Then things move into the agenda drafting phase. This means figuring out the client’s goals, devising a plan of execution, and drafting it. Once comfortable with the draft internally, Epperly said they will share the draft with people who might help efforts.

“And then at some point in time, we’re going to go talk to committee chairs with leadership and then with opposition,” Epperly said. “I see no point in hiding the ball.”

Epperly said that sometimes they can create a draft of legislation that everyone is comfortable with. Other times, there’s no way to avoid conflict.

“Despite what some may say, it is not fun running over somebody. It usually doesn’t happen. Legislators aren’t comfortable with it,” Epperly said. “They will repeatedly ask you, ‘Well, go back and work with the other side, see what you can get accomplished … so it takes a lot of effort to get through that process.”

Lobbyists are supported by the organizations they represent through data gathering. Peterson said the summer season is a time for research. This could mean collecting anecdotes from the ISEA’s nearly 30,000 members.

“I think at the end of the day, lobbyists are professional advocates and they’re professionals who work to better enhance elected officials’ understanding of some of the important decisions they’re making,” Peterson said. “ … I really see myself as not only an advocate, but also a bridge, to a certain degree, to make sure that lawmakers are being connected with the people whose lives they’re directly impacting so that we can help to create better policy.”

Have a question for Curious Iowa?

Tell us what to investigate next.

Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com