Lobbyist reports available on ELEC Internet website

Members of the public, the media and others can now go online and conveniently view annual financial activity reports filed by lobbyists in 2010, Jeff Brindle, executive director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), announced.

A lobbyist is a person who is compensated to communicate with, or provide a benefit to, a state official covered by the lobbying law to influence legislation, regulations or governmental processes.

Governmental processes include contracts, permits, rate making, etc.

Registered lobbyists are required to report their lobbying activities on a quarterly basis. These reports can be viewed or obtained by visiting or contacting ELEC.

“ELEC’s primary mission is disclosure. This is another significant step toward actively fulfilling that mission,’’ Brindle said in a press release.

Lobbyists who exceed $2,500 in receipts or expenditures in a calendar year must disclose their financial activities on an annual basis through reports due on or about Feb. 15. Accordingly, reports filed on Feb. 15, 2010, reflect activity covering calendar year 2009.

According to the press release, in 2009, total lobbyist spending reached $57.6 million — a 3.4 percent increase. The average number of lobbyists last year was 1,001.

These reports are now available at ELEC’s website at www.elec.state.nj.us. These include detailed information about governmental affairs agents or represented entities that hire them.

Brindle said ELEC has been providing a summary of information contained in annual lobbying reports for several years. Copies of reports also have been available for inspection or purchase at ELEC, but until now they were not accessible online.

“This is the first time the agency has posted actual scanned copies of the reports on its website,” Brindle said. “It is part of an ongoing effort by the agency to make available in electronic form all documents that can be shared with the public.”