Lobbyist Summary
Description:
Last Updated:
This dataset contains information about lobbyists and the totals from all their L2s for a given year.
This dataset is a best-effort by the PDC to provide a complete set of records as described herewith and may contain incomplete or incorrect information. The PDC provides access to the original reports for the purpose of record verification.
Descriptions attached to this dataset do not constitute legal definitions; please consult RCW 42.17A and WAC Title 390 for legal definitions and additional information regarding political finance disclosure requirements.
CONDITION OF RELEASE: This publication and or referenced documents constitutes a list of individuals prepared by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission and may not be used for commercial purposes. This list is provided on the condition and with the understanding that the persons receiving it agree to this statutorily imposed limitation on its use. See RCW 42.56.070(9) and AGO 1975 No. 15.
| Field Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| advertising | number | Deprecated field (legacy format only). The total amount of all advertising expenses incurred by the lobbyist, from all employers for a given year. Advertising expenses include advertising costs, printing costs, and the cost of informational literature. |
| compensation | number | The total amount of compensation received, by the lobbyist, from all clients/employers for a given year. |
| contributions | number | The total amount of contributions to a Washington State candidate or committee that were given or transmitted by the lobbyist. Contributions are described as monetary or in-kind, with in-kind being described as goods or services that were made directly to a political campaign, including political advertising that was coordinated with the campaign. |
| direct_lobbying_expenses | number | The total amount of expenses directly related to lobbying the legislature or state agencies, such as printing and literature, public relations and polling, and consulting and payments to expert witnesses. |
| entertainment | number | The total amount of expenditures incurred by the lobbyist or lobbyist client/employer(s) for legislators, state officials, state employees and members of their immediate families. Expenditures include meals, beverages, tickets, passes, and other forms of entertainment; receptions; travel, lodging and subsistence expenses for speeches, presentations, appearances, trade missions, seminars or educational programs; and enrollment and course fees for seminars or educational programs. |
| filer_id | number | The unique id assigned to a lobbyist. The filer id is consistent across year. |
| firm_address | text | The street address of the lobbyist, usually a mailing address. |
| firm_city | text | The city of the registered lobbyist. |
| firm_country | text | The country where the lobbyist firm resides. |
| firm_state | text | The state of the registered lobbyist. |
| firm_zip | text | The zip code of the registered lobbyist. |
| id | text | PDC internal identifier that corresponds to unique record for a lobbyist in a given year. |
| independent_expenditures_ballot | number | The total amount of independent expenditures made by the lobbyist or lobbyist's client (employer) in support of or opposition to any Washington State ballot measure that costs $1,000 or more. |
| independent_expenditures_candidate | number | The total amount of independent expenditures made by the lobbyist or lobbyist's client (employer) in support of or opposition to any Washington State candidate that costs $1,000 or more. |
| indirect_lobbying_expenses | number | The total amount of indirect lobbying, or grassroots lobbying, involving campaigns funded by client/employer general treasury funds to encourage the public to contact their legislators. |
| lobbyist_email | text | The e-mail address of the lobbyist per their registration. |
| lobbyist_name | text | The lobbyist's registered name. Names remain consistent for each filer within a given election year, but may vary between years if the lobbyist legally changes their name. |
| lobbyist_phone | text | The permanent telephone number of the lobbyist. |
| net_compensation | number | The total compensation the lobbyist received after paying any subcontracted lobbyists. |
| net_total | number | The total of all expenses and compensation, minus any amount paid to a subcontractor to lobby on behalf of a client. Subcontractors report their own compensation and expenses. |
| other | number | The total amount of other expenses incurred by the lobbyist, from all employers for a given year. |
| pac_contributions | number | Deprecated field (legacy format only). The total amount of all monetary or in-kind contribution that were given by the employers PAC and transmitted by the lobbyist |
| periods | text | A JSON encoded array of properties indicating which months in the year the lobbyist was registered to lobby for any employer. If the period has the exempt property set to true, the lobbyist indicated that they chose to voluntarily register to lobby but they are exempt from the requirement to submit monthly lobbying reports. Periods are in the form "YYYY-MM". |
| personal_expenses | number | The total amount of all personal expenses for travel, food and refreshments incurred by the lobbyist, from all employers for a given year. |
| political_ads | number | Deprecated field (legacy format only). Total political advertising expenses across all employers for the year. Includes expenditures for political advertising supporting or opposing candidates/ballot measures, plus lobbying-related public relations, telemarketing, polling, and similar activities. |
| sub_lobbyist_compensation | number | The total amount of payments made to other lobbyists who were hired by the lobbyist or paid by the lobbyist using funds received from the client/employer. |
| temp_address | text | The temporary address of the lobbyist during legislative session. |
| temp_city | text | The temporary city of the lobbyist during legislative session. |
| temp_phone | text | The temporary telephone number of the lobbyist during legislative session. This is usually a cell phone or the number of the "Third House". |
| temp_state | text | The temporary state of the lobbyist during legislative session. |
| temp_zip | text | The temporary zip code of the lobbyist during legislative session. |
| total_expenses | number | The total amount of expenses incurred by the lobbyist across all employers for the year, excluding compensation. This sum includes personal expenses, entertainment, contributions, advertising, political ads, independent expenditures (candidate and ballot measure), other expenses, and direct and indirect lobbying expenses. |
| use_categories | text | Indicates the expense categorization format used in reports for this firm. Values are 'new' for the updated 2024 categories, 'legacy' for pre-2024 categories, or 'mixed' for both formats. New system reports exclude Advertising and Political Ads totals. Legacy system reports exclude Independent Expenditures, Direct Lobbying Expenses, and Indirect Lobbying Expenses totals. |
| year | number | The year of registration for the lobbyist. A lobbyist can be registered in multiple years. |