Research Symposium

BIO

Jonathan Espinoza is a second year honors student at Florida State University, majoring in Political Science and Finance. His research mentor is James Strickland, He wants to go to law school some time after graduation do public interest law.

Transparency in Florida Lobbying

Abstract

Across the counties of Florida, there is significant variation in how lobbying records
are maintained and made available. Lobbying, attempting to influence legislative
processes through oral or written communication, is an essential part of the
legislative process, and registration of lobbyists is important for transparency and
accountability in local governments. This research utilized online county websites to
examine the gaps in the current lobbyist database across all 67 counties of Florida. By
accessing each website on a 6-factor scale, each county was assigned a transparency
score, and then transparency scores were compared across counties. Results found
that the overwhelming majority of Florida counties lack a lobbyist database. Out of
those that do provide a database, many scored low on the transparency scale due to
difficulty of website navigation, lack of contact information, little historical lobbying
data, etc. By assessing and comparing these record differences, this research
demonstrates how the overall lack of lobbyist data decreases accountability of local
governments, can create a sense of distrust among the government and constituents,
and prevents constituents from knowing who influences local government decisions.
Additionally, this lack of transparency makes it hard for citizens to be informed when
voting for politicians and propositions. Based on the research collected, this project
helps bring more transparency and accountability to and begins to close gaps in
lobbyist data collection.

Keywords: Political Science, Lobbying, Florida