Did a Giffords staffer recently run afoul of Vermont's rules for lobbyists?
According to our friends at News2A, that "appears" to be the case. At a meeting of the Vermont House Judiciary committee last month, lawmakers heard testimony from a number of interested parties on a bill that would, among other things, allow firearms manufacturers and sellers to be held liable for public nuisance damages when one of their products is criminally misused.
There were a number of witnesses who testified, but News2A is most interested in the Giffords staffer who weighed in.
During recorded video testimony, Giffords representative Billy Clark was questioned by Rep. Zach Harvey (R-District 3): “My last question for you, Billy, is were you consulted at all on this bill prior to coming to the committee? Did you have any input on any of the language?”
Clark responds, “I have been in touch with committee members on this.”
Clark’s response, indicating direct contact with elected officials in order to influence the legislative outcome, falls outside of the lobbying exemptions provided by Vermont statute. As such, Clark would likely be considered a lobbyist and must be registered with the Secretary of State.
According to the Vermont Secretary of State website, while Giffords itself is registered with the state (along with lobbyist Joseph Platte) Mr. Clark himself is not registered as a lobbyist, in what appears to be a violation of state law given his testimony above.
I can't disagree with News 2A's assessment, though if communicating "orally or in writing with any legislator or administrative official for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action" is really all it takes to be considered a lobbyist in Vermont then that would include almost every citizen who contacts their representative or state senator in an attempt to persuade them to vote one way or the other on a particular piece of legislation.
As it turns out, the Vermont Secretary of State's website also defines "lobbyist", not just "lobbying." And this is where most citizens, and perhaps Mr. Clark as well, become exempt from having to register as a lobbyist.
“Lobbyist” means a person who receives or is entitled to receive, either by employment or contract, $500.00 or more in monetary or in-kind compensation in any calendar year for engaging in lobbying, either personally or through his or her agents, or a person who expends more than $500.00 on lobbying in any calendar year.
A Vermont voter who emails their state senator and urges them to vote "no" on a bill is engaged in lobbying, but that doesn't make them a lobbyist.
What about Clark, though? If he's getting a salary from Giffords while engaging in lobbying activity, that would make him a lobbyist who needs to be registered with the state.
Giffords' bio on Clark gives him two titles: Senior Litigation Attorney and "Second Amendment Issues Manager." What do those rules entail?
Billy Clark joined GIFFORDS Law Center in 2022. As part of the litigation team, he develops affirmative litigation strategies to effectuate gun safety reforms and defends against constitutional challenges to a variety of gun safety policies. In addition, he consults with local governments and other organizations, providing guidance on how to actualize gun safety policies, including by challenging legal impediments to those policies. Billy also heads GIFFORDS’S historical research efforts, working with legal scholars and historians to study the tradition of commonsense gun laws in the United States.
I don't know about you, but that sure sounds like corporatespeak for "he helps draft gun control legislation or local ordinances" to me. It's also worth noting that Joe Platte, who is registered as a lobbyist for Giffords, holds the official title of "Senior State Legislative Manager," not "lobbyist."
Ironically, Platte posted a job opening for Chief Finance and Operating Officer at Giffords on his LinkedIn profile three weeks ago and wrote, "Come help keep me out of trouble and make sure I file my lobbying disclosures on time!!!"
I'm no expert on lobbying disclosures, but if Clark is engaging with lawmakers behind the scenes in addition to offering public testimony in order to get particular bills written and adopted, I'd say he'd be better off registering with the Secretary of State just to be on the safe side. As of today, though, there's no listing for him among the dozens of folks who are registered.
Incidentally, as I was looking for Clark's name, I came across two lobbyists (Jessica Oski and Adam Necrason) who are registered to represent Everytown for Gun Safety along with a number of other organizations, including an outfit called Decriminalize Sex Work. The two work for an outside lobbying group and my guess is they're hired on a contract basis by both Everytown and Decriminalize Sex Work, but I just find it amusing and odd that in the same day the pair might be working to turn legal gun owners into criminals and turn prostitutes into law-abiding citizens.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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