Proposed City of Atlanta legislation cracks down on lobbyists

A pair of proposed Atlanta ordinances would require lobbyists to register with the city and encourage individual council members to report any violations of state lobbying law.

The city currently does not have its own lobbying code. In recent years, several large cities across the country — including Phoenix, Miami, and San Jose, California — have seen the need to enact their own lobbying ordinances.

The proposed legislation in Atlanta comes during debate about legislation that would curtail private companies ability to boot vehicles. Some council members have reported witnessing individuals lobbying on behalf of booting companies without clearly identifying themselves as lobbyists.

One of the ordinances, sponsored by council members Jennifer Ide and Amir Farokhi, encourages council members to report any violations of state lobbying law to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission.

The second ordinance would establish the city’s own rules for lobbying. That ordinance is sponsored by council members Ide, Farokhi, Andre Dickens and Matt Westmoreland.

The legislation will be discussed at the council’s Finance/Executive Committee meeting at 1 p.m. Friday.