U.S. City Open Data Census
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A complete suite of lobbying data should include information about registration and activity — who is paying lobbyists and, ideally, how much and where money is spent.
For the purposes of the U.S. City Open Data Census, lobbyist activity data should include structured information from the registration and activity reports that lobbyists are required to file: lobbyist information, client information, and descriptions of lobbying activity. Public access to this data is essential for the public to gain insight into the world of municipal influence.
Note: In some cities lobbyist registration data will be seperate from lobbyist activity data.
(More info)
| Question | Answer | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Openly licensed | No | No clear open license statement. |
| Available in bulk | Yes | Multiple reports, category "All clients with associated agents and legislation" seems to be most complete. |
| Up-to-date | No | Looks like only three lobbying filing deadlines: January 31, May, 31, and September 30 |
| Available free online | Yes | |
| Available free of charge | Yes | |
| In an open format | ||
| findable | 3 | |
| findable_steps | Search City of Columbus Lobbying | |
| Collected by government | Yes | |
| usability | 1 | PDF, would need human organization |
| collector_name | City Clerk | |
| characteristics | Lobbyist registration information — including name, contact information, and date of registration, Client information — including name and contact information of the individual or firm paying for the lobbyist’s time | |
| location | https://core.columbus.gov/lra/Anonymous.aspx - |