Tip Sheet for Money, Lobbying and Legislation

contributed by Mike Soraghan, The Denver Post

Two Web sites: (Political Money Line) and www.opensecrets.org (Center for  Responsive Politics). Political Money Line has better lobbying data. Center for Responsive Politics is the go-to place for contribution information on deadline. Learn them both.

Has the city, company, tribe you cover hired a lobbyist? Why? What issues are they lobbying for?

Who is your former member of Congress lobbying for? Who are their ex-staffers lobbying for? What can a lobbying firm do for your city that your member of Congress can't?

What's the reputation of the firm that's been hired? Who else do they lobby for?

Base closure. The chamber and the mayor say the local base isn't in danger. But have they hired a lobbyist gjust in case?h

Don't stop with lobbyist reports and contributions. Keep reporting. Call the lobbyists, the clients, the competitors, the lawmakers, the staffers, and the advocacy and watchdog groups. FOIA the agencies involved. Pull the legislation off .

If you really need to reach a lobbyist who's ducking your calls, get his or her office number and call after 6pm, when the secretary has left. If you want biographical information on lobbyists, look in old government directories and back issues of a book called Almanac of the Unelected. These give bios of some government officials who go on to become lobbyists.

Office of Government Ethics (www.oge.gov). Lobbyists (and others) who get a federal appointment must report all the clients they've been working on and how much they made on their form SF 278. File a form 201 from the Web site.

Don't forget state-level lobbying records. There's usually a list, and then more detailed information. The information kept and its accessibility varies by state.

The payments from clients to lobbyists are often under-reported. If you're reporting on a government entity that hired a lobbyist, find out the total amount it's paid the lobbyist.

It doesn't have to be a crime to be a story. You're reporting on the people who MAKE the laws. Often, "The scandal is what's legal."