Methodology

A review of state lobbyist disclosure systems for the first annual F Minus Report Card was conducted between April-June 2024. Scores were assigned to each state in eight categories, three of which comprise a state’s Ease of Access score, and five of which comprise its Strength of Disclosure score. A state’s overall grade is the average of these two scores.

The highest possible overall score is 100, with seven of the categories being worth 10 points each, and the User Experience category for each state’s website being worth 30 points.

Ease of Access

The Ease of Access score is derived as follows:

  1. Complete lobbyist-client list (10 points): Does the state provide a free online list of all registered lobbyists and all of their clients?
  2. Searchability (10 points): Is information about lobbyists, lobbying firms, and clients searchable?
  3. User Experience (30 points): how easy or hard does the state’s lobbyist information website make it to find information about lobbyists?

Strength of Disclosure

The Strength of Disclosure score is derived as follows:

  1. Bill disclosure (10 points): Do lobbyists have to disclose the numbers of the bills on which they lobby? And do they actually comply with this requirement?
  2. Positions (10 points): Do lobbyists have to disclose the positions they take on legislation?
  3. Records of Testimony (10 points): Are there video and written records of the proceedings of legislative committees?
  4. Compensation (10 points): Do lobbyists individually report the compensation they received from each of their clients? Or is it only reported by firm, or only in a range of amounts?
  5. Frequency of disclosure (10 points) How often do lobbyists file disclosure reports?
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