Rare trick pays off big time for lobbyists

Oct. 30--Some of Beacon Hill's top-paid lobbyists have fattened their lucrative paychecks by working under multiple firms -- a rarity in the federal lobbying world -- and in some cases, raising concerns of potential conflicts between their well-played clientele, a Herald review found.

At least three of the top 10 highest compensated lobbyists registered as working in the State House last year reported building a client list of at least two -- and in one case, four -- different lobbying firms, each pushing their total pay north of $500,000.

Henri Rauschenbach, a former Republican state senator from Cape Cod, reported making $534,000 last year representing 13 clients between two lobbying firms he described as a "joint collaboration" with fellow lobbyist Dennis A. Smith.

In one case, he reported representing Rauschenbach Associates clients Partners Healthcare -- its biggest contract at $150,000 -- and Blue Cross Blue Shield on a bill aimed at expanding telemedicine, state lobbyist records show, even though Partners supported the bill and the insurance giant opposed it.

The bill, which didn't pass, sought to reimburse telemedicine services at the same level as in-person visits. Blue Cross has argued that telemedicine is cheaper and should be reimbursed as such, while Partners said "adequate reimbursement" is needed to offset the investment in new, necessary technology.

Rauschenbach told the Herald he didn't directly lobby lawmakers on the bill, one of several of interest to the companies. But those competing interests, regardless of Rauschenbach's level of activity, create what "seem like a tremendous conflict of interest," said Lee Drutman, a senior fellow at the think tank New America, who wrote the 2015 book, "The Business of America is Lobbying."

"Bottom line, it's unethical to take money to represent two opposing sides in a policy fight," Drutman said, "just like it would be unethical for a lawyer to represent the defense and the plaintiffs in a case."

Such instances appear to be rare, according to the Herald's review of records filed by dozens of the top paid of the state's 1,500-plus registered lobbyists. But experts warn that lobbying -- a $61 million industry on Beacon Hill last year -- relies largely on lobbyists' and companies' direct disclosures for transparency, sometimes leaving questions.

In a separate scenario, longtime lobbyist Thomas Joyce -- who made $550,000 through his firm, Joyce & Joyce -- represented Entergy, which owns Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, in its opposition to amendments to an omnibus energy bill that he said would have taxed the company in pushing it to decommission the plant.

At the same time, another Joyce client, National Grid, reported that it supported the bill and other energy legislation addressing subsidies. Joyce and company officials emphasized that National Grid was not involved, nor did it take a position, on the amendments Entergy initially opposed.

But ethics experts cautioned that lobbyists have to tread lightly in situations involving complex bills in which clients stake out separate interests.

"I call it shades of gray," said James Thurber, an American University professor and expert on lobbying ethics. "Meaning, it's going right to the line ethically."

Joyce, who does not work for other firms, was adamant in phone interviews that he didn't cross any ethical lines with National Grid or Entergy, which ultimately backed changes to the final version of the legislation signed last August by Gov. Charlie Baker.

"How can you advocate, as a lawyer, both sides of an issue? Legally, you can't. I've been very careful not to risk anything that would question my integrity," said Joyce, who said the Herald reporter was the "first guy to ask me in 40 years" in lobbying about such a situation.

"What would make you think that National Grid, which is a distributor or supplier of electricity or gas, would have any interest (in a nuclear amendment)?" Joyce said. "They would not have an interest. And on that specific question, I do not have a conflict of interest."

On the telemedicine bill, Rauschenbach also denied any conflict, arguing the bill "never moved to the forefront" of the legislative process. He said he only counseled clients on the bill, and a spokeswoman for Blue Cross said it used its own staff to lobby on its behalf, citing a need for "internal expertise."

"If it was a serous issue with divergent issues, one would just recuse oneself from it," said Rauschenbach, who beat an indictment on ethics violations in the 1990s. "They can both list it as (being on) an opposite side, but if it's not a matter that's moving through the legislative process or receives a lot of attention, then it doesn't present itself as a conflict.

"Certain lobbyists do certain things for certain people," he added in another interview. "It's not necessarily they're doing every single thing on every single issue."

A Partners spokesman said officials there are "always aware of any conflict or potential conflicts that may exist among members of our advocacy team."

For other lobbyists no conflicts were apparent, but records showed they've built complex networks of obligations. The Herald found at least six who reported working under multiple lobbying firms. That includes Charles Stefanini, who made $519,000 last year from two dozen clients across four lobbying firms, including his own consulting shop in Framingham, another in Shrewsbury and two in Boston.

Stefanini said he "vets any potential conflict" that could exist between clients he serves at different lobbying firms.

"I'm a sole proprietor," Stefanini said. "I have a relationship with different firms, which allows me to work and collaborate with others that I enjoy working with."

Tim LaPira, a political science professor at James Madison University who studies the lobbying industry, said he's seen lobbyists who'll subcontract to assist another out-of-state firm. But keeping separate client lists in the same state, he said, is "not at all common, at least at the federal level."

___

(c)2017 the Boston Herald

Visit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.