Tobacco Money in California Politics

Transcription

1 Tobacco Money in Politics Campaign Contributions and Lobbying Expenditures of Tobacco Interests in Election Cycle: January 2017-June 2017 Introduction This report shows that tobacco interests continue to maintain a strong presence in the Legislature. During the first two quarters of the election cycle, tobacco interests have already spent over $900,000 on campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures to influence legislative policy and elections in. Tobacco interests lobbied on two bills and spent over $500,000 during the first two quarters of the election cycle. During the first six months of this election cycle, tobacco interests have contributed over $300,000 in campaign contributions to members of the Legislature and political committees. Background The tobacco interests profiled in this report hire lobbyists and are therefore considered lobbyist employers by the Secretary of State and are required to submit quarterly disclosure reports. These reports must state which legislative or administrative actions, such as bills or regulations, were lobbied during that quarter and how much money was spent on payments to lobbying firms and activity expenses, which is defined to include gifts, honoraria, consulting fees and salaries. Each quarter covers three months out of the calendar year (January through March, April through June, July through September, and October through December) making a total of eight quarters for the two-year election cycle. The figures on lobbying expenditures in this update come from the first two of eight quarterly disclosure reports in the election cycle. For campaign contributions, these tobacco entities, like other interest groups, are required by law to submit statements to the Secretary of State twice annually and more often in election years. Campaign contributions include all monetary and non-monetary contributions, such as donated goods or services. The contribution limit is $4,400 per campaign for legislators, $7,300 for statewide officers, and $29,200 for the Governor. Philip Morris USA Inc. used to file its report of campaign contributions under the name Altria Group Inc. s Affiliates, and the campaign contributions figures in this report contain all CENTER4TOBACCOPOLICY.ORG LUNG.ORG/CALIFORNIA The Center for Tobacco Policy & Organizing American Lung Association in 1531 I Street, Suite 201, Sacramento, CA Phone: (916) Fax: (916) Department of Public Health. Funded under contract #

2 THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION IN CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR TOBACCO POLICY & ORGANIZING Page 2 of 13 Altria Group Inc. s Affiliates contributions during that time. Prior to 2007, that included contributions from Kraft Foods Global, Inc. which had filed its contributions under the name Altria Group Inc. s Affiliates. However, in 2007, Kraft Foods Global, Inc. was spun off from Altria Group Inc. s Affiliates and stopped filing its campaign contributions under the Altria Group Inc. s Affiliates name. The five active tobacco interests that are included in this report are listed below. One group that was previously included in this report, NJOY, Inc., is no longer active. Throughout the report, they are identified under the name in which they are listed on the lobbying reports and contributions statements filed with the Secretary of State: Altria Client Services Inc. and its Affiliates Parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company and Green Smoke Inc. Association Trade group that represents tobacco wholesalers and distributors. Cigar Association of America Trade group that represents cigar manufacturers, importers and distributors RAI Services Company and its Affiliates Parent company of RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, American Snuff Company LLC, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. and Vuse electronic cigarettes. Smoke Free Alternative Trade Association Trade group that represents electronic cigarette store owners Resources The Secretary of State s website, contains a searchable database with all of the figures that are found in this report. While this report attempts to convey accurate contributions and lobbying data, it is important to note that these records are subject to amendment by donors and data is subject to change. The American Lung Association in Center for Tobacco Policy & Organizing produces regular reports on lobbying expenditures and campaign contributions as this information is filed with the Secretary of State. For past reports, please visit the Center s website at www. Center4TobaccoPolicy.org/tobacco-money or the American Lung Association in s website at Tables Table 1: Lobbying Expenditures, Legislation Lobbied and Firms Employed by Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 2: Activity Expenses and Gifts by Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 3: Historical Lobbying Expenditures of Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2009 June 30, 2017) Table 4: Contributions to Assembly Members from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 5: Contributions to State Senators from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 6: Contributions to Candidates for Legislative Offices from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 7: Contributions to Constitutional Officers from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 8: Contributions to Political Committees from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 9: Historical Contributions from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2009 June 30, 2017)

3 THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION IN CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR TOBACCO POLICY & ORGANIZING Page 3 of 10 Lobbying Expenditures Table 1: Lobbying Expenditures, Legislation Lobbied and Firms Employed by Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 1 shows the amount each tobacco interest spent on lobbying, the bills or administrative actions they lobbied and the lobbying firms they employed during the first six months of the election cycle. In these two quarters, the tobacco interests spent more than $500,000 to lobby the legislature on two tobacco-related bills. One tobacco interest, SFATA, did not have lobbying expenditures during these quarters. Total spent by tobacco interests may not equal the amount paid to outside lobbying firms because of other costs associated with lobbying, some of which may be found in Table 2. Altria Client Services Inc. and its Affiliates (Philip Morris USA Inc.) Quarter Amount Spent Bills/Issues Lobbied Lobbying Firms (Amounts) 1 st Quarter 2017 $108, None Nielsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Gross & Leoni LLP ($0) The Apex Group ($15,000) Lang, Hansen, O'Malley And Miller Governmental Relations ($87,499.98) 2 nd Quarter 2017 $164, AB 709 (McCarty): Retailer couponing prohibition Nielsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Gross & Leoni LLP ($0) The Apex Group ($15,000) Lang, Hansen, O'Malley And Miller Governmental Relations ($87,499.98) TOTAL $272, Association¹ Quarter Amount Spent Bills/Issues Lobbied Lobbying Firms (Amounts) 1 st Quarter 2017 $15, None Capitol Strategies Group, Inc. ($15,750.00) 2 nd Quarter 2017 $15, AB 709 (McCarty): Retailer couponing prohibition Capitol Strategies Group, Inc. ($15,750.00) TOTAL $31, The Association lobbies on other issues besides tobacco issues. The table reflects total amount of money spent on lobbying but only lists the tobaccorelated bills. Cigar Association of America Quarter Amount Spent Bills/Issues Lobbied Lobbying Firms (Amounts) 1 st Quarter 2017 $23, AB 725 (Levine): State beaches and parks smoking ban Capitol Strategic Advisors, LLC ($23,750.00) 2 nd Quarter 2017 $23, AB 709 (McCarty): Retailer couponing prohibition AB 725 (Levine): State beaches and parks smoking ban TOTAL $47, Capitol Strategic Advisors, LLC ($23,750.00)

4 THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION IN CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR TOBACCO POLICY & ORGANIZING Page 4 of 10 Reynolds American Inc. (R.J. Reynolds / Quarter Amount Spent Bills/Issues Lobbied Lobbying Firms (Amounts) 1 st Quarter 2017 $121, None The Flanigan Firm ($68,124.99) Sloat Higgins Jensen and Associates, LLC ($37,500.00) 2 nd Quarter 2017 $105, AB 709 (McCarty): Retailer couponing prohibition The Flanigan Firm ($68,124.99) Sloat Higgins Jensen and Associates, LLC ($37,500.00) TOTAL $227, Smoke Free Alternative Trade Association (SFATA) Quarter Amount Spent Bills/Issues Lobbied Lobbying Firms (Amounts) 1 st Quarter 2017 $0 None 2 nd Quarter 2017 $0 None TOTAL $0 Table 2: Activity Expenses and Gifts by Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 2 details both the activity expenses and campaign contributions that are listed on the lobbying reports of tobacco interests. In addition to the total amount spent, lobbying reports also include details about activity expenses, such as providing meals or drinks to a legislator. These activity expenses are included in the monetary totals found in Table 1, but the details are listed below in Table 2. Lobbying reports also include campaign contributions or gifts that are not reported elsewhere (for example if the total amount of contributions did not meet the minimum monetary threshold for filing a campaign contributions report for that time period) and these are not included in the monetary totals found in Table 1. During the first two quarters of this two-year election cycle, the tobacco interests hosted one event. Date Tobacco Interest Individual/Group Expenditure Amount 1/13/2017 Reynolds American Inc. (RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company) Assembly Members: Dante Acosta, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Joaquin Arambula, Marc Berman, Rob Bonta, William Brough, Autumne Burke, Ed Cau, Rocky Chávez, Phillip Chen, David Chiu, Steven Choi, Jim Cooper, Matthew Dababneh, Brian Dahle, Heath Flora, Vince Fong, Jim Frazier, Laura Friedman, Cristina Garcia, Mike Gipson, Todd Gloria, Jimmy Gomez, Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Tim Grayson, Matthew Harper, Jacqui Irwin, Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Ash Kalra, Kevin Kiley, Tom Lackey, Monique Limón, Brian Maienschein, Devon Mathis, Chad Mayes, Kevin McCarty, Jose Medina, Melissa Melendez, Arin Nazarian, Patrick O'Donnell, Jim Patterson, Bill Quirk, Sharon Quirk-Silva, Eloise Gómez Reyes, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Freddie Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Marc Steinorth, Mark Stone, Tony Thurmond, Randy Voepel, Marie Waldron, and James Wood Senators: Joel Anderson, Toni Atkins, Anthony Cannella, Bill Dodd, Jean Fuller, Ted Gaines, Ed Hernandez, Ben Hueso, Ricardo Lara, Jim Nielsen, Henry Stern, Andy Vidak, Bob Wieckowski, Scott Wiener 395 Legislative, Executive, and State Employees 2017 CA Tribal Business Alliance Backto-Session Bash $10, ($7.67 each)

5 THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION IN CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR TOBACCO POLICY & ORGANIZING Page 5 of 10 Table 3: Historical Lobbying Expenditures of Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2009 June 30, 2017) Table 3 shows the historical spending of tobacco interests on lobbying expenditures from 2009 through June 30, During this time period, tobacco interests have spent more than $10.6 million on lobbying expenditures. Company Altria Client Services Inc. and its Affiliates (Phillip Morris USA Inc.) (1/1/17-6/30/17) $1,911,569 $1,330,490 $1,511,534 $1,011,473 $272,882 $6,037,948 Association $105,222 $98,762 $130,750 $173,250 $31,500 $539,484 Cigar Association of America 1 - $186,315 $160,920 $190,084 $47,500 $584,819 Reynolds American Inc. (RJ Reynolds $546,434 $496,071 $1,014,831 $844,004 $227,449 $3,128,789 SFATA $163,144 - $163,144 UST Public Affairs, Inc. (US Smokeless $192, $192,000 3 TOTALS $2,755,225 $2,111,638 $2,818,035 $2,381,955 $579,331 $10,646,184 1 Lobbying expenditures of the Cigar Association of America started being tracked in Lobbying expenditures of SFATA started being tracked in UST Public Affairs, Inc. terminated lobbying in December 2009

6 THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION IN CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR TOBACCO POLICY & ORGANIZING Page 6 of 10 Campaign Contributions Table 4: Contributions to Assembly Members from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2016 June 30, 2017) Table 4 shows the contributions from tobacco interests to Assembly Members during the two quarters of the election cycle. During these first two quarters, 36 Assembly Members accepted contributions from tobacco interests. Party/ District Assembly Member Philip Morris USA Inc. and its Affiliates Reynolds American Inc. (R. J. Reynolds Association PAC R-38 Acosta, Dante $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-04 Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia R-72 Allen, Travis $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-31 Arambula, Joaquin R-16 Baker, Catharine D-24 Berman, Marc R-05 Bigelow, Frank $4,400 $4,000 - $8,400 D-50 Bloom, Richard D-39 Bocanegra, Raul $4, $4,400 D-18 Bonta, Rob R-73 Brough, William $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-62 Burke, Autumn D-30 Caballero, Anna D-57 Calderon, Ian $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-60 Cervantes, Sabrina D-49 Chau, Ed R-76 Chavez, Rocky $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 R-55 Chen, Phillip $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-17 Chiu, David R-68 Choi, Steven $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-25 Chu, Kansen D-08 Cooley, Ken D-09 Cooper, Jim R-35 Cunningham, Jordan $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-45 Dababneh, Matthew R-01 Dahle, Brian $4,400 $2,500 - $6,900 D-69 Daly, Tom $4,400 $2,500 - $6,900 D-13 Eggman, Susan Talamantes R-12 Flora, Heath $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 R-34 Fong, Vince $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-11 Frazier, Jim D-43 Friedman, Laura R-03 Gallagher, James $4,400 $3,000 - $7,400 D-58 Garcia, Cristina D-56 Garcia, Eduardo D-64 Gipson, Mike $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-78 Gloria, Todd D-51 Gomez, Jimmy

7 THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION IN CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR TOBACCO POLICY & ORGANIZING Page 7 of 10 Table 4 continued Party/ District Assembly Member Philip Morris USA Inc. and its Affiliates Reynolds American Inc. (R. J. Reynolds Association PAC D-80 Gonzalez Fletcher, Lorena D-21 Gray, Adam $4,400 $4,000 - $8,400 D-14 Grayson, Tim R-74 Harper, Matthew $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-41 Holden, Chris D-44 Irwin, Jacqui D-59 Jones-Sawyer, Reginald Byron $4,400 $2,500 - $6,900 D-27 Kalra, Ash R-06 Kiley, Kevin $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 R-36 Lackey, Tom $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-10 Levine, Marc D-37 Limon, Monique D-28 Low, Evan R-77 Maienschein, Brian $4,400 $3,000 - $7,400 R-26 Mathis, Devon $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 R-42 Mayes, Chad $4,400 $4,000 $1,500 $9,900 D-07 McCarty, Kevin D-61 Medina, Jose $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 R-67 Melendez, Melissa $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-22 Mullin, Kevin D-66 Muratsuchi, Al D-46 Nazarian, Adrin R-33 Obernolte, Jay $4,400 $1,500 $2,500 $8,400 D-70 O'Donnell, Patrick R-23 Patterson, Jim $4,400 $3,000 - $7,400 D-20 Quirk, Bill - $1,500 - $1,500 D-65 Quirk-Silva, Sharon D-63 Rendon, Anthony D-47 Reyes, Eloise Gomez D-54 Ridley-Thomas, Sebastian $4,400 $3,000 $1,500 $8,900 D-52 Rodriguez, Freddie - $3,000 - $3,000 D-48 Rubio, Blanca D-32 Salas, Rudy $4,400 $3,000 - $7,400 D-53 Santiago, Miguel R-40 Steinorth, Marc $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 D-29 Stone, Mark D-15 Thurmond, Tony D-19 Ting, Philip R-71 Voepel, Randy $4,400 $1,500 - $5,900 R-75 Waldron, Marie $4,400 $3,000 - $7,400 D-79 Weber, Shirley D-02 Wood, Jim TOTALS $145,200 $72,000 $5,500 $222,700

8 THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION IN CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR TOBACCO POLICY & ORGANIZING Page 8 of 10 Table 5: Contributions to State Senators from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 5 shows the contributions from tobacco interests to State Senators during the first two quarters of the election cycle. During these two quarters, 13 Senators accepted contributions from tobacco interests. Party/ District Senator Philip Morris USA Inc. and its Affiliates Reynolds American Inc. (R. J. Reynolds Association PAC D-26 Allen, Ben R-38 Anderson, Joel D-39 Atkins, Toni R-36 Bates, Patricia - $3,000 - $3,000 D-15 Beall, Jim R-08 Berryhill, Tom - $2,500 - $2,500 D-35 Bradford, Steven $4,400 $3,000 - $7,400 R-12 Canella, Anthony - $2,500 - $2,500 D-24 De Leon, Kevin D-03 Dodd, Bill R-16 Fuller, Jean R-01 Gaines, Ted $7,300 $2,500 - $9,800 D-05 Galgiani, Cathleen $7,300 $2,500 $2,000 $11,800 D-07 Glazer, Steven D-22 Hernandez, Ed D-18 Hertzberg, Robert D-13 Hill, Jerry D-40 Hueso, Ben - $1,700 - $1,700 D-19 Jackson, Hannah-Beth D-33 Lara, Ricardo D-20 Leyva, Connie D-02 McGuire, Mike D-32 Mendoza, Tony D-30 Mitchell, Holly D-17 Monning, William R-37 Moorlach, John $4,400 $3,000 - $7,400 R-23 Morrell, Mike $4,400 - $1,000 $5,400 D-29 Newman, Josh R-34 Nguyen, Janet - $3,000 - $3,000 R-04 Nielsen, Jim - $4,000 - $4,000 D-06 Pan, Richard D-25 Portantino, Anthony D-31 Roth, Richard D-09 Skinner, Nancy D-27 Stern, Henry R-28 Stone, Jeff E R-14 Vidak, Andy - $3,000 - $3,000 D-10 Wieckowski, Bob D-11 Wiener, Scott R-21 Wilk, Scott $4, $4,400 TOTALS $32,200 $30,700 $3,000 $65,900

9 THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION IN CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR TOBACCO POLICY & ORGANIZING Page 9 of 10 Table 6: Contributions to Candidates for Legislative Offices from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 6 indicates that, during the first two quarters of the election cycle, tobacco interests made no contributions to candidates running for a state legislative office who are not currently in an elected office. Name of Candidate Elected Office Philip Morris USA Inc. and its Affiliates Reynolds American Inc. (R. J. Reynolds Association PAC TOTALS Table 7: Contributions to Constitutional Officers from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 7 shows contributions to constitutional officers, which includes statewide offices and the four Board of Equalization districts. While not able to vote on tobacco-related legislation as state legislators can, these elected officials influence laws and government actions related to the tobacco industry. For example, the Governor has the opportunity to sign or veto all bills passed by the legislature, the State Board of Equalization oversees the administration of cigarette and tobacco products taxes and tobacco licensing statutes and the Controller and Treasurer are members of the Public Employee Retirement System Board. Two constitutional officers accepted contributions from tobacco interests during the first two quarters of the election cycle. Statewide Office Name of Official Philip Morris USA Inc. and its Affiliates Reynolds American Inc. (R. J. Reynolds Association PAC Governor Brown, Jerry Lieutenant Governor Newsom, Gavin Secretary of State Padilla, Alex Controller Yee, Betty Treasurer Chiang, John Attorney General Becerra, Xavier - $5,000 - $5,000 Insurance Commissioner Jones, Dave Superintendent of Public Instruction Torlakson, Tom Board of Equalization District 1 Runner, George Board of Equalization District 2 Ma, Fiona Board of Equalization District 3 Horton, Jerome Board of Equalization District 4 Harkey, Diane - $2,500 - $2,500 Board of Equalization District 5 Yee, Betty TOTALS $0 $7,500 $0 $7,500

10 THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION IN CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR TOBACCO POLICY & ORGANIZING Page 10 of 10 Table 8: Contributions to Political Committees from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017) Table 8 shows the contributions from tobacco interests to different political committees. Tobacco interests have contributed to only one political committee during the first two quarters of this election cycle. The names of political committees do not always make it clear what types of candidates and issues that specific committee supports or opposes. To provide a clearer picture about what type of committees are accepting contributions from tobacco companies, some background information about what each committee primarily spends its funds on is provided below. Republican Party Uses funds to support Republican candidates Democratic Party Uses funds to support Democratic candidates Committee Name Philip Morris USA Inc. and its Affiliates Reynolds American Inc. (R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company) Association PAC Republican Party $29, $29,080 Democratic Party TOTALS $29,080 $0 $0 $29,080 Table 9: Historical Contributions from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2009 June 30, 2017) Tobacco interests have contributed over $130 million to candidates and members of the legislature, constitutional officers, political committees and ballot initiative campaigns during the past four election cycles and the first two quarters of the election cycle. Table 9 shows this historical spending. Company (1/1/17-6/30/17) Altria Client Services Inc. and its Affiliates (Phillip Morris USA Inc.) 1 $6,119,012 $34,537,082 $2,740,539 $46,267,985 $206,480 $89,981,099 Association $40,681 $38,100 $37,400 $26,500 $8,500 $151,181 Reynolds American Inc. (RJ Reynolds $395,400 $14,483,420 $297,600 $25,090,330 $110,200 $40,376,951 TOTALS $6,555,093 $49,058,602 $3,075,539 $71,384,816 $325,180 $130,399,231 1 Kraft and Philip Morris filed a joint report under the name Altria Group, Inc. s Affiliates (Philip Morris USA Inc. and Kraft Foods Global, Inc.) until The campaign finance figures in this report contain all Altria Group contributions during that time. 2 US Smokeless Tobacco Company was acquired by Altria in January 2009.