{"id":490,"date":"2026-07-27T09:12:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T09:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=490"},"modified":"2026-07-27T09:12:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T09:12:34","slug":"when-the-state-capitols-empty-what-do-lobbyists-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=490","title":{"rendered":"When the state Capitol\u2019s empty, what do lobbyists do?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

If the couches in the state Senate lobby could talk \u2013 their stately, dark green upholstery and all, they\u2019d speak of nearly a century and a half of influential whispers. Every year, from January through mid-June, they are the literal seats at the table as lobbyists, lawmakers and advocates vie for eye contact or a chat with stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Read more Federal employees say they\u2019ll quit if they have to move to New Jersey<\/a><\/p>\n

But as quickly as the couches teem with the state\u2019s most powerful lawmakers and their staffers, they just as soon vanish from the People\u2019s House and sit vacant for the remaining six months of the year \u2013 save for the occasional security guard or group of visitors.<\/p>\n

For lobbyists, Albany slows down in the summer compared to New York City. \u201cWith state clients, things maybe get a little quieter in the summertime,\u201d said Zack Fink, director of external affairs in the government relations practice at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron. \u201cFor city clients, it doesn\u2019t get quiet, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet long gone are the days where Albany lobbyists could check out for the summer months and resurface in September to connect with clients and revisit policy items.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, you really can\u2019t disappear because you\u2019ve got so many moving parts,\u201d said James McMahon, a lobbyist of more than 30 years and a partner at the Albany-based firm Elk Street Group. \u201cIf you disappear for a long time, then it\u2019s hard to get back into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Things have changed in the past few decades. On top of technological advancements and the emergence of the 24-hour news cycle, former Gov. David Paterson\u2019s insertion of substantive policy items into the state\u2019s annual spending document fundamentally changed the state budget process, injecting a different energy into state politics.<\/p>\n

And the competition for lawmakers\u2019 attention is only growing. Special interest groups spent a record $384.8 million on lobbying in the state last year, according to the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government\u2019s <\/p>\n

Taken together, that means the action in Albany doesn\u2019t totally grind to a halt when lawmakers head home at the end of the session.<\/p>\n

Read more Partisan rift deepens over NY immigration law<\/a><\/p>\n

Though away from the stress of the state Capitol, the summer leaves plenty of room for relationship-building \u2013 and with that, the first discussions of the following year\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n

Fink said the summer months are the perfect opportunity for lobbyists and lawmakers to see the work of a community center or nonprofit asking for more money the following year. And Frank Nemeth, partner at Hill, Gosdeck, McGraw & Nemeth in Albany, fills his summer calendar with fundraisers and golf outings. \u201cWhen I\u2019m at a fundraiser, I don\u2019t talk to them about legislation or government,\u201d he told City & State. \u201cBasically, I\u2019ll talk to them about their district, \u2018What\u2019s happening out there? \u2026 How\u2019s your campaign going?\u2019 Things like that. I stay away from legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even as some try to avoid the shop talk, summer conferences and golf tournaments are not just junkets. They serve as a critical step where the next cycle\u2019s laws are born. Nemeth said he has seen the events yield ideas for model bills that lawmakers bring back to staffers or legislative leaders. \u201cI don\u2019t want to call it a breeding ground, but it\u2019s definitely a think tank for issues and ideas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While lobbying has its summer perks, it also has its sorrows. The state\u2019s primary races take place at the end of June, meaning the last day of the session about two weeks earlier can mark the last time that lobbyists and lawmakers may work together. Mourning the loss of lawmakers who lose their primaries or are retiring is never easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople vanish with impunity in Albany,\u201d McMahon said. \u201cBecause of the retirements or people losing their primaries, it\u2019s brutal because it\u2019s kind of like they do vanish. It\u2019s not like they\u2019re dying, but it\u2019s brutal how people just come and go through the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those departures also mean lobbyists need to build new relationships as legislation meaningful to their clients gets picked up by new lawmakers. And ultimately, that\u2019s part of the job. \u201cWhat lobbyists do, we\u2019re Sherpas \u2013 we try to get the people to the mountain, right where they want to go,\u201d McMahon said.<\/p>\n

Read more This week\u2019s biggest Winners & Losers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lobbyists keep up with the times and clients on the fundraising and golf circuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,92],"tags":[7,93],"class_list":["post-490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york-state","category-politics","tag-new-york-state","tag-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen the state Capitol\u2019s empty, what do lobbyists do? - Business Relocation Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=490\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When the state Capitol\u2019s empty, what do lobbyists do? 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