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Chapter 6 Interest Groups.

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1 Chapter 6 Interest Groups

2 Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives LO 6.1 Define interest groups and identify their major types. LO 6.2 Describe how interest groups influence public policies in Texas. LO 6.3 Analyze the political balance of power among interest groups in Texas. LO 6.4 Evaluate the role of interest groups in Texas politics and policy formulation. LO 6.5 Apply what you have learned about interest groups. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

3 Types of Interest Groups
Economic Groups Seek financial advantage Noneconomic Groups Seek betterment of society Mixed Groups Pursue social goals that have economic effects LO 6.1 Define interest groups and identify their major types. Interest group: A voluntary organization that strives to influence public policy; sometimes known as a pressure group Economic interest groups seek financial advantages for their members. Noneconomic groups seek the betterment of society as a whole or the reform of the political, social, or economic systems in ways that do not directly affect their members’ pocketbooks. Groups pursuing both social equality and economic goals are classified as mixed or hybrid organizations. Can you identify an interest group in each category? Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

4 Interest Group Classifications and Selected Examples
Sector Examples Economic Agriculture Texas Farm Bureau Business Texas Association of Business Energy Texas Oil and Gas Association Labor Texas AFL-CIO Occupations/Professions Texas Association of Realtors, Texas Automobile Dealers Association, Texas Medical Association, Texas Trial Lawyers Association Tort Reform Texans for Lawsuit Reform Noneconomic Abortion NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, Texas Right to Life Environment Environment Texas, Texas League of Conservation Voters Personal Liberties American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Texas State Rifle Association Public Interest Public Citizen Texas, Texans for Public Justice Public Policy Center for Public Policy Priorities, Texas Public Policy Foundation Mixed Education Texas State Teachers Association Group Rights Equality Texas, League of United Latin American Citizens, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Table 6.1 Interest Group Classifications and Selected Examples This table shows the types of interest groups and examples of each. Visit these groups’ websites, find out which public policies they advocate, and then use their policy agendas to show the difference between economic and noneconomic interest groups. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

5 Interest groups’ targets and tactics 1 of 5
Lobbying the Legislature Lobbying Preparing to lobby Socializing Using tools of persuasion Targeting key legislators LO 6.2 Describe how interest groups influence public policies in Texas. Lobbying: Directly contacting public officials to advocate for a public policy. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

6 interest groups’ tools of influence
Figure 6.1 Interest groups’ tools of influence Interest groups adapt their tactics and the tools of influence they use depending on the part of the political system they are trying to influence. Ultimately their source of power is the ability to persuade. Why are some interest groups much more successful than others? What sorts of influence could you bring to bear on government decision making? Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

7 Interest groups’ targets and tactics 2 of 5
Influencing the Executive Branch Targeting the rule-making process Implementation Discretion Implementation: Administrative agencies carrying out broad public policies, enforcing state laws, providing public services, and managing day-to-day government activities. Discretion: Wide latitude to make decisions within the broad requirements set out in the law. Texas Register: The official publication of the state that gives the public notice of proposed actions and adopted policies of executive branch Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

8 Interest groups’ targets and tactics 3 of 5
Influencing the Executive Branch continued Targeting the appointment process Co-opting state agencies Clientele groups Co-optation Clientele groups: The groups most affected by a government agency’s regulations and programs; frequently these interest groups form close alliances with the agency based on mutual support and accommodation. Co-optation: Such a close alliance that develops between state regulatory agencies and their clientele group that the regulated have, in effect, become the regulators; the interest group has captured such complete control of their regulatory agency that they are essentially self-regulated. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

9 Interest groups’ targets and tactics 4 of 5
Targeting the Courts Influencing the judicial selection process Filing suit in court Mario Tama/Getty Images News/Getty Images Voters who elect judges do not usually have a clear understanding of the law or how it should be applied; instead, they depend on party labels and political campaigns to give them voting cues. Major corporations, insurance companies, and powerful professional groups employ attorneys on their staffs or have law firms on retainer to defend their interests when workers and consumers sue them. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) sued the State of Texas in federal court over inadequate instruction for English language learners. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

10 Interest groups’ targets and tactics 5 of 5
Shaping the Political Environment Electioneering Contributing to campaigns Access Educating the public Organizing public demonstrations Astroturf lobbying Access: The ability to “get in the door” to sit down and talk to public officials. Campaign contributions are often used to gain access. Astroturf lobbying: Special interest groups orchestrating demonstrations to give the impression of widespread and spontaneous public support. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

11 Public Demonstrations
Public employees such as these teachers become an economic interest group when they demonstrate in support of their job benefits. What is the goal of organizing public demonstrations? What precautions must interest groups take if they are to use public protests as an effective tactic? AP Images/Deborah Cannon Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

12 The balance of political power in Texas 1 of 3
Texas’s Most Powerful Interest Groups Energy and natural resources Health, finance, communication Umbrella organizations Umbrella organizations: Associations formed by smaller interests joining together to promote common policy goals by making campaign contributions and hiring lobbyists to represent their interests. How does the scope of a proposed policy affect the number of interests that attempt to bring their influence to bear in the decision making process? Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

13 lobby spending in Texas
Figure 6.2 Lobby spending in Texas Texans for Public Justice and the Texas Ethics Commission. This figure shows which interests spent the most on lobbying by taking the mean of the minimum and maximum value of their lobby contracts during the 2013 legislative session. By late May 2013, 1,663 Texas lobbyists reported that 2,820 clients took out 8,172 paid lobby contracts worth a grand total of at least $155 million. Search out the policy goals of these big spenders. How many of them represent consumers, workers, or environmentalists? Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

14 The balance of political power in Texas 2 of 3
A Tale of Two Lobbying Efforts: Tesla vs. TADA Tesla sells directly to consumer – against the law in Texas Tesla spent over $1 million on lobbying efforts to open 12 stores TADA lobbyists worked to defeat TESLA On behalf of 1,257 auto dealerships Tesla does not employ a traditional dealer-oriented model in which it sends its electric cars to dealers who in turn sell the cars to the public. Instead, it avoids the middlemen dealers and sells its cars directly to consumers. That practice, however, is against the law in Texas, meaning the only way Texans can buy one of Tesla’s Model S (pictured in Image 6.5), Model X, or Model 3 cars is to order it online. Although most dealers are not all that worried about losing sales to Tesla, they are very worried that the passage of the legislation Tesla is seeking would open the door to adoption of a similar model by other auto manufacturers such as Ford, General Motors, or Toyota—a move which would be devastating for their business. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

15 The balance of political power in Texas 3 of 3
Interest Group Alliances and the Dynamics of Power Iron triangles Issue networks Political movements Iron triangle: A long-standing alliance among interest groups, legislators, and bureaucrats held together by mutual self interest that they act as a subsystem in the legislative and administrative decision-making process. Issue networks: Dynamic alliances among a wide range of individuals and groups activated by broad public policy questions. Political movement: A mass alliance of like-minded groups and individuals seeking broad changes in the direction of government policies. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

16 Sizing up interest groups and their influence 1 of 6
The Positive Role of Interest Groups Representation and mobilization The benefits of pluralism Pluralist theory LO 6.4 Evaluate the role of interest groups in Texas politics and policy formulation. Pluralist theory: The view that in a free society public policy should be made by a multitude of competing interest groups, assuring that policies will not benefit a single elite at the expense of the many. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

17 Sizing up interest groups and their influence 2 of 6
Criticisms and Reforms Elitism and the culture of nonparticipation Exploitation of weak state institutions The revolving door Conflict of interest Elitist theory: The view that the state is ruled by a small number of participants who exercise power to further their own self-interest. Revolving door: The interchange of employees between government agencies and the private businesses with which they have dealings. Conflict of interest: A situation in which public officers stand to benefit personally from their official decisions. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

18 Sizing up interest groups and their influence 3 of 6
Criticisms and Reforms continued Suspect interest group practices Late-train contributions Biennial fundraising events in Austin after each election Late-train contributions: Campaign funds given to the winning candidate after the election up to 30 days before the legislature comes into session. Such contributions are designed to curry favor with winning candidates. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

19 lobbying and policymaking
Jim Pitts, the former chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, is now a lobbyist. Explain the potential conflict of interest when retired legislators lobby their former colleagues. AP Images/Eric Gay Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

20 Sizing up interest groups and their influence 4 OF 6
The Regulation of Lobbying Lobbyist Reports Actual clients General areas of policy concerns Range of compensation Expenditures on communication to support or oppose legislation Expenditures on state legislators A trick Texas lobbyists use to avoid reporting who they took to dinner, a concert, or a sporting event is to split the bill with other lobbyists to keep it below the reporting threshold. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

21 Sizing up interest groups and their influence 5 OF 6
The Regulation of Lobbying continued Evaluating Reporting Requirements Critics say public ill-informed and categories too broad Texas Ethics Commission: criticized for not enforcing reporting requirements Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

22 Sizing up interest groups and their influence 6 OF 6
Ethics and Lobbying Reform Efforts in 2015 Governor Abbot declared ethics reform one of five high-priority items Failed at legislation for ethics reform House Bills 3511 and 3736 sabotaged by Senator Joan Huffman House Bill 1295 only noteworthy reform Amidst the failure of these more powerful reforms, the most consequential reforms to make it out of the house and senate were two bills (HB 3511 and HB 3736) that would have increased transparency and reduced conflicts of interest, particularly related to state boards and commissions and state elected officials. However, at the very end of the session, state senator Joan Huffman slipped in amendments that would have actually resulted in a reduction in transparency by allowing elected officials to not disclose their spouse’s income and assets as part of the financial disclosure process required of Texas elected officials. In the end, the only noteworthy ethics reform to become law in 2015 was state representative Giovanni Capriglione’s HB 1295, which requires municipalities, counties, school districts, and special purpose districts to list all people who have a financial interest in any contract with the entity that is over $1 million dollars in value or that involves a vote by the entity’s governing board. Even this modest reform has been the subject of substantial pushback from lobbyists and vendors who profit from contracts with these entities. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

23 State of texas Public integrity report for 2015
Category Texas Overall Grade D- Public Access to Information F Political financing Electoral oversight Executive accountability Legislative Accountability Judicial Accountability State Budget Processes A State Civil Service Management Procurement C+ Internal Auditing B+ Lobbying Disclosure Ethics Enforcement Agencies State Pension Fund Management The Center for Public Integrity Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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