IP: any lobbists out there

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

1. THERE ARE A LOT MORE LOBBYISTS NOW THAN THERE WERE A WEEK AGO. 
People who wouldn't even utter the L-word before Tuesday will now
be registering as lobbyists under the provisions of the Lobbying
Disclosure Act signed by the President.  Lawyers for universities
and professional societies will be happily analyzing the new law
for weeks to come, but one thing is clear: employees who spend
20% of their time trying to influence legislative bodies, either
by directly contacting legislators or their staff, or organizing
"grass roots" campaigns, are lobbyists. Well, maybe not perfectly
clear; faculty whose private lobbying efforts are not on behalf
of their university are not included.  Moreover, distribution of
analysis and research on a public policy issue, even if it takes
a position on specific legislation, is not considered lobbying as
long as it is equally available to people on all sides and does
not urge recipients to contact legislators.  I'm off the hook!