Preliminary lobbying data shows that January-June 2026 total client semi-annual (CSA) lobbying compensation and expenses surged to $213.5 million*, up 16.0% from the previous year, driven by a $29.6 million (143.8%) rise in expenses over the six-month period, even as total May-June 2026 lobbyist compensation and expenses declined 11.8% from the record-setting March-April 2026 spending figure, Executive Director Sanford N. Berland announced today. Detailed charts on January-June 2026 and May-June 2026 lobbying activity are now available.
“This year’s lobbying spending continues to surpass record spending in 2025, increasing for both of the most recent bi-monthly and semi-annual reporting periods,” Executive Director Berland said. “Lobbying expenses in 2026 more than doubled expense spending for the same period in 2025. This significant increase in efforts to influence government decision making once again demonstrates why providing the public with accurate and timely access to lobbying data is so crucial.”
“Budget legislation, which included numerous substantive enactments, continued to be a primary focus of lobbying activity, with budget bills comprising seven of the 10 most lobbied bills for May-June 2026,” Chair Seymour W. James, Jr. said. “With such consistent concentrated lobbying on bills that have major fiscal and policy implications, the Commission remains committed to releasing up-to-date lobbying information so that all New Yorkers can develop a clearer picture of what activity is happening and why throughout the year.”
January-June 2026 Preliminary CSA Lobbying Spending
From January-June of this year, the preliminary CSA lobbying spending reached $213.5 million, an increase of $29.5 million, or 16%, over the $184.1 million spent in January-June 2025. Lobbyist compensation totaled $163.4 million, down .06%, from the $163.5 million spent in January-June 2025. Expenses climbed to $50.1 million, marking a $29.6 million increase, more than doubling the $20.6 million spent during the same period in 2025, an increase of 143.8%. Expenses included $47.3 million in itemized expenses such as advertising expenditures, $1.8 million in related expenses, and $1.0 million in expenses less than $75.
January-June 2026 Top Client Spenders (Compensation and Expenses) and Clients Ranked by Total Payments to Retained Lobbyists
The top three client spenders included Citizen’s for Affordable Rates, LLC at $12.7 million, Uber Technologies, Inc. and Affiliates at $10.3 million, and Five Boroughs Jobs Campaign, Inc. at $5.3 million. The number four spot was held by 1199SEIU Labor Management Initiatives, Inc. Healthcare Education Project at $3.8 million, followed by American Beverage Association (#5), Genting New York LLC (#6), Greater New York Hospital Association, Inc (#7), Sports Betting Alliance (#8), and Waymo LLC (#9). The final spot of the top 10 was held by American Chemistry Council, Inc at $1.0 million.
The top three clients ranked by total payments to retained lobbyists in January-June 2026 saw several changes from the previous year. Genting New York LLC claimed the top spot, up from the number two spot in January-June 2025, with $1.8 million paid to seven retained lobbyists, followed by National Strategies, LLC, with $777,435 paid to 10 retained lobbyists, and Multistate Associates LLC, with $776,813 paid to 11 retained lobbyists. The number four spot was held by Cojo Strategies LLC with $738,916 paid to one retained lobbyist, followed by Trial Lawyers Association (NYS) (#5), Queens Future, LLC, down from the top spot in January-June 2025 and the number three spot in July-December 2025 (#6), Amazon.com Services LLC (#7), Bally’s Corporation (#8), and Waymo LLC (#9). The final spot of the top 10 was held by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), with $477,999 paid to five retained lobbyists.
January-June 2026 Top Preliminary Client Spending on Expenses
Spending on expenses drove up overall spending in 2026. The top three clients ranked by preliminary spending on expenses included Citizens for Affordable Rates, LLC, at $12.6 million, followed by Uber Technologies, Inc. and Affiliates, at $10.0 million, and Five Boroughs Jobs Campaign, Inc., at $5.0 million. The fourth spot was held by 1199SEIU Labor Management Initiatives, Inc. Healthcare Education Project at $3.7 million, followed by American Beverage Association (#5), 1199/SEIU Greater New York Worker Participation Fund, Inc. (#6), Sports Betting Alliance (#7), Coalition for New York’s Future, Inc. (#8) and United University Professions, Inc. (#9). Waymo LLC rounded out the top 10 list at $645,789.
May-June 2026 Preliminary Lobbying Spending
The preliminary lobbying spending reported by lobbyists for May-June 2026 totaled $72.6 million, down $9.7 million, or 11.8%, from the record-setting $82.4 million spent in the previous bi-monthly period, March-April 2026. However, spending in May-June 2026 was up by $7.4 million, 11.3%, from the $65.2 million spent in May-June 2025. Lobbyist compensation totaled $60.8 million in May-June 2026, marking a 0.4% decrease from the $61.1 million spent in March-April 2026 and a 2.7% increase over May-June 2025. While expenses in the May-June 2026 bi-monthly period dropped to $11.8 million, a 44.6% decrease, from the $21.3 million spent in March-April 2026, expenses almost doubled up 96.6%, from the $6.0 million expended in May-June 2025. Expenses included $10.2 million in itemized expenses, down 47.7% million from March-April 2026, and up 104.3% from the same period last year, as well as $1.5 million in non-lobbying expenses, and $108,578 in expenses less than $75.
May-June 2026 Top Preliminary Client Spending on Expenses
The top three clients ranked by preliminary expense spending data for May-June 2026 included Five Boroughs Jobs Campaign, Inc. at $2.7 million, Citizens for Affordable Rates, LLC at $2.7 million, and American Beverage Association at $620,123. The fourth spot was held by Heating Air-Conditioning Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) at $519,319, followed by New Yorkers for Public Schools (#5), Association of Convenience Stores (NY) (#6), American Chemistry Council, Inc. (#7), United Teachers (NYS) (#8) and Sports Betting Alliance (#9). Doordash, Inc. rounded out the top 10 list at $179,651.
May-June 2026 Ten Most Highly Compensated Retained Lobbyists
The three most highly compensated retained lobbyists saw a slight change from March-April 2026. Brown & Weinraub Advisors, LLC continued to hold the first spot, at $4.6 million, followed by Bolton-St Johns, LLC, up from the number three spot in March-April 2026, at $3.1 million, while Kasirer LLC came in at number three, at $3.0 million. Greenberg Traurig, LLP remained in fourth, at $2.7 million, followed by Ostroff Associates, Inc (#5), Hinman Straub Advisors, LLC (#6), The Parkside Group LLC (#7), and Hollis Public Affairs Inc. (#8). Rounding out the top 10 were Mirram Group (#9), at $1.2 million, and Pitta Bishop & Del Giorno LLC, at $1.2 million (#10).
May-June 2026 Lobbyists Firms Ranked by Number of Clients
The three lobbying firms with the greatest number of clients in May-June 2026 saw no change from March-April 2026. Brown & Weinraub Advisors, LLC, remained in the first spot, with 337 Contractual Clients and 378 Beneficial Clients, followed by Bolton-St. Johns, LLC, with 240 Contractual Clients and 246 Beneficial Clients, and Greenberg Traurig, LLP, with 217 Contractual Clients and 222 Beneficial Clients. Kasirer LLC remained in the fourth spot, followed by Ostroff Associates, Inc. (#5), Hinman Straub Advisors, LLC (#6), Constantinople & Vallone Consulting LLC (#7), and Pitta Bishop & Del Giorno LLC (#8). Rounding out the top 10 were The Parkside Group LLC (#9) and Hollis Public Affairs Inc. (#10).
May-June 2026 Top Bills, Topics, and Parties Lobbied
State budget-related bills comprised seven of the top 10 most lobbied bills in May-June 2026 and the top three most lobbied bills remained the same. Major components of the state transportation, economic development, and environmental conservation budget, with two related bills, remained in the top spot, followed by the four Aid to Localities Budget bills. Major components of legislation necessary to implement the state health and mental hygiene budget for the 2026-2027 state fiscal year claimed the third spot with two related bills. The most lobbied non-budget bills were S1464/A1749, which would enact the “packaging reduction and recycling infrastructure act” which did not pass in either chamber of the legislature.
Two new issues emerged among the most lobbied bills, including S8623/A9349, to prohibit the use of surveillance pricing, passed by the Senate and the Assembly, and S10642/A11560, to enact the responsible data center development act, which also passed by both chambers of the legislature.
The top subjects/topics lobbied saw no changes from March-April 2026 or January-February 2026, with health remaining in the top spot, followed by miscellaneous business, and budget appropriations. The top three parties lobbied were the Executive Chamber/Office of the Governor, with 760 filings, followed by the NYS Assembly Majority Program and Counsel Staff, with 698 filings, and the NYS Senate Majority Program and Counsel Staff, with 694 filings.
COELIG Ongoing Efforts to Increase Accessibility to Lobbying Data
A main priority for the Commission since its inception has been to increase public awareness of and access to the substantial volume of data the Commission receives:
- More Frequent and Timely Lobbying Reports: In 2025, the Commission began releasing preliminary aggregated lobbying data every two months to increase transparency in lobbying spending.
- Open NY: In 2023, COELIG added its hundreds of millions of lobbying records to the Open NY data website, including Lobbyist Bi-Monthly Reports, becoming the largest single dataset hosted on the platform. To date, more than 358 million lobbying records from 2019 through the present are available for download by journalists, researchers, and the public.
- Lobbying Registration and Termination Docket: To increase public access to lobbying data, in 2023 COELIG launched an enhanced Lobbying Registration and Termination Docket that provide increased transparency for basic information about the contractual agreements between clients and lobbyists, including level of government to be lobbied, whether it is anticipated that the $5,000 registration threshold will be exceeded, and compensation and expense information.
About COELIG
Established by the 2022 Ethics Commission Reform Act and made effective in July 2022, the Commission’s charge is to foster public trust in government by ensuring compliance with the state’s ethics and lobbying laws and regulations. It has jurisdiction over more than 330,000 officers and employees at state agencies and departments, including commissions, boards, state public benefit corporations, public authorities, SUNY, CUNY, and the statutory closely affiliated corporations; the four statewide elected officials and candidates for those offices; employees and members of the state Legislature and legislative candidates; and state and local lobbyists and their clients.
The Commission administers, enforces, and interprets New York’s ethics and lobbying laws by providing information, education, and guidance regarding ethics and lobbying laws; promoting compliance through audits, investigations, and enforcement proceedings; issuing formal and informal advisory opinions; and promulgating regulations implementing the laws under its jurisdiction.
The Commission promotes transparency by conducting its proceedings publicly to the fullest extent permitted by law and by making the financial and other disclosures filed by those subject to the Commission’s authority publicly available. These disclosures include, but are not limited to, annual financial disclosure statements filed by over 30,000 individuals, and millions of records contained in registration statements and activity and expense reports filed by lobbyists and their clients.
*UPDATE 8/6/26: Uber reported two expenses listed as paid to Citizens for Affordable Rates (CAR), which CAR listed as contributions on its source of funding disclosure. Uber indicated that it is going to amend its report to remove the $9,077,108 in advertising expenses. Once adjustments are made to this duplicate reporting, total lobbying spending for January to June 2026 will total $204.4 million, up 11% from the same period last year. Expenses for January to June 2026 increased by $20.4 million, or 99.03%, totaling $41 million, or nearly twice the amount reported for the comparable period in 2025.
The preliminary numbers in the news release and report remain as they were reported as of July 23, 2026 when the data was pulled.
