Lobbyist information

Amount

Robert J. Brink

$0.00

Employed Terminated Details about your lobbyist or lobbyist entity's efforts 01/01/2014 In the early 19th century, when the Commonwealth was in need of public services, and because of its aversion to overtaxing the citizens, the Legislature incorporated private groups to perform public services and empowered those nominally private corporations to charge users fees to minimize public expense. Osgood, Russell K., The History of the Law in Massachusetts 130 & n.15 (1992). Towards that end, in 1814 the Legislature incorporated the Social Law Library as a special governmental law library and mandated that it serve public officials in the Judicial, Legislative and Executive branches. (1814 Mass. Acts, c. 79, §§ 1, 5). To pay for the costs of operating the Library, the 1814 Act both empowered the Library to collect private membership fees, while, at the same time, directing that public funding be “appropriated” to pay for the portion of services provided to the three branches of state government. (1814 Mass. Acts, c. 79, § 6). Today, the Social Law Library is arguably the oldest public-private partnership in the Commonwealth’s history. Although law libraries delivering comparable services to state governments in every other state are funded exclusively with tax dollars, approximately 78 percent of the annual operating costs of the Social Law Library are provided by private membership dues imposed on the bar and other private revenues. Despite the 1814 Act’s mandate that the Library provide services to the Commonwealth, the Library technically remains a private entity subject to the lobbying statute, G.L. c. 3, §§ 39-50. The Library’s lobbying activities with public officials focus on the services the Library is statutorily required to provide state government and the cost thereof as part of the annual state budgetary process.

Total salaries paid:      $0.00

Lobbyist Entity information

Amount

Dever & Dever	$32,999.98
Employed Terminated 01/01/2014

Total salaries paid:      $32,999.98

Expenditures

Amount