My column over at Civil Beat this week looks at the practice of lobbyists stepping up to take charge of fundraising events for legislators (“Hawaii Monitor: Lobbyists Test Another Path to Influence“).

Here’s my lede:

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii pulled off a little-noticed coup by the time this year’s legislative session was barely a week old.

During the seven-week period from the beginning of December through first week of the 2014 session, two top chamber officials — who also serve as the organization’s registered lobbyists — were reported to be in charge of fundraising events for eight key House leaders, including Speaker Joe Souki, majority leader Scott Saiki, and the chair and vice-chair of the powerful House Finance Committee, Reps. Sylvia Luke and Scott Nishimoto.

Tickets for the Chamber-organized fundraisers ranged from $100 to $300 per person, according to notices filed with the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission.

We’re accustomed to lobbyists making campaign contributions, and working the corridors and the railing at the State Capitol, while trying to steer legislation in their clients’ favor. Cozying up to legislative leaders by taking charge of their campaign fundraising events appears to be something different, requiring a closer and more direct tie between lobbyist and campaign than what has been traditional.

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