New York's Joint Commission of Public Ethics (JCOPE) has passed the rule the political public relations industry spent weeks trying to kill. Political PR firms working to sway public policy for clients must now register as lobbyists.
In the days before the vote, four of the most politically-connected communications shops in New York — Stu Loeser & Co., Anat Gerstein, Inc., BerlinRosen, and Risa Heller Communications — sent a joint letter to JCOPE's Director of Lobbying and FDS Compliance, Senior Counsel Martin Levin, Esq., objecting to the advisory opinion. The firms are represented by Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP. Their core objection: the "substantive and strategic input on the content of a message" language would sweep in any consultant with a "meaningful role in either the creation or approval of [a particular] message" — and force JCOPE to "draw lines" around every turn of phrase in every client interaction. JCOPE passed the rule anyway.
Details For and Motivations Behind the New PR Law
Anyone paid to alter public policy for clients must now share certain kinds of information — client identity, fees paid, the name of the bill they are hired to assist with, and whether the PR pro or firm has been hired to help pass or defeat it. JCOPE is a Cuomo-created ethics board, and this rule is the front line in a much broader campaign to regulate political consultants. According to capitalnewyork.com, "Numerous lawmakers have close relationships with their campaign consultants, which is one of the motivations behind Cuomo's suggestion, and would certainly be hesitant to make their lives more difficult." A larger number of PR professionals now have to register with JCOPE.
A Response to Obsolete Lobbying Regulations
According to a draft of the bill, lobbying was first regulated in New York State in 1977. The "Regulation of Lobbying Act" defined lobbying as "attempts to influence the passage or defeat of any legislation by either house of the legislature or the approval or disapproval of any legislation by the governor, or the adoption or rejection of any rule or regulation having the force and effect of law or the outcome of any rate-making proceeding by a state agency." Section 3(b) of Ch. 937, L. 1977.
That definition has accumulated amendment after amendment over the years. Since then, public relations as a discipline has grown — and in some forms, is overtaking and even incorporating political discourse.
Social Media and Digital Tech Obscure PR Accountability
JCOPE's rules are shaking major ground in both legislative and public relations arenas. As Cuomo phased out the Temporary Commission on the Regulation of Lobbying and replaced it with JCOPE, the advance of technology made the 1977 definition harder to enforce. The proliferation of social media and other digital channels multiplied the routes of influence available to any PR professional, agency or entity. A cell phone text, a Facebook message, or a coordinated social media campaign can carry more weight than a scheduled meeting — and none of it leaves a paper trail an ethics board can subpoena.
Does This Law Violate First Amendment Rights?
Many public figures argue the rule is a First Amendment violation. In a recent interview, Bill O'Reilly said: "Talking to the press is about as First Amendment as you could possibly get, and for the government to force you to register to do that is a fundamental breach of the First Amendment freedoms… once they get you registered they will torture you; that's what governments do."
Stu Loeser
The Four Agencies Who Fought the Bill
Stu Loeser & Co. is a strategic communications firm founded by Michael Bloomberg's former press secretary — Stu Loeser spent more than six years running press for Bloomberg during his time as Mayor of New York City. Anat Gerstein, Inc. is a full-service PR firm whose founder served as chief of staff and press secretary to New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum before serving healthcare, non-profit and political clients. BerlinRosen, co-founded by Jonathan Rosen, is one of the most politically-connected shops in the city; per Crain's New York, "Mr. Rosen is not a registered lobbyist. Yet he regularly meets with government officials. The mayor's schedule from his first five months in office shows Mr. Rosen was in at least nine meetings and on two calls." Risa Heller Communications was founded by the former communications director for Senator Chuck Schumer and Governor David Paterson.
All four operate at the intersection of political campaigns, government affairs and earned media. All four had substantial reason to prefer the old rules.
Jonathan Rosen of BerlinRosen
Is the Law Too All-Inclusive?
The four firms also argued in their pre-vote letter that JCOPE's list of ten exempt parties was not exhaustive: "Absent from the list are countless types of consultants who 'participat[e] in both the content and delivery' of campaign messages, and who arguably engage in more than 'mere editing.'" Speaking coaches, marketing experts and graphic designers, they contended, would all be swept in.
They asked JCOPE to revise the definition of who "controls" applicable information — to include "only individuals at whose direction, and by whose authority, and on whose behalf such communications are made." JCOPE declined.
The Ambiguity of "Earned Media"
The final objection: the bill's treatment of earned media. JCOPE's language treats speaking with journalists to sway public officials as covered activity. The four firms argued earned media has no place in the rule — because PR firms present information to journalists, who then decide independently what to publish. The message is filtered by a third party. There is no direct contact with public officials.
JCOPE was unpersuaded on that too.
Who Now Has to Register
With the rule now law, a broader class of communications professionals — PR pros, agencies, and possibly even some news anchors and industry commentators — must register as lobbyists if their work meets JCOPE's threshold for altering public opinions or perceptions on legislation. Registration means disclosing client identity, fees, the bill under question, and the position the firm is taking. The line between political public relations and lobbying, blurred for a decade by the growth of digital media, is now drawn by statute.
The four firms have a point about the drafting. JCOPE has the votes.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
