This summer, the Move Seattle Forward group helped organize opposition to the City Council’s efforts to cut back on police spending in the city. it was a slick effort. And it probably helped shape the final budgets that followed.

Monday, the City Council passed new rules based on recommendations from the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission to clamp down on so-called “indirect lobbying” efforts that shape public opinion without having to disclose who was calling the shots and where the money was coming from.

“Indirect lobbying happens unfettered without knowing who is responsible for organizing a campaign, how much was spent, and who paid the bill. With this legislation, we have the opportunity to align our city’s lobbying rules with better practices, including those currently spelled out at the state level and other big cities nationwide,” citywide member Lorena González said about her bill approved by the full council on Monday.

The new indirect lobbying regulations will apply to lobbyists that spend at least $750 in a month or $1,500 in three months to carry out a campaign and require lobbyists to register with the city and disclose how the efforts are financed.

The legislation will eventually bring civil penalties for failing to comply but the SEEC will spend the first six months of 2020 finalizing the rules and a community education effort “that will encourage awareness of the new lobbying regulations and compliance.”

The SEEC will hire additional staff to track and enforce the new rules, with an estimated cost of around $160,000 a year.

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