Bottom Line: Delayed disclosure for Burning Man permit work

Permits

Swenson Strategies registered to lobby on behalf of the Burning Man Project more than four years after its work started, according to a disclosure filed last week.

The firm registered to lobby on environmental permitting for the annual Burning Man festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert effective March 2019. The festival made headlines this summer after a storm caused extreme flooding that trapped thousands of festival-goers.

Michael Swenson, the lobbyist on the account, told The Hill that he retroactively registered after realizing the oversight and would soon file a termination report, as he only worked for the project for a few months. While the “general rule” under the Lobbying Disclosure Act is that lobbyists register within 45 days of their first lobbying contact, the Senate Office of Public Records told The Hill there would not be a penalty for the delayed disclosure.

Tax

H&R Block hired S-3 Group to lobby on issues related to tax preparation, data privacy, cybersecurity and IRS funding. The IRS announced earlier this fall that it would launch a pilot program for free online tax filing in select states for the upcoming tax season, something the industry has long fought. 

One of the lobbyists on the account is Olivia Kurtz, former chief of staff to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Commerce

Amazon hired Origin Advocacy to lobby on issues related to consumer protection, data privacy and drones. Amazon adds the new firm to its already sprawling lobbying operation: The e-commerce giant spent $15 million on federal lobbying in the first nine months of 2023, making it the seventh-biggest federal lobbying spender so far this year, according to the money-in-politics research group OpenSecrets. 

One of the lobbyists on the account is Sean McLean, a Commerce Department alum and the former legislative director for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is now ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Artificial intelligence

The ​National Association of Voice Actors hired Platinum Advisors DC to lobby on issues related to “image, voice and likeness.” The voice actors union has enlisted other hired guns to help manage the risks artificial intelligence poses to the industry. Erik Huey, the former senior vice president of government affairs for the video game industry group the Entertainment Software Alliance, will work on the account.

Adobe hired Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to lobby on issues related to artificial intelligence. Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), will work on the account.