Strapped local and state governments are still spending on at least one activity: seeking stimulus money. Towns, cities, counties and states across the country spent a total of $21.4 million on lobbyists between April and June, up 2.7% from the first quarter of the year and in line with spending levels through 2008, according to data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Almost 1,000 different governments reported paying representatives to pursue their agenda. About a quarter reported lobbying specifically about the stimulus package. The National League of Cities has said its members face their worst fiscal problems since 1985. State revenue dropped more sharply in the first quarter of this year than any time since 1952, according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that a huge influx of federal stimulus money to state and local governments more than offset a sharp drop in tax collections, helping to put the brakes on the nation's economic decline. The stimulus funds helped reverse six months of spending declines, pushing state and local government expenditures up 4.8% in the second quarter.
