lobbying
May 9, 2019 -
The nation's largest investor-owned utility was recently named the worst for the environment. But changes recently proposed for the utility regulatory commission by the governor in the company's home state of North Carolina could push Duke in a more environmentally sustainable direction.
March 8, 2019 -
With a growing number of banks refusing its business amid pressure from human rights activists, the U.S. private prison industry has been ramping up spending on lobbying and campaign contributions. Tennessee-based private prison giant CoreCivic just added to its powerhouse lobbying roster another influential firm for help on banking issues.
December 14, 2018 -
The trade associations representing seismic testing firms have doubled their lobbying expenditures since 2016. The move appears to have paid off — but lawsuits filed this week show the fight to block the permits is not over yet.
November 27, 2018 -
Two environmental advocacy groups have filed a petition with the N.C. Utilities Commission calling on regulators to bar the electric utility monopoly from spending millions of dollars a year collected from captive customers to promote its political interests.
July 19, 2018 -
A campaign to encourage politicians to reject contributions from electric utility monopolies aims to recast Virginia politics-as-usual as unethical. Though the pledge effort is meeting opposition from those who benefit under the current conflict-ridden system, it's still going strong — and has spread beyond the state.
April 25, 2018 -
The first peer-reviewed study of ads bought on Facebook to influence the 2016 election is renewing calls for Congress to pass the Honest Ads Act, which would close disclosure loopholes for political ads on social media. The stalled bill is opposed by groups including Americans for Prosperity and an anti-regulatory think tank with a connection to Senate leader Mitch McConnell.
March 16, 2018 -
Data released under the new federal coal ash rule revealed radium contamination of groundwater at many of the utility's coal-fired power plants. But now the Trump administration wants to roll back that rule — including its groundwater monitoring requirements.