A prominent state consumer advocate raised concerns Wednesday about lobbyist influence as the Maryland General Assembly convened its annual 90-day session in Annapolis.

Mollie Woods, an attorney with the Maryland Office of the People’s Counsel, said special interest groups wield significant influence in the General Assembly due to their financial resources and “the size of their lobbying efforts.”

An analysis by Spotlight on Maryland found that local and out-of-town organizations spent more than $86 million in the state during the 2024 reporting period. This represents a 28.4% increase in lobbying dollars spent since 2021.

Ethics data shows that more than 91% of lobbying dollars were spent on compensation for advocates representing special interest groups. Expenditures on special event tickets, gifts and event sponsorships for policymakers totaled over $2.5 million in lobbying costs.

In 2024, Constellation Energy spent the most on lobbying, according to ethics reports. Data shows the energy supplier dedicated $903,161 advocating for and against various state legislation and regulatory policies.

Three energy companies were among the 10 highest-spending special interest groups in the state, collectively spending over $2 million to advocate for their interests.

With state energy policy expected to be a top legislative priority during the 2025 General Assembly session, Woods said she has some concerns.

“Public service companies are in a unique position,” Woods said. “[T]hey are private companies that have state-granted public monopolies, from that point of view, they have a captive customer base.”

The Utility Transparency and Accountability Act was introduced during the 2024 General Assembly session to address concerns about energy companies passing on the cost of lobbying activity. The bill’s first draft prohibited all public utilities operating in Maryland from passing on lobbying and political advocacy costs to ratepayers.

The House and Senate advanced different versions of the bill. Despite these votes, the bill did not progress from a conference committee assigned to reconcile the differences before the end of the legislative session.

Spotlight on Maryland asked several energy companies that lobbied in the state during the last legislative session who pays for their lobbying activity. All responding companies dismissed the concerns raised by consumer advocates, citing federal regulations.

“As a Fortune 200 company headquartered in Baltimore and Maryland’s largest energy provider, Constellation routinely engages with state policymakers on clean energy and other policy matters that impact our customers and company,” a Constellation spokesperson said. “These costs are born by our shareholders and do not impact energy bills.”

Public Service Enterprise Group, a New Jersey-based power line developer, echoed Constellation’s comments. PSEG submitted a regulatory application in December to construct the controversial 70-mile Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project.

“In accordance with FERC’s rules, PSEG will not recover any lobbying costs through transmission rates,” Smith added.

Current federal law prohibits energy companies from passing on lobbying costs to ratepayers. However, consumer advocates argue that these regulations are difficult to enforce. A Spotlight on Maryland analysis found that in 2024, eight states, including Maryland, attempted to implement a ban on this practice.

State laws show Colorado, Connecticut and Maine have enacted similar bans.

Former state Sen. Bobby Zirkin, a Baltimore County Democrat, said he sought lobbyist opinions on bills as topic experts.

“Lobbyists, I always found them to be very helpful,” Zirkin said. “Just as long as you recognize they are coming from an angle, a side, they’re really helpful because they have more information than you typically get [in Annapolis].”

Zirkin, who briefly lobbied after leaving the Senate, said he would routinely seek opinions from opposing lobbyists and constituents before deciding how to vote. He added that he sometimes saw bias among a small group of legislators.

“If the XYZ justice coalition said something, there are certain legislators that would vote that way because that’s their group, there are some folks that couldn’t get away from that,” Zirkin added.

State ethics reports show that 1,348 organizations spent $10,000 or more in 2024 to influence policy and legislation. These entities included a vast array of market sectors, including trade unions, political organizations, justice advocacy groups, transportation owners and energy companies.

The Embassy of Japan and a collective of local Maryland governments also appear in the state’s registered lobbyist list.

Spotlight on Maryland is a joint venture by FOX45 News and The Baltimore Sun. Follow Gary Collins with Spotlight on Maryland on X. Do you have news tips on this story or others? Send news tips to gmcollins@sbgtv.com.