Carbon tax advocacy group registers to lobby

Americans for Carbon Dividends has officially registered to lobby on its own behalf after only using the outside firm Squire Patton Boggs since launching last year.

Why it matters: The self-registration in addition to retaining Squire Patton Boggs signals the group's increasing activity on Capitol Hill, a spokesman said. The organization is promoting a tax that would return the revenues to the public.

Where it stands: The group is the lobbying and advocacy offshoot of the Climate Leadership Council, a coalition whose backers include several big oil companies and green groups.

• The CLC last month updated its 4-part policy proposal and added new members.

What they're saying: "We are deepening our advocacy outreach on Capitol Hill and thus devoting more internal time and resources to that work," spokesman Carlton Carroll said via email.

"This is just one example of our increasing advocacy work now that we’ve updated our four pillars," he said of the group's new lobbying registration.

But, but, but: So far, the lobbying part of the group's advocacy has been pretty modest by Beltway standards.

Squire Patton Boggs' newly filed disclosure on its Q3 lobbying for Americans for Carbon Dividends shows $150,000 in expenses, the same level as the prior four quarters.

Speaking of lobbying, Q3 spending reports for big players are just starting to surface in the Lobbying Disclosure Act database.

• For instance, utility giant American Electric Power reported $1.6 million in Q3 lobbying, down from $2.4 million in the prior quarter.
• The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers reported $1.3 million for the period, down slightly from the prior 3 months.

We'll have more soon as reports surface.