With two updates by ECB, below.

The American Chemistry Council—aka, the Benjamin Braddock plastics lobby—has been pouring serious money into an effort to repeal the .20 fee on disposable grocery bags. Back-to-back contributions of $500,000 and $300,000, respectively, this week pushed their total investment up over $1 million (none of it from Seattle contributors.)

That’s not all they’ve spent in Seattle, however.

They’ve got a paid lobbyist, George Griffin, working the offices of City Hall on the issue. The Virginia-based ACC has only spent $400 on Griffin.

I’m reporting this mainly to call the public’s attention to an excellent resource at the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, which tracks all the lobbyists who work City Hall, thanks to a law sponsored by Council Member Nick Licata and passed unanimously by the council in 2008.  Griffin’s quarterly report from January includes a “Bag Tax Meeting with Councilmember.”

One suggestion and one question.

Suggestion: The site is organized by lobbyist name, monthly filings, and most recent reports. There should be an employer category—that is: Who’s paying the lobbyist to be there?

UPDATE 1: Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission director Wayne Barnett confirms you can find out who's paying a lobbyist by sorting the database by employer, e.g. here.

Question: Why isn’t the Seattle chamber of commerce lobbyist, George Allen, listed? In doing some reporting on this (looking to see whose been working the head tax repeal) sources at City Hall told me Allen has been around.

UPDATE 2: Allen says he didn't meet the requirements to register as a lobbyist until this quarter. (The rules say people who lobby the council must register as lobbyists if they come to council offices to push an issue or issues on more than four days in any quarter.) Allen adds, "I will meet that threshold this quarter and of course I will register." Sources at City Hall confirm that Allen has been lobbying for the head tax repeal.