Who pays to lobby in Boise.
Registered lobbyists, the employers and clients they work for and what their lobbyists reported spending, from the Idaho Secretary of State.
registered lobbyists
Lobbyist registrations for the 2026 lobbying year on the Sunshine portal's lobbyist search, counted from the saved list on 2026-10-27 (one registration per person; 356 lobbyists and 79 designated lobbyists, who report for a company's employees; 400 registered for the year and 35 for the legislative session only). The portal's own counter shows 435.
clients (lobbyist employers)
Employer and client records for the 2026 lobbying year on the portal's employer search, counted from the saved list on 2026-10-27: 740 records under 720 distinct names (20 names appear on more than one record). The portal's own counter shows 741.
| American Federation for Children | $210,094.67 |
| Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry | $65,221.69 |
| Idaho Dairymen's Association | $49,026.62 |
| Convention of States Action | $45,561.01 |
| Idaho Forest Group | $38,500.00 |
| Syringa Networks, LLC | $33,088.22 |
| Idaho Consumer-Owned Utilities Association | $32,870.97 |
| Freedom Foundation | $30,865.75 |
| Altria Client Services LLC and its Affiliates | $29,117.60 |
| Idaho State AFL-CIO | $27,538.41 |
| World Liberty Financial | $27,473.39 |
| Idaho Mining Association | $26,552.69 |
| AT&T Services, Inc. | $24,489.76 |
| Select Health, Inc. | $21,610.00 |
| Boise Metro Chamber | $21,179.34 |
| Idaho AGC | $21,043.10 |
| Veterans Guardian | $20,148.70 |
| Regence BlueShield of Idaho | $19,660.36 |
| Idaho Central Credit Union | $19,529.03 |
| Americans for Prosperity | $18,944.91 |
Lobbying expenditures that this employer's or client's registered lobbyists reported on its behalf on Idaho's monthly lobbyist reports for the 2026 lobbying year (reports for January through September 2026 filed by Oct. 27, 2026), as totaled by the Secretary of State's Sunshine lobbyist portal. It covers spending such as food and beverages, sponsored group events, gifts, event tickets, lodging and travel for officials, polling and advertising aimed at the public (direct mail, phone and text, social media, television). It is not what the employer paid its lobbyists: Idaho lobbyists do not report their own pay, housing, commuting or personal expenses, and political contributions are not on these reports.
Sources: Idaho Secretary of State, Sunshine portal: Lobbyists search, lobbying year 2026; Idaho Secretary of State, Sunshine portal: Employers/Clients search and Top Lobbyist Spending, lobbying year 2026; Idaho Secretary of State, Sunshine portal: Lobbyist Reports search; Idaho Secretary of State, Lobbyist Information; Idaho Secretary of State, Lobbyist Reporting Manual (January 2026).
How to read this
Idaho lobbyists register each year with the Secretary of State and list every employer or client they lobby for. Every registered lobbyist files a monthly report, due on the 15th of the next month (the annual and semiannual reports ended July 1, 2025), listing what was spent on lobbying: meals, receptions and other events, gifts, tickets, lodging and travel for legislators and executive officials, polling and, for indirect lobbying aimed at the public, advertising. A one-time expenditure of $135 or more for an official is itemized with the official's name, and indirect-lobbying spending of $100 or more must be reported within 48 hours. Lobbyists do not report what they are paid, so Idaho's records show spending, not the cost of hiring a lobbyist. The table ranks employer and client records by the expenditures their lobbyists reported for them in 2026, as the Secretary of State's portal totals them; the October report is not due until Nov. 15, 2026. Being a lobbyist or an employer of one, or spending on lobbying, is lawful and public; these records do not show that any official acted because of it.
What is not here yet
- Idaho does not collect what employers pay their lobbyists, so no client can be ranked by lobbying pay; the figures are lobbyist-reported expenditures only.
- Totals are the Sunshine portal's own per-employer figures for 2026. They match the portal's Top Lobbyist Spending list for all 285 employers with spending, and the itemized 2026 expenditures for the top employer (American Federation for Children, $210,094.67) add up to its total; the other employers' itemized expenditures were not pulled and added one by one.
- Reports filed late or amended after Oct. 27, 2026 are not reflected; the October 2026 report is due Nov. 15, 2026.
- The portal's counter shows 741 employers for 2026; its employer search lists 740. The one-record difference was not resolved.
- 20 employer names appear on more than one 2026 employer record (for example A.W. Holdings, LLC dba Benchmark Human Services, American Council of Engineering Companies of Idaho, American Tungsten Corp. via Multistate Associates). They are counted as listed and not merged, because the records may be separate registrations (different addresses or entities). None of them is in the top 20.
- Lobbyists' registrations list 1917 employer engagements (1611 active and 306 ended); engagements were not counted separately from employer records.
- Earlier years were not pulled: 2019-2024 are on the Secretary of State's older TED system and 1997-2018 in its archives; the 2025 lobbying year, on this portal, is not shown here.
- Executive-branch lobbying activity, bills supported or opposed and state-entity lobbying reports are on the portal but were not pulled.
Gaps in the lobbying records as of the date checked.