Are the German Police Union, the Bavarian Teachers’ Association, the Catholic Educators’ Association or the State Association of Official Veterinarians active as “lobbyists” towards politics? 30 civil servants’ associations are suing the new Bavarian lobby register. They jointly filed a constitutional complaint in Karlsruhe and a popular action at the Bavarian Constitutional Court, as well as a so-called declaratory action at the administrative court.
On request, a spokeswoman for the Bavarian Civil Service Association (BBB) confirmed the corresponding media reports. As a collective bargaining umbrella organization, the BBB itself is not affected by the obligation to register, but the plaintiffs are among its members, across all professions. Since the beginning of the year, associations and companies have had to register in the state parliament’s lobby register if they want to campaign for their positions in parliament or the state government, make statements and thus influence laws.
According to the BBB, the civil servant organizations stand up for their employees and thus act differently than industry associations or companies that want to make a profit. And unlike, for example, in the lobby register of the Bundestag or in Bavaria in the case of employee representatives who negotiate tariffs, they are not considered an exception. With the lawsuits, the associations are also aiming for legal protection until the decisions are made; because without entry in the register fines threaten.
Jürgen Köhnlein, state head of the police union (DPolG), says: The register law came about “because politicians played tricks on the side and we are all put in the same bag”. When his union takes a position on draft legislation, for example on police procurement, you bring in your knowledge – on behalf of the officers and for the cause. “We don’t want to sell anything.” For Köhnlein, the register “is not technically thought through to the end.”
More transparency as a goal
The lobby register is a result of the mask affair, along with the new Members of Parliament Act and the changed obligation to report sideline activities. Anyone who wants to assert interests as a lobby group in the future must register and confirm a code of conduct. The aim of the platform is more transparency, the “legislative and executive footprint” of organizations should be publicly visible. According to media reports, legal experts from the two government groups said they could not understand the complaints.
“We want a close exchange and dialogue – but also far-reaching transparency,” emphasized Tobias Reiß (CSU). Alexander Hold (FW) said that “in the interest of credible transparency” one deliberately went beyond the rules at federal level, “without ignoring constitutional concerns”. He is looking forward to the decisions of the courts.