RICHMOND -- How much money did payday lenders spend last year trying to beat back efforts to reform their business practices in Virginia?

What did regional players such as Appalachian Power Co., the Virginia Tech Foundation and the Carilion Health System -- with its Carilion Clinic helping to launch a new medical school in Roanoke -- spend trying to influence outcomes in the General Assembly?

And which corporations and industry groups spent the most to wine and dine state legislators and executive branch officials?

Some answers to those questions are found in thousands of pages of lobbyist expenditure reports filed with the state secretary of the commonwealth in Richmond. And now, for the first time, the information also can be found in searchable, user-friendly form on the Web site of the Virginia Public Access Project (www.vpap.org). Beginning today, VPAP's site includes lobbyist spending data for the 12-month period that ended April 30.

The addition of lobbyist data marks the latest step in the project's efforts to shine light on the influence of money in state politics. For more than a decade, the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has compiled and distilled campaign finance data for state elections. It also keeps track of the personal financial holdings of state elected officials and lobbyist registrations, and it recently began tracking campaign contributions in local elections.

"VPAP's mission is to take public information that's impenetrable and make it understandable, or at least publicly accessible," said David Poole, VPAP's executive director. "It became a natural next step to put these disclosure reports on the site."

Compiling the lobbyist information in a database and putting it online was "a massive undertaking" for Poole, a staff member and a part-time data entry worker, he said.

The data VPAP compiled reveals plenty about lobbying activities before and during the 2008 General Assembly session. For example:

• Payday lenders spent nearly $4 million, far exceeding other lobbying interests, in an unsuccessful effort to defeat legislation putting new restrictions on their industry. Of the top 12 spenders on lobbying, four were payday lending interests.

• Few businesses and institutions with a major presence in the Roanoke and New River valleys cracked the top 100 in lobbyist expenditures. Appalachian Power spent nearly $86,000, almost all of it to cover compensation and expenses for lobbyists. The Virginia Tech Foundation spent more than $63,000 to cover similar costs.

• Entertainment expenses run the gamut, from the thousands of dollars Dominion Virginia Power spent on tickets and food at Washington Redskins games and NASCAR races to the $260 the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association spent on food for a Super Bowl party at the Richmond residence of House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, D-Henry County.

• Lobbying activity was most intense during the two months that the legislature was in session. Lobbying events were held on all but six days between Jan. 9 and March 13, and five of the idle days fell on weekends, according to an events calendar compiled by VPAP.

Plenty of wiggle room

Despite their efforts, some questions about lobbyist disclosures remain difficult to answer. That's because the state's reporting requirements give lobbyists and their clients wiggle room when it comes to disclosing the focus of their activities, their compensation and other spending.

"My sense of the disclosure law is that there's a lot of room for interpretation," said Mark Lawrence, vice president of governmental and external affairs for Carilion Health System, the parent organization of Carilion Clinic. Lawrence serves on a VPAP advisory board that includes lobbyists, government officials and former journalists.

The disclosure forms are filed with the state secretary of the commonwealth, but the office "does not have any type of auditing powers" to ensure that reports are as complete as possible, said Chris Frink, the office's lobbyist specialist.

Carilion spent more than $33,000 lobbying state government in the past reporting year, much less than some health systems in other regions of the state. On its disclosure report, Carilion listed 17 separate issues that were the focus of its lobbying efforts. Many disclosure reports are much less specific, listing only broad areas of interest to a particular lobbying client.

The disclosure forms filed with the secretary of the commonwealth's office require lobbyists to list "executive and legislative actions (with as much specificity as possible) for which you lobbied and a description of activities conducted." Instructions issued with the forms give guidance that may seem contradictory: "Briefly describe the focus of your lobbying efforts. Be as specific as possible."

Some descriptions are as brief as this one from Philip Morris USA: "All matters pertaining to the manufacture, distribution, sale and use of tobacco products." Some, such as the Family Foundation of Virginia, list every issue and every piece of legislation they track in a particular year.

The disclosure requirements also give lobbyists latitude in disclosing their compensation, particularly for those who have other responsibilities with the same employer.

Some lawmakers chafe at a requirement for lobbyists to identify legislators who attend meals or other functions that cost $50 or more per person. For meals, the cost is typically determined by dividing the total bill by the number of people attending a dinner or reception. And that can be misleading.

House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, recalled once showing up at a legislative reception long after most attendees had left. The food was gone, but someone offered Griffith a drink while he chatted with an acquaintance.

"I finally accepted a glass of tea or cranberry juice, I can't remember," Griffith said. Disclosure reports later listed Griffith as a recipient of $127 worth of food and beverages at the event.

Griffith cited that example as evidence that disclosure laws can be improved. But he said it's important for the public to know how lawmakers are influenced by lobbyists.

"I do think the public has a right to know," he said. "If I'm going out with lobbyists every night and eating surf and turf, people ought to know that."