Evidence that the Albany trough is really drying up

The Albany Times-Union is reporting today that the amount spent on lobbying actually declined last year. Fewer scraps to fight for?

It’s only the second time that lobbying expenditures have fallen since the state started keeping records in 1978. The other drop came between 1999 and 2000, when expenditures went from $72 million to $66 million.

Most of the drop was attributed to a bad economy in 2009, say observers — including some lobbyists.