WHO'S DONATING MONEY TO YOUR LEGISLATOR?

Who is trying to influence your local legislator and public policy in Sacramento?

Follow the money.

That task got a lot easier when Berkeley nonprofit MapLight.org launched an interactive database that allows users to track the flow of money to state legislators in California.

The new website includes data on $189 million in campaign contributions to current members of the California Assembly and Senate from Jan. 1, 2003, to March 17, 2010.

The data, which is reported to the secretary of state, was compiled by the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Users can search donations by legislator, interest group and companies that donate money to state lawmakers.

For example, construction unions have been the biggest donors to lawmakers in Sacramento, pouring $4.7 million into legislative campaigns during the two-year period ending March 17. Attorneys and law firms are in second place, with $2.8 million during the same period.

State Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat who represents southern Sonoma County, is the most prolific fundraiser on the North Coast. He raised $2.1 million over the past two years. Attorneys and law firms were the single biggest donor, contributing more than $153,000.

Our other lawmakers? Here's how much they raised over the past two years (and their biggest source of donations):

Sen. Pat Wiggins: $580,028 (with $60,000 from construction unions)

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans: $552,449 (with $56,150 from construction unions)

Assemblyman Jared Huffman: $516,210 (with $32,300 from construction unions)

Assemblyman Wes Chesbro: $467,043 (with $47,350 from construction unions)

-- Ted Appel