President Obama is making a "sea change" on the issue of lobbying, Spencer A. Overton, principal deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy, told attendees June 19 at the American Constitution Society's annual conference.

Overton's comment was given in response to a question, posed in writing to a panel of Obama officials, about the administration's policies with regard to federally registered lobbyists.

Any lobbyist hired by the administration is prohibited from working on a policy area on which they lobbied for the past two years, unless they receive a waiver. The aim was to reduce the influence of special interests on adminsitration decisions. The policy has had the effect of barring most lobbyists, including those who work for non-profit advocacy groups, from getting jobs in the administration, which has upset a large swath of Obama's progressive supporters. Obama administration officials also must comply with new restrictions designed to make communications with lobbyists more transparent.

Overton, a George Washington University legal professor currently on leave, was asked why Obama is treating lobbyists who work for nonprofits the same as lobbyists who work for corporate entities.

He said Obama understood the complaints, but wanted to establish that with his restrictions, he was "making a sea change with regard to those issues."

Overton said he had worked on the rules during the transition, and he said "it really was difficult." He said, "It is difficult to say these are the good lobbyists, and these are the bad lobbyists -- get them out of here."

The Office of Management and Budget is expected to issue guidance on its policies regarding lobbyist communication with executive branch offices within the next few weeks.