Nine groups spent $757,926 soliciting state legislators last year.

According to a compilation of reports filed with the N.C. Secretary of State, three-fourths of the money was spent by the Partnership for North Carolina's Future.

Launched in May of 2007, the group spent $588,441 advocating on growth issues such as open space, water and sewer needs, traffic congestion and housing.

Solicitation is different from lobbying in that it seeks to connect members of the public with lawmakers to influence their votes using such things as Web sites and direct-mail campaigns.

Major spenders included groups that work on growth issues.

The Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County, an industry group, spent $71,340 on solicitation. N.C. Go, which works on transportation issues, spent $32,927. The N.C. Homeowners Alliance, which opposed the transfer tax, spent $19,554.

The remaining groups worked on a variety of issues.

The Coalition for Persons Disabled by Mental Illness spent $19,698. The Alliance for Digital Equality, which advocates for minorities on telecommunications issues, spent $14,676. Dix 306, a group of business and community leaders advocating for the Dorothea Dix hospital property in Raleigh to become a major urban park, spent $8,068.

And Return America, a Judeo-Christian group that opposes same-sex marriage and abortion, spent $3,219.

Other groups may also have spent money. Under state law, advocacy groups only have to file solicitation reports if they spend more than $3,000 on it in a 90-day period.

The latest lobbying reports show that the N.C. Association of Realtors has spent another $109,000 on lobbying and advertising campaigns largely aimed at stopping lawmakers from giving voters the opportunity to adopt a land transfer tax. The reports also show that a partnership of public officials and businesses has also spent serious money on the other side.

The Partnership for North Carolina's Future spent over $400,000 on advertising, polling and consulting, according to its latest report. A couple of the groups that are a members of the partnership, the N.C. Association of County Commissioners and greenspace advocate Land for Tomorrow have also spent $138,000 or more, according to lobbying reports. Land for Tomorrow lists a $200,000 payment to the partnership for its "publicity ad campaign," money that has yet to be spent on lobbying or advertising.

Read more after the jump.

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The cost of preserving land in North Carolina nearly tripled in 10 years.

According to a study released today by Land for Tomorrow, the price of conservation lands jumped from $699 to $2,691 per acre from 1996 to 2005 — a 285 percent increase.

The analysis was based on data from the State Property Office on conservation purchases.

Kate Dixon, executive director of the Durham nonprofit, said the study shows the need for the state to spend on conservation now, before land is developed and prices rise.

"Waiting will only mean higher prices and lost opportunities," she said in a statement.

Land for Tomorrow has called for the state to spend $1 billion over the next five years. It is also a member of the Partnership for N.C.'s Future coalition.

A new ad campaign calls for higher taxes, but not in so many words.

Television spots for the Partnership for North Carolina's Future note that the state is undergoing a population boom that is causing congestion and sprawl and draining natural resources.

It ends with this vague call to action:

"Contact your legislators now. Urge them to make needed investments in North Carolina's future before it's too late."

The group's Web site is more specific. It calls for giving more counties the option to tax real estate sales; spending $4.2 billion on bonds for schools, conservation, clean water and affordable housing; and increasing a highway use tax.

The partnership includes state associations for school boards, county commissioners and city leaders; advocates for affordable housing and land conservation; and a lobbying group for transportation.