ALBANY – Regular listeners of the syndicated radio talk show “Imus in the Morning” are accustomed to hearing about the charitable interests of the program’s host, Don Imus. They also have often been told of how Mr. Imus came to know about many of the health and social causes he espouses on air: his wife.

From Sudden Infant Death Syndrome to meatless diets, Deirdre Imus appears to have perfected the art of getting her message on a variety of issues across to millions of radio listeners each week through the status she attained upon marrying a famous man. Now it appears she is using that recognition to influence public policy in New York.

Governor Pataki had legislation introduced last month to require the use of non-toxic cleaning supplies at all public schools. The new legislation follows a January executive order in which the governor essentially ordered the use of non-toxic cleansers by all state agencies, including the state university system and the state Department of Corrections.

Both actions are consistent with Mr. Pataki’s record of environmental action, but probably neither would have come about without the efforts of Mrs. Imus, who won an invitation to the governor’s New York City office last spring to discuss the merits of non-toxic cleaning.

The adoption of a rule that will affect procurement practices at roughly 700 state facilities, reversing established practices and shaking up complex supply chains, not to mention the possibility that the state’s thousands of public schools may be required to follow suit, raises fresh questions about the increasing influence celebrities have on the political process in New York.

From Cynthia Nixon to Russell Simmons, famous New Yorkers are taking a lead role in promoting pet causes in Albany. And what they say in private meetings appears to have as much impact on policy as what they wear has on the clothing tastes of teenagers.

The president of the Temporary State Commission on Lobbying, David Grandeau, said recently he expects celebrities to account for an increased amount of state lobbying in coming years.

That prediction appeared prescient when a legendary quarterback, Joe Namath, a talk-show host, Montel Williams, and a 2004 presidential candidate, Reverend Alford Sharpton, all appeared in Albany within a 24-hour period this week to advocate for causes.

Citing last year’s presidential election, in which a number of celebrities took to the campaign trail, Mr. Grandeau said the lobbying landscape here will follow suit.

“It’s been my experience that lobbying tools tend to lag behind political tools by about two years,” Mr. Grandeau said. “Obviously, the reason for that is that people who run campaigns end up doing lobbying. They see what works on the political campaign trail and they bring it to their lobbying work.”

Which is not to say Mrs. Imus was induced to promote non-toxic cleaning supplies on behalf of a hidden client. But it does mean advocates with familiar last names are more likely to make themselves heard.

“I called Pataki and asked if I could meet with him and his staff,” Mrs. Imus said in a recent telephone interview with The New York Sun. “He listened to me and got it right away. He just said that he was in agreement with what we were saying and was happy he could do something to have a healthier environment for our children.”

That Mrs. Imus influenced Mr. Pataki’s “green cleaning” initiative was no secret. The governor invited her to attend the January State of the State address, at which the order was announced, and he singled her out for her efforts. “Thank you for joining us today, and for all your hard work to protect our environment and our children,” Mr. Pataki said.

Nor does her advocacy on the issue appear in any way improper. She reaped no monetary benefits from the push for non-toxic cleaning supplies, Mrs. Imus said, and indeed it has cost her and her husband money.

“I don’t get paid for any of this,” she said. “I don’t profit at all. I’m only putting my own money into it. I get paid a penny a year.”

Mrs. Imus markets a line of non-toxic cleansers through the four-year-old Deirdre Imus Center for Pediatric Oncology at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. None of the products she sells, however, is on the list of approved cleaners for state agencies, according to information obtained from the Office of General Services. And any profits the center may eventually make, Mrs. Imus said, will go to charity.

Under state law, anyone who spends or receives more than $2,000 to influence the passage or rejection of any piece of legislation must register with the state lobbying commission. Mrs. Imus seems not to have been required to register as a lobbyist, and she hasn’t done so.

Her first green-cleaning success came when she convinced administrators at the Hackensack medical center, the nation’s fourth largest hospital, to switch to non-toxic cleaning supplies in 2001. Several states and municipalities have mandated the use of non-toxic cleaning supplies in recent years. Mr. Pataki’s order, for example, is said to resemble a plan adopted by Santa Monica, Calif.

Mrs. Imus said that through her efforts more than 20 hospitals have switched to non-toxic cleansers, and that at her urging 27 other clients – including Senator McCain of Arizona, who is a regular guest on the Imus show – have also switched to non-toxic cleansers either at home or at the office. She said each client has saved between 3% and 75% on cleaning bills as a result of the switch.

When Mrs. Imus met with Mr. Pataki on April 8, 2004, the governor’s staff was already aware of statistics she presented on decreased sickness among schoolchildren and lower costs to the state from non-toxic cleaners, she said – and Mr. Pataki needed little convincing.

“He’s been unbelievable in the things he’s already done,” she said. “I gave him all the reasons, but his staff was aware of many of these facts already.”

Non-toxic chemicals had already been in use in small amounts at state agencies before the fateful meeting last spring. A spokesman for the Office of General Services, Jennifer Morris, said that prior to the executive order the agency maintained an inventory of 86 non-toxic cleansers. The total number of cleaning products, toxic and otherwise, ran into the thousands, Ms. Morris said. As part of the executive order, procurement agents will make sure that the existing inventory is used during the next year and replaced by non-toxic supplies. Buyers who opt for the old products will have to justify their decisions in writing.

Deciding on a supplier is simplified by a state law that requires agencies to use one of several “preferred sources” when obtaining supplies. The sources are preferred because of their affiliation with organizations that hire disabled workers as part of the manufacturing or packaging process. In cases where preferred sources have not obtained products required by an agency, an open bidding process goes into effect.

Ms. Morris said her office is unsure at this point whether an RFP will be required. The cost of switching to nontoxic supplies is not yet known, though Ms. Morris cited a 5% cost reduction in Santa Monica as evidence the plan may lower costs. Ms. Morris also said the practice is too recent for officials to know if it has improved anyone’s health, or lowered absenteeism, for state workers.

Mr. Pataki’s executive order allows agencies six months to use up existing inventory. One year after the order, the head of every state agency must deliver a report detailing implementation and providing justification for cases in which non-toxic chemicals were not adopted. The governor’s proposed law for replacing chemicals at public schools throughout the state must pass through both houses of the Legislature to become law.

Efforts at changing or adopting an executive order do not qualify as lobbying, according to current law, regardless of how much money is earned or spent in the process. The Legislature is considering bills that would change the lobbying law to include executive orders. The legislative director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, Blair Horner, called the exclusion of executive orders from the law a necessary area for reform.

“It’s ridiculous that the law doesn’t cover it now, and certainly in our view if someone is getting paid to influence any official action of government they should be reporting their activities,” Mr. Horner said.

A number of celebrities have urged legislative change at the state Capitol in recent years with varying degrees of success. Cynthia Nixon and Bruce Willis, the actors, publicly pressured Mr. Pataki to release more state funds for New York City public schools in 2002. Russell Simmons, the hip-hop artist, visited Mr. Pataki at Albany two years ago in an effort to change the state’s sentencing guidelines for drug related crimes.

Mr. Simmons is under investigation for allegedly attempting to influence the decision of lawmakers by giving them a helicopter ride to Albany. State lobbying law prohibits gifts valued at more than $75. Each violation is subject to a $25,000 fine.