(a) General Reporting Obligations.
(1) The Lobbying Act requires public
disclosure of the identities, activities and expenditures of Lobbyists and
Clients. To constitute reportable Lobbying, there must be (1) an attempt to
influence an activity listed in §1-c(c) of the Lobbying Act, and (2) the
cumulative Compensation and Expenses received, expended or incurred for any
such activities must exceed $5,000 in any calendar year during a biennial
period.
(2) Lobbying Activity is
either Direct or Grassroots Lobbying.
(3) Lobbying Activity that includes only
Grassroots Lobbying does not require the identification or disclosure of any
Individual Lobbyists except as set forth in subdivisions (e) and (f) of section
943.7.
(4) Once a person or entity has triggered the
requirement to register and file reports as a Lobbyist, both Direct and
Grassroots Lobbying Activities are reportable, even if expenditures were only
incurred for one type of lobbying.
(5) An organization lobbying on its own
behalf has designated itself as its own Lobbyist and, if it meets the
requirements in subsection (1), must register and file applicable lobbying
reports.
(6) A person lobbying on
their own behalf has designated themself as their own Lobbyist and, if they
meet the requirements in subsection (1), must register and file applicable
lobbying reports.
(b)
Obligations of the Responsible Party.
(1) All
Statements or Reports required under the Lobbying Act or set forth in the
Commission's regulations must be signed by the Responsible Party for the
Lobbyist or Client, as applicable, or another who has been designated to sign
and file such required Statement or Report. Such a designation must be signed
by the Responsible Party and Designee, completed and submitted to the
Commission before the due date of such Statements or Reports.
(c) Cumulative threshold. For
purposes of calculating total Compensation and Expenses received, expended or
incurred by a Lobbyist or Client, the $5,000 annual threshold shall be computed
cumulatively for all Lobbying Activities undertaken by the Lobbyist or Client
(whether as a Beneficial Client or Contractual Client).
(d) Accounting Methods.
(1) All Compensation and Expenses associated
with Lobbying Activity should be accounted for using accrual basis accounting,
i.e., costs are reported in the period in which they are incurred.
(2) A Lobbyist or Client has a duty to amend
a Bi-Monthly or Client Semi-Annual Report after a previously reported payment
is written down, written off, or otherwise modified for bookkeeping
purposes.
(e) Expenses.
(1) Definition
An Expense is any cost of Lobbying Activity
that is not Lobbyist Compensation.
(i)
An Expense can only be incurred in connection with a Lobbying
Activity.
(2) Types
(i) Non-lobbying staff salaries. Non-lobbying
staff salaries include Compensation paid to those professional and clerical
employees who do not engage in Direct or Grassroots Lobbying Activity.
(a) Salaries of non-lobbying staff should be
reported in the aggregate.
(b)
Lobbyist filer should have a good faith methodology that demonstrates how the
allocation of non-lobbying staff time was reached.
(ii) Aggregated. Expenses of $75 or less may
be reported as a single aggregate total.
(iii) Itemized. Expenses valued at more than
$75 must be itemized - reporting the payee, the nature of the expense, and the
value.
(a) Client Filer should indicate if
the Expense was a reimbursement to the Lobbyist.
(b) Lobbyist filer should indicate whether
the Expense was reimbursed by the Client.
(iv) Reimbursed. Lobbyist should report the
aggregate value of all Expenses (regardless of value of the individual
Expenses) that were reimbursed by the Client.
(3) Exclusions. The following are not
reportable Expenses:
(i) State or local
lobbying filing fees;
(ii) Printing
or postage that does not exceed $500 in the aggregate;
(iii) Travel, lodging, or meals for a
Lobbyist;
(iv) Any expense that is
incurred in the ordinary course of business, regardless of the nature of
business - for example, rent, utilities, telephones, computers; and
(v) Any amount reportable as a contribution
under article fourteen of the election law.
(f) Compensation.
Compensation means all direct or indirect payments of salaries
or other things of value provided to a Lobbyist in exchange for Lobbying or
services that are otherwise in furtherance of Lobbying Activity, including
year-end or other bonuses but not fringe benefits.
(g) Record Keeping.
(1) All expenditures of $50 or more related
to Lobbying Activity must be paid by check or supported by receipt.
(2) Such checks or receipts must be
maintained for three years from the date the expense was required to be
reported.
(h) Filing
Requirements for Multi-Party Lobbying Relationships and Coalitions.
Some Lobbyist/Client relationships include multiple
Lobbyists, multiple Clients, or multiple entities comprising a single Client,
and all of these entities must be disclosed in Lobbying reports filed with the
Commission.
(1) Requirements relating
to Contractual vs. Beneficial Clients.
(i)
All reports requiring disclosure of the Client must include both the
Contractual and Beneficial Client(s).
(ii) The Contractual Client is responsible
for filing Client Semi-Annual Reports, except for the Source of Funding
Disclosure section of such Report, as set forth in subparagraph (iii) of this
paragraph and Part 938 of this Title.
(iii) The Beneficial Client is responsible
for the Source of Funding Disclosure section of the Client Semi-Annual Report,
as set forth in Part 938 of this Title.
(iv) Contractual Clients and Beneficial
Clients are each responsible for disclosing Reportable Business Relationships,
as set forth in section
943.14
of this Part.
(2)
Multiple Lobbyists. All reports must disclose all Lobbyists performing
services, whether on a single contract or through a subcontracting
relationship.
(i) Subcontracting.
(a) A Lobbyist who, after entering into a
Lobbying agreement with a Contractual Client, retains the services of another
to perform a portion of the services within the scope of the agreement, is a
Prime Lobbyist.
(b) A Lobbyist who
is engaged to perform services by a Prime Lobbyist, as part of an agreement
between the Prime Lobbyist and the Contractual Client, is a
Sub-Lobbyist.
(c) A Prime Lobbyist
and Sub-Lobbyist are both subject to the reporting requirements of the Lobbying
Act, to be filed on forms provided by the Commission, but are only required to
disclose the Lobbying Activity and Compensation and Expenses related to the
services they each provided, respectively.
(d) On any Bi-Monthly Report or Statement of
Registration, the Prime Lobbyist must identify the Client, itself and all
Sub-Lobbyists engaged on behalf of the Client.
(e) On any Bi-Monthly Report or Statement of
Registration, the Sub-Lobbyist need only identify itself, the Prime Lobbyist
and the Beneficial Client.
(ii) Co-Lobbyist.
All Lobbyists who are retained by a Client on the same single
retainer agreement or contract are Co-Lobbyists, and must file individual
Lobbying reports with the Commission. Co-Lobbyists must identify other
Co-Lobbyists but need disclose only their own Lobbying Activity and
Compensation and Expenses.
(3) Coalitions.
(i) Policy. This paragraph sets forth the
filing requirements for groups that qualify as a Coalition. Depending on the
nature of a Coalition, as set forth in subparagraph (iii) below, a Coalition
(that spends more than $5,000 on lobbying) must file its own Lobbying reports
or its members (who spend more than $5,000 on lobbying) must disclose their
Coalition Contributions in their own lobbying reports.
(ii) Definition.
(a)
Coalition means a group
of otherwise-unaffiliated entities or members that pool funds or resources for
the primary purpose of engaging in Lobbying Activities on behalf of the members
of the Coalition and have not incorporated or otherwise created a legal
entity.
(b)
Member
of a Coalition includes any person or entity that makes a Contribution, as
defined in subparagraph (d) of this subdivision, to the Coalition.
(c)
Affiliated has the
meaning described in section
943.3 of
this Title.
(d)
Contribution to a Coalition means the provision of funds or
resources to the Coalition, including, but not limited to, the donation of
services, and the incurrence of expenses on behalf of the
Coalition.
(iii)
(a) A Coalition that designates an individual
to serve as its President, Treasurer, or in such capacity, is considered a
Structured Coalition and must file its own lobbying reports, as set forth in
subparagraph (iv) below. One such designated individual(s) shall serve as the
Responsible Party for the Coalition's filings.
(b) A Coalition that has not designated such
an individual to serve as its President, Treasurer, or in such capacity, is
considered an Unstructured Coalition and shall not file its own lobbying
reports; instead, its Members shall disclose their Contributions to the
Coalition in their own lobbying reports as set forth in subparagraph (v)
below.
(iv) A Structured
Coalition shall comply with the following:
(a) The Structured Coalition shall file a
Lobbying report with the Commission identifying itself as a Lobbyist and/or a
Client and report all of the Coalition's Lobbying Activity.
(b) The Structured Coalition must adhere to
the reporting requirements set forth in this Part, including disclosing
Compensation and Expenses related to the Structured Coalition.
(1) In addition to all Expenses incurred by
the Structured Coalition on its own behalf, the Structured Coalition must
disclose any Expenses incurred by a Member on behalf of the Structured
Coalition.
(c) Any
associated filings involving the Structured Coalition (including filings by
Lobbyists retained by the Structured Coalition and/or filings by the Structured
Coalition itself) shall list the Structured Coalition as the Contractual Client
and Beneficial Client.
(d) Members
of a Structured Coalition are not required to be listed as Beneficial
Clients.
(e) A Structured Coalition
Member's Contribution(s) is not considered a Lobbying Expenditure for purposes
of the Member determining whether it has met the $5,000 threshold triggering
reportable lobbying.
(f) Members of
a Structured Coalition shall not report any Contributions to the Coalition on
their own filings.
(v) A
Member of an Unstructured Coalition shall disclose their Coalition
Contribution(s) in their own Lobbying reports and comply with the following:
(a) A Member's Contribution(s) is considered
a Lobbying Expenditure for purposes of the Member determining whether it has
met the $5,000 threshold triggering reportable lobbying.
(b) Each Member who meets the $5,000
threshold (either through their Contribution(s) to such Unstructured
Coalition(s) and/or other Lobbying Activity engaged in by the Member) and who
is thereby required to file a Lobbying report, must disclose in such report any
Unstructured Coalition Contributions.
(c) If a Member currently files a Lobbying
Report, it shall disclose its Unstructured Coalition Contributions in that
report. If a Member does not currently file a Lobbying Report and its
Contribution to such an Unstructured Coalition triggers reportable Lobbying, it
must register as its own Lobbyist and file Bi-Monthly and Client Semi-Annual
Reports that disclose the Member's Unstructured Coalition Contributions in
accordance with this subparagraph, and identify itself as the Contractual
Client and Beneficial Client.
(d)
Members shall disclose the following in the Expense section of their Lobbying
reports:
(1) the name of the Unstructured
Coalition;
(2) all Contributions
made by the Member to the Unstructured Coalition; and
(3) any Expenses incurred by the Member on
behalf of the Unstructured Coalition, which can be from the Member's own direct
Contributions and/or from the Unstructured Coalition's pool of funds. Members
must include the following information related to such incurred Expense:
(i) the purpose of the incurred Expense;
and
(ii) whether it was incurred
using 100% of such Member's own funds (also considered a direct Contribution)
or whether it was incurred using part of such Member's funds (such portion also
considered a direct Contribution) and part of the Unstructured Coalition's
pooled funds.
(e) Lobbyists retained, by a Member of an
Unstructured Coalition, to lobby on behalf of a Coalition pursuant to this
subparagraph shall disclose such Member as the Contractual Client and the
Beneficial Client.
(f) Each
Member's Contribution to an Unstructured Coalition is considered a Lobbying
expenditure for purposes of determining whether the Member is subject to the
Source of Funding disclosure requirements set forth in Part 938 of this Title.
(i)
Except as otherwise provided in this Part, all references to Lobbyists and
Clients include Public Corporations.
(j) Industrial Development Agencies
Representing Populations Exceeding 5,000.
(i)
Real property purchase, sale, or lease agreements, including
purchase-leaseback, lease-leaseback, and other hybrid agreements by Industrial
Development Agencies representing populations exceeding 5,000 are Procurement
Contracts, and as a result, Attempts to Influence a determination by a Public
Official regarding such a Procurement Contract constitute Reportable Lobbying.
This includes the inclusion of or terms to an agreement for Payments in Lieu of
Taxes.
(ii) Resolutions of an
Industrial Development Agency (representing a population of more than 5,000)
are covered activities under Section 1-c(c) of the Lobbying Act, and as a
result, attempts to influence such a resolution can constitute Reportable
Lobbying. This includes the inclusion of, or terms to an agreement for Payments
in lieu of Taxes.