At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in the State and Federal Communications digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying, and can be found in the client portion of the State and Federal Communications’ website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly e-mail updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regards to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

Q. I have been asked to testify before a committee of the state legislature regarding a pending or potential bill. Is this considered lobbying activity?

A. As is usually the case, the answer will vary drastically depending on the state in question. In this specific situation, there are at least three variables to consider when evaluating this question:

1. Is testimony excluded from the definition of lobbying? In many states, providing information, participating in a meeting, or otherwise communicating at the request of a public official is specifically excluded from the definition of lobbying. This is true even if the information will potentially influence legislation, as long as the contact was initiated by the state. In these jurisdictions, a person may be asked to testify about a topic as an industry expert without being subject to lobbying laws. For instance, in Colorado, a person who is not otherwise registered as a lobbyist, but provides information at the request of public officials is not required to register and report. Iowa has a similar exception for people providing testimony or information at the request of a public official.

2. Is the communication before a public committee? Often, participation at a public meeting or proceeding or otherwise testifying on the public record is excluded from lobbying laws. Delaware’s exemption is a good example of a state allowing for testimony at a public hearing without lobbyist registration. Likewise, Connecticut has an exception from its definition of lobbyist for those who are not hired specifically to lobby and whose appearances are limited to public testimony.

3. Is there a pending bill before the legislature? Finally, it may be important to determine whether there is an actual bill pending before the legislative body in question, or if the putative lobbying communication is only regarding potential legislation. Certain states only regulate attempts to influence legislation that has already been introduced. North Dakota is a good example of this point. In order to be considered a lobbyist, a person must be attempting to influence a live bill. An individual does not need to register as a lobbyist for attempting to influence a potential bill.

There are very few concepts, rules, or guideless applicable to all states, and accordingly, situations like this must be examined on a case-by-case basis. For specific guidance, please contact a member of the State and Federal Communications compliance department.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

Lobbying and consulting services could soon be subject to sales tax under Governor John Kasich’s budget proposal. House Bill 59, the governor’s expansive budget bill, proposes to decrease the state sales tax rate, but makes up for lost revenue by increasing the services subject to sales tax. All service transactions would be subject to the tax unless specifically exempted in the bill, including legal and accounting services.

You can view a list of the services that will be covered by the sales tax here.

While Governor Kasich predicts lobbyists will attempt to remove the tax on their industry from the budget bill, a Florida Institute of CPAs lobbyist claims it’s not just self-interest–determining who is taxed and who pays can be tricky when lobbying firms hire both accountants and lawyers to assist with projects.

If passed, the sales tax will apply to all non-exempt services rendered on or after September 1, 2013.

February 22-25, 2013   National Governors Association Winter Meeting, Washington, D.C.

February 26, 2013  Akron/Canton SMEI 41st Distinguished Sales and Marketing Award, Akron, Ohio

March 4-7, 2013   Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference, Miami, Florida

March 6, 2013   Ohio Birthday Party, Washington D.C.

March 13-15, 2013   SGAC Annual Meeting, Savannah, Georgia

Q. We’ve had some disagreement internally within our organization – please help. As a federal registrant employing in-house lobbyists, are we only required to report the time and expenses associated with our “registered” lobbyists.

A. It’s a good question. The answer to which often gets lost amongst the efforts to report lobbyists’ activities. Federal registrants are certainly required to make best efforts to track, capture, and report the lobbying activities and expenses of those employees who meet the 20% threshold standard (lobbyist employee). In addition, registrants are equally required to track, capture, and report expenditures associated with employees who do not meet the 20% threshold but still engage in lobbying activities during the course of the quarter (non-lobbyist employees.) The names of non-lobbyist employees are not included on the report and neither is information related to what issues they addressed or contacts they made. That said, the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House have consistently advised that all employee time spent engaged in lobbying activities should be included when determining an organization’s lobbying expenses, even when the employee(s) does not meet the statutory definition of being a lobbyist. In line with the best efforts standard, then, it is important to have in place reasonable, demonstrable processes to capture both lobbyist and non-lobbyist activities.

You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in the State and Federal Communications’ digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying, and can be found in the client portion of the State and Federal Communications’ website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly e-mail updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regards to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

The first rule details when non-lobbyist employees must register as a lobbyist. In North Carolina, an employee must register as a lobbyist if a significant part of that employee’s job duties include lobbying. The new rules stipulate that this threshold is met if at least five percent of an employee’s duties include direct or goodwill lobbying during any rolling 30 day period. Once this threshold is met, the employee must register as a lobbyist within one business day.

The second rule explains what must be included when providing a description of a reportable expenditure for the lobbyist reports. The description must identify what was given, who the third party was that received the expenditure, and the name of the event or meeting where the expenditure was given.

The third rule describes how to determine the immediate family member who is connected with a reportable expenditure. On the reports, the name of the designated individual or immediate family member connected with the expenditure must be reported. The person that must be identified is the person who either received or benefited from the expenditure, or who requested the expenditure be made on someone’s behalf.

The fourth and final rule effecting lobbying details what must be reported in connection with a lobbying event. The entire cost of a lobbying event must be reported, rather than just the costs of any gifts given. Examples of the non-gift expenditures that must be reported include supplies, facility rental, food, name badges, flowers and other decorations, planning services, and all other expenses and charges incurred in connection with the lobbying event.

While the 113th Congress is just over a month old, the dynamic of the worlds most deliberative body is still being shaped. Members are retiring early, leaving congress due to legal trouble, pursuing other interests in the private sector, or joining the President’s administration. However, the majority of the legislature is in place, and Bloomberg Businessweek has a fascinating chart breaking down the professions and trades of everyone in congress.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the overwhelming number of members are lawyers. The House boasts 128 lawyers and the Senate adds another 45. The second largest group represented are businesspeople with 130 members total in both bodies. Maybe somewhat surprising is the smaller number of career politicians as only 55 members of the House and 9 members of Senate have spent their professional lives in politics.

Though congress is still largely a male dominated institution (by a margin of 337), women gained a total of six seats while men lost a total of five. Among the demographic groups with the greatest amount of change were businesspeople with a net loss of 7 seats, the entertainment industry with a net gain of 3 seats, educators with a net gain of 2 seats, and lawyers with a net gain of 2 seats. Click the image to the right to see a larger version of Businessweek’s chart.

Note: These numbers don’t include appointments and changes made in recent weeks.

TIME’s Photos has an online showcase called “Political Buttons from the Button Museum: A Chicago museum portrays the history of American politics through the prism of a simple accessory.”

One of the buttons displayed is from before the Civil War. It displays a visage of Abraham Lincoln in the year he was reelected. TIME shows eleven other buttons besides the Lincoln button, but you can see many more at the Button Museum.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, has a great assortment of political buttons.  Many are framed here at the office of State and Federal Communications.  It’s a quite impressive display.  Below you can see a few of the buttons she has collected over the years.

Thank you for reading and we will see you next time.

The Florida Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections is working on a proposed bill to revise the state’s ethics law.

The draft language relating to lobbying and gift law in the bill establishes a fine for executive branch lobbyists for failure to provide required information or knowingly providing false information in a report, and prohibits vendors from providing gifts to reporting individuals or procurement employees. Other changes the committee is considering include:

• Restrictions on former legislators’ employment as a lobbyist, such as ban on executive branch lobbying and a prohibition on becoming a partner, principal, or employee of a firm whose primary business is lobbying the state legislature within the two years after a legislator leaves office; and
• A prohibition on or reduced gift limit for gifts to covered individuals from committees of continuous existence, or CCEs. House Speaker Will Weatherford has called for elimination of CCEs, which are often used by legislators to pay for meals, travel, and gifts.

The committee plans to have final draft language available on January 18, and plans to consider the proposed bill at its January 22 meeting.

It’s Friday again and Highlighted Site of the Week has a special edition for you. This week, we honor the anniversary of the first televised broadcast of the U.S. House proceedings, which took place on January 3, 1947.

The first feature is the Historical Highlights page from the U.S. House of Representatives’ History, Art & Archives site. We also have the U.S. Congress and Television page from The Museum of Broadcasting Communications.

On the Archives website, you will find information about what happened during the proceedings. According to the site:

“The first live television broadcast from the House Chamber occurred during the opening session of the 80th Congress (1947–1949). The two-hour broadcast appeared on a local television station and was transmitted to Philadelphia and New York. The broadcast captured the ritual of opening day ceremonies and concluded after Speaker Joseph Martin’s opening address.”

On the Museum site it will give you more in depth details about the congress and their televised proceedings.

If you would like to see videos from the history of the Office of the Clerk, take a look at their YouTube Channel.

Thanks for reading and we will see you next time!

January 29-30, 2013  GOVERNING’s Outlook in the States & Localities Conference 2013: The Power of States and Localities,
Washington, D.C.

February 5-8, 2013   Public Affairs Council National Grassroots Conference, Key West, Florida

February 22-25, 2013   National Governors Association Winter Meeting Washington, D.C.

Q. I am an in-house employee; however, I am not a registered lobbyist in my responsible state. Although I engage in lobbying activities from time to time, I do not meet the state’s registration threshold. However, other people from my company are registered. Do I have to disclose my expenditure and/or compensation for lobbying activities on company reports?

A. In some jurisdictions, although you are not a registered lobbyist, you may be required to include your expenditure and/or compensation information on company lobbying disclosure reports. There are 27 states requiring some level of reporting for non-lobbyist employees, including Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Every state treats non-lobbyist reporting differently. For example, in California, you are only required to include your compensation and reimbursed expenditures on a quarterly employer report if you spend more than 10% or more of your compensated time in a calendar month engaging in lobbying activities. In states such as North Carolina, Illinois, or New Jersey, permissible expenditures on behalf of public officials must be reported by the employer or registered lobbyist.

In the above jurisdictions where your company has an active lobbying presence, monitoring potential reportable activity is incredibly important. Although your level of activity may not necessitate registration in a state, you must become familiar with the state’s non-lobbyist reporting requirements, and carefully track activity, which may include the following:

• Compensation for lobbying activity;
• Personal reimbursed expenditures for food, travel, or lodging in connection with lobbying activity;
• Expenditures on behalf of public officials or employees;
• Sponsorships for events where public officials or employees will be present and receive a benefit; and/or
• Subject matter lobbied, including agencies contacted.

In sum, as you are reviewing your potential lobbyist registration obligations for the new year, it is just as important to review your potential reporting obligations as a non-lobbyist employee in the jurisdictions where your level of activity does not require registration.

You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

Q. I am a registered lobbyist who will be having a colleague accompany me to meetings with legislators. Should I be concerned with registration and/or reporting for my colleague?

A. Many individuals believe the presence of a registered lobbyist relieves a person of any disclosure requirements. Most jurisdictions have no exemption for this scenario. Lobbyist registration and reporting is required upon meeting the registration threshold.

Some jurisdictions do have limited exemptions from lobbyist registration requirements. In California, these particular actions would not be counted towards the lobbyist registration threshold. You do not engage in direct communication when you meet with a covered official in the company of a registered lobbyist retained by you or your employer. In Idaho, corporate employees need not register if the corporation is registered as a lobbyist and designates one or more of its employees as the corporation’s official lobbyist and the designated lobbyist is also registered.

Even if registration is not required, you must consider the applicable reporting requirements. A number of jurisdictions require your employer to report all lobbying expenses, which include those for employees who lobby but do not meet the registration requirements. Wisconsin specifically requires the disclosure of pro-rata compensation and expenses for these non-lobbyist employees. In Idaho, even if you are not required to register as discussed above, expenditures made by unregistered corporate employees in a lobbying effort must appear on the applicable reports.

Whenever you lobby state officials, consider all disclosure and compliance requirements, especially those related to the reporting for a non-lobbyist employee.

You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.