A lobbyist registry for the city of Kelowna, British Columbia, is now live and operational.

On September 11, the city of Kelowna City Council had established a Lobbyist Registry through a policy, Council Policy 390 Lobbyist Registry, to promote transparency by establishing registration and disclosure requirements for those seeking to influence a decision of council.

The council chose a policy rather than enacting a by-law and gave the city time to establish an electronic registry within the umbrella of the city of Kelowna’s official website.

The Policy applies to all lobbyists engaging in lobbying of a council member.

Lobbying is defined as communicating verbally or in writing, or to meet with an elected official for the purpose of influencing a decision of the council.

A lobbyist is defined as an individual, whether paid or voluntary, who lobbies an elected official regarding a matter within the council’s jurisdiction.

The lobbyist may represent individual interests or represent an organization, whether employed by that organization or on behalf of a different organization.

A lobbyist must register with the city within 5 days of lobbying a council member.

Each registration is considered active for six months, after which a new registration must be filed for lobbying activities.

The Lobbyist Registry allows the public to view and search the Registry online and is updated daily on regular business days with new registrations.