LobbyComply Blog

The Oklahoma Ethics Commission announced the updated 2026 Ethics Rules are available. Campaign finance updates include increasing the limit for cash contributions from $50 to $200. In lobbying regulations, the rule permitting infrequent gifts from legislative lobbyists on occasions of personal significance has been repealed. The governor, legislators, or any employee of the governor or the Legislature may now accept gifts of traditional business expenses from legislative lobbyists and lobbyist principals. Meals and other traditional business expenses, as well as non-meal food and beverage, are reported when the cumulative yearly total exceeds $20. Lobbyist principals of legislative lobbyists may now provide food and beverage for legislative sessions.

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Before adjourning the 94th Legislature last week, lawmakers passed an omnibus bill amending campaign finance and lobbying reporting. House File 4239 modifies requirements for disclaimers on campaign advertisements. The bill removes the requirement of including the official’s address when reporting a gift and instead requires the lobbyist to include the official’s name, title, the government jurisdiction, and the date of the gift. The bill eliminates the requirement to report certain costs associated grassroots lobbying but requires a disclaimer on grassroots lobbying material, identifying the individual or association responsible for the content and allows for a penalty of $3,000 if the disclaimer is not included. Gov. Walz signed the bill on May 18, making the lobbying changes effective immediately.

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The North Dakota Ethics Commission adopted new travel disclosure rules, requiring all elected and appointed officials to file disclosure statements when receiving funding for travel. The rules require the official to disclose the purpose of the travel; the destination; dates; funding source; the cost; and whether the expenses were for air transportation, ground transportation, lodging, meals, entertainment, or other activities. The governor and attorney general oppose the rules, claiming the state constitution does not permit the commission to create or impose penalties for ethics-related violations.

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Comply with state and local procurement lobbying rules. Our online guidebooks make it easy to view regulations all in one place. Learn more here.

The Connecticut General Assembly adjourned on May 6. During the session, lawmakers passed House Bill 5532, which makes changes to monetary thresholds under the state code of ethics. Changes include increasing the threshold for filing monthly lobbyist reports, reporting lobbying expenditures, and for registration of lobbyists who are not compensated but make gifts to public officials. The thresholds for certain exempted gifts also increased. Additionally, the threshold for reporting gifts given to public officials by a person doing business or seeking to do business with the state is doubled to $20. If approved by the governor, relevant provisions of the bill will be effective October 1. This does affect lobbying reporting. The final monthly employer activity report required for the regular session is due June 10.

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City Council approved Ordinance 52-928, concerning amendments to the ethics code applicable to city officials. Present law allows the mayor and council members to accept complimentary food at and admission to an event or meeting hosted by a nonprofit organization, educational institution or service, government, political or policy-based organization, community development organization, or faith-based organization. The ordinance expands this provision to include appointed board and commission members and their relatives, and makes other updates intended to improve clarity and transparency. The ordinance takes effect April 24.

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Invite them out for coffee or a steak? Make sure you know the gift restrictions of your state or municipality. Request a demo of our online guidebooks today.

Utah Senate Bill 145, signed by Gov. Spencer Cox on March 17, 2026, amends several provisions of the state’s lobbying laws. The changes are effective May 6, 2026, and address procurement lobbying, contingency fee restrictions, university event expenditures, and de minimis gift thresholds.

What Does Utah SB 145 Change?

SB 145 touches four distinct areas of Utah lobbying compliance. Here is a breakdown of each amendment.

Procurement Lobbying Deregulated for Local and Education Entities

SB 145 removes procurement activities from the relevant lobbying definitions that apply to local government lobbying and board of education lobbying. Under the revised definitions, local and education lobbying generally covers legislative and administrative actions, but does not include  adjudicative proceedings and purchasing and contracting decisions.

This change deregulates local and education procurement lobbying, reducing compliance obligations for those communicating with a public official for the purpose of influencing a purchasing and contracting decision  at the local government and board of education level.

Contingency Lobbying Restrictions Extended

Prior Utah law prohibited hiring a lobbyist for compensation contingent, in whole or in part, upon a specific legislative or executive outcome. SB 145 expands these restrictions to also cover local and educational actions.

Under the updated law, incentivized lobbying is prohibited when a lobbyist’s compensation is tied to:

• A government action occurring, or
• The amount appropriated for a government program

Organizations engaging lobbyists in Utah should review existing compensation structures to confirm they remain compliant under the broadened scope. Learn more on our Lobbying Compliance Consulting page

Broader Event Exemptions for University-Sponsored Events

Expenditure reporting will no longer be required for admission, attendance, and travel to or from the following types of events, provided they are hosted by public or nonprofit higher education institutions:

• Recreational events
• Sporting events
• Artistic performances
• Art exhibitions
• Other artistic events

To qualify for the exemption, the event must occur at the institution, and the purpose of the public official’s attendance must be to build a relationship with the institution.

Previously, such attendance offers were only permitted for public colleges and universities as governmental sponsors. The revision extends the exemption to nonprofit higher education institutions as well.

De Minimis Gift Thresholds Increased

SB 145 raises the threshold for de minimis expenditures that lobbyists may make for public officials without triggering reporting requirements:

Item Category	Previous Threshold	New Threshold
Nonfood items	$10	$25
Publications & commemorative items	$30	$50

The adjustment reflects higher costs for such items and responds to the prior thresholds being found overly restrictive in practice.

When Do the Changes Take Effect?

All amendments under Utah SB 145 take effect May 6, 2026.

Lobbyists and their organizations should audit current practices, particularly around contingency compensation structures, to ensure compliance before that date. Lobbyists interested in making larger value expenditures should review the updates to ensure continued compliance.

For jurisdiction-specific guidance, State and Federal Communications maintains regularly updated online compliance guidebooks covering Utah and other states.

Utah Senate Bill 145 FAQs 

Following adjournment of the Virginia Legislature on March 14, a special session was necessitated by a disagreement in the Democratic party regarding tax breaks for data centers. Senate Democrats wish to slash the tax breaks, while House Democrats wish to keep them in the budget. This disagreement has caused the budget for the state to not pass during the regular session. Lawmakers will return to the Legislature on April 23 to finish the budget. During the regular session, lawmakers passed a bill to limit gifts to state and local electoral boards to $1,000 unless approved by a two-thirds vote of the board. 

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Invite them out for coffee or a steak? Make sure you know the gift restrictions of your state or municipality. Request a demo of our online guidebooks today.

Following the end of the regular session on March 13, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a special session to complete the state budget and to potentially address medical freedom and an AI bill of rights. The special session is speculated for the week of April 6 and another special session has been set for April 20 to address redistricting efforts. During the regular session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 572 to establish a $50 limit on vendor gifts to school board members and House Bill 905 to require registration for agents of foreign countries and political organizations. Both bills are await DeSantis’ signature to become law.

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Stay up to date with all state and federal lobbying law. Sign up for our online guidebooks and never miss a compliance law change.

The Senate passed a bill related to pay-to-play disclosure. Senate Bill 1186 requires companies responding to a request for proposal, applying for a grant, or under contract with a state agency to disclose having provided anything of value to the governor and any entity that advocates for the election of the governor or defeat of an electoral opponent of the governor within the prior five years. Last year, Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill containing similar language, calling it a political stunt. This February, Hobbs unveiled a forward-looking ethics reform proposal focused on a state contractor database, a contribution cap during bid consideration, and a lobbyist gift ban. The competing visions on ethics reform come against the backdrop of lawmakers and the governor’s office trading scrutiny over past transparency.

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Make sure you understand pay-to-play regulations in your state. See all 50 states and nearly 300 jurisdictions in our online guidebooks. Check them out here.

Secretary of State Monae L. Johnson published the 2026 annual limit for lobbyist gifts to public officials. The change for 2026 was 2.9%, making the newly adjusted cumulative gift limit $130.85 for 2026. No public official and no member of the immediate family of a public official may accept from any lobbyist or principal any gifts with a cumulative value greater than $130.85 during the 2026 calendar year.

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Stay up to date with all state and federal lobbying law. Sign up for our online guidebooks and never miss a compliance law change.

The Virginia Ethics Council announced an increase of the annual gift limit from $108 to $131. The adjustment is based on the consumer price index and applies to gifts from lobbyists, lobbyist principals, and those having or seeking a contract with a state or local agency. This increase will apply retroactively to January 1 and will be the gift limit until 2030 when it will again be adjusted.

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Invite them out for coffee or a steak? Make sure you know the gift restrictions of your state or municipality. Request a demo of our online guidebooks today.

Q: My company is a registered lobbyist employer in California. We are sponsoring an invitation-only reception and want to invite state officials. Are there any gift laws or other requirements we need to worry about?

A: The California gift laws allow lobbyist employers to provide gifts to an official with an aggregate total value of $630 or less each year. The gift would be reportable as an activity expense on your quarterly lobbyist employer report. Lobbyist employers must also comply with notification rules when an official receives a gift aggregating $50 or more in a calendar year.

Where notifications are required, lobbying entities must include a notice in all written or printed invitations to events at which an official will receive a reportable gift. The notice must state attendance at the event by a public official will constitute acceptance of a reportable gift. The lobbying entity must also send the official a written notice of the gift’s value after the event. The notice must be sent to an official who received a gift within 30 days following the end of the calendar quarter in which the gift was provided.

For valuation purposes, the amount of the gift to each official is the official’s pro rata share of the total cost of the food, catering services, and entertainment, plus any item provided at the event. Only those officials who attended the event should be disclosed. To determine which officials to include on the lobbyist employer report, it is a good idea to have a sign-in sheet or guest book to track attendance. Immediate family members of officials must also be disclosed if the family member attended the event.

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For more information, please visit the California lobbying entry in our guidebooks. Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions. Not a guidebook subscriber yet? Request your free demo today and keep up with all lobbying, procurement lobbying, and campaign finance compliance.

The Rhode Island Ethics Commission voted to increase the maximum value of gifts public officials can receive from interested persons. The current gift limit of $25 with an aggregated limit of $75 per year will be doubled to $50 and $150 per year. Additionally, the definition of interested persons will be expanded to include lobbyists and lobbyist employers. The new limits will be effective January 1, 2026, after the commission finalizes the changes.

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Monitor your registration thresholds by state, by referring to our easy to navigate online guidebooks. Request a web tour to learn more.

The gift limit for food, drink, and refreshments in Louisiana increased from $79 to $81. Lobbyists and non-lobbyists may now give a public servant or public employee any food, drink, or refreshment the total value of which does not exceed $81 for a single event. The $81 limit does not apply to gatherings held in conjunction with a meeting related to a national or regional organization, or to meetings of a statewide organization of governmental officials or employees. The limit is adjusted each year relative to the percentage increase in the consumer price index for the prior year.