LobbyComply Blog

The New Mexico Legislature adjourned at noon on March 22 after 60 days in session. During the session, lawmakers passed a bill requiring lobbyists to file activity reports disclosing their stances on legislation, and, if positions change, to update their stances within 48 hours. House Bill 143 is being transmitted to the governor’s desk for signature. During a news conference following the Legislature’s adjournment, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham indicated a special session to address public safety is likely in the aftermath of a March 21 mass shooting in Las Cruces.

The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board issued the report of expenditures by lobbyist principals. The report includes compensation paid to lobbyists and costs incurred to support lobbying. Prior to 2024, lobbyist principals reported their expenditures in two categories: the amount spent to influence the PUC; and all other lobbying. The expenditures now include the amount spent in four categories: the amount spent to influence actions by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC); the amount spent to influence legislative action; the amount spent to influence administrative action; and the amount spent to influence the actions of metropolitan governmental units. A searchable listing of the reported expenditures by lobbyist principals is available on the board’s website at https://cfb.mn.gov/.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11^th Circuit heard arguments on whether to strike down a Florida state constitutional amendment prohibiting elected officials from being paid to lobby while in office. Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rene Garcia and South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez argued the lobbying ban should be more narrowly tailored as it currently prohibits any form of paid lobbying by elected officials, even in other states. The state, which lost in district court, argued the government’s interest in preventing corruption overrides free speech concerns. The three-judge panel did not indicate when a decision will be announced.

Q. I’ve received emails about Michigan transitioning to a new lobbyist system. What do I need to do to be able to file reports?

A. Michigan has completely overhauled their lobbyist reporting system, integrating lobbying reporting into their MiTN (Michigan Transparency Network) and MiLogin services. The old system has been sunsetted and placed in “read only mode.” Due to the old system shutting down, every lobbyist and lobbyist agent must create a new account to file reports electronically. Registrations and reports may still be completed via paper, signed, scanned, and emailed to the Secertary of State. But much like their old lobbyist system, they have disabled their old email. Now all correspondence must be sent to “MDOS-FinancialDisclosure@michigan.gov.”

The first hurdle with the new system is figuring out what portal to use to create their MiLogin profile. Individual lobbyists should use “milogin.michigan.gov.” This is a “personal” login and one that should already be used by lobbyists who are Michigan residents. This ensures an individual does not have multiple accounts. Businesses, lobbying firms, and organizations should use “milogintp.michigan.gov.”
An individual can use the MiLogin for businesses if they wish to file for multiple clients.

Once a profile is created, you must “add” the MiTN link to your MiLogin home page and create a two-factor authorization method. The next step is to link your old Michigan lobbyist information to your MiTN account. Importantly, only people who are listed on a registration, such as an employee or signatory, may file reports. The system will ask what your MiTN user role is. You may select either “Lobby Registrant” or “Lobby Data Entry.” Anyone can be labeled as “Lobby Data Entry” but, only people who are listed on a registration can be labeled as “Lobby Registrant.” Only people labeled as “Lobby Registrant” may file reports. Your account will be reviewed, and once approved, you will be able to file registrations and reports through the portal.

[For more information about the nuances of the changed system, please check out the “Registration” and “Reporting” sections of the Michigan Lobbying Compliance Laws online publication.]

The federal lobbying registration threshold for organizations employing in-house lobbyists has been increased. Now, an organization employing in-house lobbyists whose total expenses in connection with lobbying activities do not exceed and are not expected to exceed $16,000 in the quarterly period is not required to be registered. The previous level was $14,000.

This threshold amount is adjusted every four years based on the Consumer Price Index.

A lobbying firm or individual lobbyist whose total income for matters relating to lobbying activities on behalf of a particular client does not exceed or is not expected to exceed $3,500 in the quarterly period is exempt from registration with respect to such client. The previous level was $3,000.

Other determinations for registration include whether a lobbyist is an individual who, with respect to a particular client, makes more than one lobbying contact and whose lobbying activities constitute at least 20% of the individual’s time in services for that client over any three-month period.

Secretary of State Monae L. Johnson published the 2025 annual limit for lobbyist gifts to public officials. The change for 2025 was 3.4%, making the newly adjusted cumulative gift limit $127.16 for 2025. 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 $127.16 during the 2025 calendar year.

Q. I’m sending informational emails to legislators to educate them about an issue. Do I need to register as a lobbyist?

A. In some jurisdictions, yes, you’ll need to register for informational or educational communications to legislative officials.

Making this determination usually depends on a few factors: 1) the definition of lobbying in the jurisdiction, 2) the intent behind sending the information, and 3) the presence of any registration exceptions or thresholds.

If a jurisdiction has a very broad definition of lobbying, or a very low registration threshold, then it is likely you will need to register for the type of communication mentioned above. For example, Illinois requires registration as a lobbyist before you perform a lobbying activity, and the state has a broad definition of lobbying that includes communicating with legislative officials to promote goodwill or build relationships. As a result, if you are proactively communicating with legislative officials there, it is likely you will need to register.

In contrast, some states might have a low registration threshold but also include registration exceptions that would limit or eliminate your need to register. For example, Nebraska specifically excludes persons who limit their lobbying activity solely to writing letters or furnishing written materials to the legislature from the need to register.

Other jurisdictions have exceptions for information provided by technical experts who do not otherwise lobby, and for individuals who provide information only in response to a question or query from an official.

Because the regulatory environment surrounding lobbying can vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, you need to consider carefully the circumstances of a specific interaction when determining whether registration is or will be necessary. The decision to register is often one that is based on the specific facts of your particular engagement, so if you prefer to take a one-size-fits-all approach, you may need to err on the side of registering (and consequently reporting) to be sure that you are complying with every jurisdiction’s requirements.

More information about procurement lobbying requirements can easily be found on our website in the Registration section of the Lobbying Compliance Guidebook.

Today, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) published its price index adjustments for expenditure limitations and the federal lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold.

The lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold has increased for 2025 from $22,700 to $23,300. This threshold amount is adjusted annually. Federal law requires authorized committees of federal candidates, leadership political action committees (PACs), and political party committees to disclose contributions bundled by lobbyists and lobbyists’ PACs.

Additionally, the FEC published its adjusted Coordinated Party Expenditure Limits for political parties for 2025.

The Bureau of Elections posted the Lobby Registration Act 2025 Reporting Thresholds, which change every year in January to reflect the change in the consumer price index for Detroit.

The registration thresholds for individual lobbyist compensation and for employer expenditures on a single official increased from $775 to $800.

Exempt expenditures remain unchanged for 2025 at $16.

The registration threshold for an employer making lobbying expenditures increased from $3,075 to $3175 for any 12-month period.

The financial transaction threshold between a registered employer or lobbyist and a public official increased from $1,550 to $1,600.

The reporting threshold for travel and lodging reimbursements increased from $1,000 to $1,025. The monthly food and beverage expenditures allowance for a public official increased from $76 to $79, and the threshold for food and beverages purchased between January 1 and the end the reporting period remains unchanged for 2025 at $475.

Employee reimbursements increased from $31 to $32, and the general gift threshold also increased from $76 to $79.

Late filing fees increased from $31 a day up to a maximum of $930, to $32 a day up to a maximum of $960.

Effective October 1, 2024, lobbyist registration fees with the District of Columbia Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) will increase.

Registration will increase from $250 to $350 for registrants that are not nonprofit entities.

The registration fees for nonprofit registrants will increase from $50 to $100.

This only applies to nonprofits or lobbyists who lobby only for nonprofits.

BEGA states if one lobbies for many nonprofits and only one for-profit entity, the lobbyist is required to pay the $350 registration fee for each client, even the nonprofits.

The nonprofit organizations would pay $100 for their own registration.

Additionally, late filing fees will increase from $10 per day up to 30 days to $100 per day up to 60 days for a total of $6,000 per report.

If a person continues to fail to register or file a report after fines have been assessed, BEGA may bring the matter before the Ethics Board as an enforcement matter for willful failure to file or refer the matter to the Office of the Attorney General for collection of the fine.

Miami-Dade’s clerk of courts introduced an upgrade to the online lobbyist system.

The system will have new capabilities such online fee payment, principal removal, lobbyist authorization, and contingency fee declarations without the need of paper forms.

To implement the new system, the old system will go offline on September 23 at 11:59 p.m. and will remain offline until October 1.

Access to the new system will be granted on October 2 and it is encouraged to have all critical submissions completed before the cutoff date.

Training and support resources will be available to help users get acquainted.

Finally, if registration is required during the black-out period, lobbyists and principals will be required to contact the Office of Clerk of the Board Division.

Q: We are currently reviewing our process for complying with the various reporting requirements established under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) and would like some advice on how we can improve our accuracy moving forward. I don’t think we have been capturing all the relevant expenditures that we need to include. Can you review what expenditures are required to be reported on the LD-2 quarterly activity report?

A: Thank you for your question. I applaud your effort to review and improve upon your existing processes.  Continually taking a look at how and what information is being compiled is an important part of any comprehensive compliance process. The LDA requires registrants to provide a good faith estimate of all lobbying expenditures within the organization on a quarterly basis. This seemingly simple requirement can prove to be somewhat complex given the number of moving parts involved in accurately reflecting reportable expenditures.

Relevant expenditures required to be included in the organization’s quarterly calculation:

1. The value (including compensation and associated overhead and expenses)  of any and all employee time spent on lobbying activities. This includes employees who spend 20% or more of their time engaged in lobbying activities (and are, therefore, listed by name on the report thereby becoming a “registered lobbyist”) and those who do not meet the statutory definition of a “lobbyist” (employees with activity below 20% during the quarter – non-lobbyists).

While it is often straightforward to collect this information for your registered lobbyists, it can be more nuanced to properly capture this activity for those folks under the 20% threshold. Non-lobbyist activity can come in many forms.  Generally, it includes direct (with a covered official) and indirect (internal or with an outside organization) communication such as planning activities, research, coordination, conference calls, meetings, strategy discussions and any other work that is undertaken to augment or further the lobbying objectives of the organization.

Examples of capturable indirect activities:

Research and/or preparation of talking points to be used in connection with a lobbying contact with a covered official.

Engaging in an internal discussion regarding strategic lobbying plan to support organization’s position on proposed legislation or administrative policy.

Drafting bill language, presentations, or letters to be shared with Covered Officials regarding federal policy or administrative actions.

CEO or other leadership meeting with or otherwise communicating with covered officials on the Hill or in the Administration.

Participation with an outside organization to accomplish any of the above listed ends.

2. Payments accrued to outside lobbyists and lobbying firms;
3. Federal lobbying portion of any dues or other payments made to trade associations, membership organizations and the like.

As you undoubtedly know, there are a variety of subtle reporting details that organizations must review and understand when establishing processes and procedures to ensure compliance with the federal law.  For tailored advice centered around your organizational realities, contact us directly for assistance. In addition, details regarding reporting requirements can be located in the Federal Lobbying Compliance Law section of our online publication resource.

The Lifetime Lobbying Ban Act was in introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The short three-page bill, which would repeal the current one- or two-year waiting period for former members of Congress to work as a federal lobbyist and replace it with a permanent ban, was introduced on April 30.

On the same day U.S. Rep. Jared F. Golden introduced the legislation along with five other bills addressing governmental ethics.

These include, as described in his press release:

• The Congressional and Executive Foreign Lobbying Ban, which would ban retired members of Congress, senior executive branch officials, and high-ranking military officials from lobbying on behalf of foreign interests;
• The Stop Foreign Payoffs Act, which would ban members of Congress, presidents, vice presidents, and Cabinet secretaries, as well as their close family members, from earning a salary or holding investments in foreign businesses for as long as the official is in office;
• The Crack Down on Dark Money Act, which would end the ability of mega-donors to launder secret political activity through 501(c)(4) nonprofits by reducing the cap on political activity by those nonprofits from 50 percent of all spending to 10 percent and requiring them to disclose all donors of $5,000 or more if there are political expenditures;
• The Consistent Labeling for Political Ads Act, which would increase transparency in online political advertising by requiring social media platforms to make ad labels “sticky,” meaning they would appear on paid political content regardless of how it is shared or where it appears; and
• The Fighting Foreign Influence Act, which would require tax-exempt organizations, including think tanks, to disclose high-dollar gifts from foreign governments or political parties, impose a lifetime ban on foreign lobbying by former presidents, vice presidents, senior military officials and require political campaigns to verify online donors have a valid US address.

According to Golden’s press release, this raft of bills is part of the Government Integrity & Anti-Corruption Plan, which has the stated goal of strengthening government integrity and fighting corruption.

The Legislature quietly adjourned sine die on March 7 after passing a procurement and campaign finance bill.

House Bill 1471 modifies the state procurement procedures and revises definitions concerning competitive, sole source, convenience, and emergency goods and services contracts.

Senate Bill 5857 reorganizes the campaign disclosure and contributions statutes through technical amendments involving campaign disclosure and contributions at the state and local levels.

These bills will now be sent to the governor for his signature.