Greensboro City Council approved an ordinance to increase the gift threshold for nominal gifts from $30 to $50 per gift. Items  valued at less than $50 now fall into the exception to the gift ban for city officials. Resolution 2026-100 also amends and updates the city’s code of ethics and disclosure requirements for city officials. The new gift amount is effective immediately.

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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. 

On July 28, the city of Calgary’s City Council passed a proposal to explore the consideration of a lobbyist registry. The council’s Executive Committee’s “notice of motion” application made to the city council requested the council to direct the chief administrative officer and the council’s ethics advisor to conduct a jurisdictional review and report back its results to the Executive Committee by the end of 2026. The report must explore several options for city council’s consideration, including best practices from comparable Canadian municipalities; possible public disclosures requirements, and any accessibility requirements. The council also passed an amendment requiring any proposed registry  also apply to lobbying the council’s senior administrative staff.

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Want to keep up with lobbying, procurement, and corporate contribution compliance internationally? We have you covered. Learn more here. 

On July 22, The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) will be considering changes to its pay-to-play rule. As part of a regulatory modernization initiative, the MSRB will review Rule G-37, which imposes  pay-to-play rules upon brokers, dealers, municipal securities dealers, or municipal advisors making contributions to officials of state and local government entities. Rule G-37 does this by prohibiting dealers from engaging in municipal securities business and municipal advisors from engaging in municipal advisory business with municipal entities if certain contributions have been made to officials of such municipal entities within the preceding two-year period. It also requires dealers and municipal advisors to disclose certain political contributions and other information. At the meeting, the board will be electing its chair and vice-chair, approving its proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, and discussing other rules in addition to the pay-to-play rules, including rules dealing with dealers’ supervisions of personnel and stakeholder engagements on open contractual commitments.

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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. 

Does California State Lobbyist Registration Cover Local Lobbying?

No. California’s state lobbyist registration does not cover lobbying directed at local jurisdictions. Before engaging with any county or local official, you must determine whether that jurisdiction has its own lobbying ordinance.

State Registration and Local Lobbying in California

California’s state lobbying law governs activity directed at state officials and state government entities. It does not extend to lobbying at the local level. That means a registered state lobbyist may still need to register separately with individual cities, counties, or local governmental bodies before making contact with their officials.

The scope of local lobbying requirements varies widely. In some cases, a locality, its county, and governmental entities within that county each maintain their own independent lobbying ordinances.

The Los Angeles area is a clear example of this complexity. Each of the following has its own lobbying requirements:

• City of Los Angeles
• County of Los Angeles
• Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMTA)
• Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)

There is no unified registration that covers all of these entities. Each must be evaluated and addressed separately.

How to Approach Local Lobbying Compliance in California

Because no single registration covers local jurisdictions in California, the starting point for any local lobbying effort is identifying two things before outreach begins:

1. The officials you intend to contact, and
2. The governmental entities those officials represent.

From there, you can determine which local ordinances apply and what registration, reporting, or disclosure obligations must be met.

For organizations operating across multiple California jurisdictions, this process can be complex. State and Federal Communications provides lobbying compliance consulting to help government affairs professionals navigate these requirements efficiently.

California Gift Laws and Local Jurisdictions

Gift law compliance adds another layer of consideration for California lobbyists operating at the local level.

California’s state gift laws differ in scope from its lobbying laws. While state lobbying laws do not apply to local jurisdictions, state gift laws do apply at the local level. This means lobbyists engaging with local officials in California must still comply with state gift rules even if they are not required to register with the state .

However, local governments in California are free to adopt their own gift rules, and those local rules may be more stringent than state law. The City of Los Angeles is one example where local gift rules are more stringent than state requirements.

Best practice: always review applicable local gift ordinances before providing any gifts or hospitality to public officials, even if you believe the gift would be permitted by the state gift law.

Where to Find California Local Lobbying Guidance

Navigating local California lobbying requirements requires jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction analysis. State and Federal Communications maintains detailed guidance through its online compliance guidebooks, which cover local lobbying ordinances and gift rules across California jurisdictions.

For hands-on support, the firm’s lobbying compliance consulting services can help ensure your organization meets all applicable local requirements before engaging public officials.

Question

I recently began a new position with responsibility for local government relations for my employer. I’ve only previously done state work. What do I need to know?

Answer

Local government lobbying compliance is significantly more fragmented and complex than state-level lobbying, and the differences can catch even experienced state lobbyists off guard. While state lobbying laws tend to follow more standardized frameworks, local lobbying requirements vary widely by jurisdiction, population size, government entity, and even industry.

Local Lobbying Laws Are Not Universal

Unlike state lobbying, some smaller cities, towns, and special districts have no lobbying ordinances. However, the absence of a local ordinance does not necessarily mean that compliance obligations do not exist. In several states, including Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, and Missouri, state lobbying laws extend to local government activity, requiring lobbyists to register and report with the applicable state agency when engaging with local officials.

In New York, for example, the state lobbying statute requires disclosure of all lobbying activities before municipalities, including jurisdictional subdivisions with populations exceeding 5,000 residents.

How State Law Can Shape Local Lobbying Requirements

State law may also mandate that local governments adopt their own lobbying frameworks. Maryland does not require local lobbyists to register at the state level, but it requires counties and municipal corporations to maintain lobbying regulations that substantially mirror state lobbying rules.

Highly regulated states such as California often have robust local disclosure requirements, particularly in larger cities and counties. Florida, while somewhat less centralized than California, is also known for numerous local lobbying ordinances that govern municipal and county-level advocacy.

Industry-Specific and Entity-Specific Compliance Risks

Local lobbying requirements frequently extend beyond traditional city councils and county commissions. Special-purpose entities (SPE) often impose their own disclosure regimes. Transportation authorities, such as the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and airport authorities, such as the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, may require separate registration and reporting.

School districts also present compliance risks. Lobbying activity involving districts such as Broward County Public Schools, Los Angeles Unified School District, or Miami-Dade County Public Schools can trigger registration and periodic reporting obligations, even when activity would not be reportable at the state level.

Healthcare is another highly regulated area. Some public hospital systems impose lobbying requirements that are more stringent than local ordinances. For example, Jackson Health System, an affiliated network of hospitals in Miami-Dade County, requires all pharmaceutical representatives to register as lobbyists before visiting facilities to promote products.

No Thresholds Mean Higher Compliance Exposure

A critical difference between state and local lobbying is that many local jurisdictions impose no monetary or activity thresholds. This means registration may be required simply for engaging in conduct that meets the definition of lobbying, regardless of time spent or compensation received. As a result, even minimal outreach can create compliance obligations.

Before engaging in any local government relations activity, it is essential to independently verify applicable state laws, local ordinances, and entity-specific rules or consult with a lobbying compliance professional to reduce the risk of inadvertent noncompliance.

Note: The information in this response can be easily found on our website in the Lobbying Compliance section of the United States Lobbying Compliance Guidebook.  Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

Frequently Asked Questions About Local Lobbying Compliance

1. How can I tell whether a local jurisdiction has a lobbying ordinance?

There is no single database or universal indicator. Larger cities and counties are more likely to have lobbying ordinances, but population alone is not determinative. Each jurisdiction must be reviewed individually, including municipal codes, ethics ordinances, and administrative policies. Special districts and quasi-governmental entities should be evaluated separately.

2. Does lobbying a local official always require registration?

Not always, but many local jurisdictions define lobbying broadly. In some cases, registration is required immediately upon engaging in covered activity, regardless of compensation or frequency. Where no registration threshold exists, even introductory meetings, informational outreach, or industry-specific advocacy may trigger obligations.

3. If state law governs local lobbying, do local rules still matter?

Yes. Even when state law applies, local ordinances or entity-specific policies may impose additional requirements. These can include separate registration, local reporting schedules, gift restrictions, or cooling-off periods. State compliance should never be assumed to fully satisfy local obligations.

4. Why is the absence of a registration threshold risky?

When no threshold exists, there is little margin for error. Limited or informal activity can still require registration and reporting, increasing exposure to enforcement actions, fines, or reputational harm if obligations are overlooked. Conservative compliance analysis is strongly recommended.

5. What steps should I take before engaging in local lobbying activity?

Before engaging with local officials or entities, confirm:

• Consult with a Lobbying Compliance Firm
• Whether state law applies to your activity
• Whether the local jurisdiction has a lobbying ordinance
• Whether special entities (school districts, transit authorities, hospitals) impose independent requirements
• Whether industry-specific rules apply

When uncertainty exists, consulting with a lobbying compliance firm, like State and Federal Communications, can help ensure accurate registration, timely reporting, and reduced compliance risk.

Question: I’m a registered lobbyist in multiple states—how long do I need to keep my notes, meeting records, and receipts? Is it okay to get rid of them after the report is filed?

Answer: No. The best practice is to maintain your records for the full period required by each jurisdiction where you are registered. You should also be aware of whether any of those jurisdictions conduct regular or random audits, as you may need to produce your records during that process.

Most jurisdictions set a specific retention period for lobbying records. If you are registered in multiple states, it’s usually simplest—and safest—to follow the longest retention period among them. For example, if you are registered in both Washington and Idaho, you may choose to keep all records for five years, which matches Washington’s requirement, rather than maintaining separate timelines (three years for Idaho and five for Washington).

Registering as a lobbyist brings reporting obligations, but it also creates responsibilities for proper record maintenance, and it may subject your records to audit. Maintaining complete and accurate records helps substantiate the information included in your reports and reduces risks during an audit or investigation. Make sure to keep all required documents for the full period mandated by each jurisdiction to avoid future compliance issues.

Some states conduct regular audits. In 2025, Connecticut randomly selected 30 client lobbyist names for audit. Florida’s Legislative Auditing Committee selects a random sample of 3% of all lobbying firms each year for compensation report audits. Tennessee audits the registration statements, amendments, and lobbying reports of up to 4% of lobbyists annually.

Keeping your records organized and preserved for the required period ensures you are prepared if you are ever selected for an audit.

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More information about procurement lobbying requirements can easily be found on our website in the Document Retention and Audits section of the Lobbying Compliance Guidebook. Not a subscriber yet, sign up for your free demo today.