LobbyComply Blog

The Georgia Ethics Commission has recently implemented a new lobbying and campaign finance system PeachFile for 2026. Filers can begin registering their new account and all users must register for an account in the PeachFile system. Any filers who have a December 31^st report due will continue filing in the current E-Filing system until the end of 2025. State level and statewide filers will file their first report in the new PeachFile system on January 31, 2026.

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Seattle City Council recently passed an ordinance which requires political consultants to register with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission within 15 days of providing political consulting services. Political consultants will also be required to disclose information including which local candidates, campaigns, and city ballot measures they work with and when that work began. Initially the bill was intended to prohibit political consultants from simultaneously holding city contracts while doing outside campaign work and also provided for a one-year cooling-off period before consultants could return to work for the city after campaign activities. However, those prohibitions were removed, and the bill instead focuses on consultant registration and reporting. Council Bill 121130 will become effective 30 days after the mayor’s approval.

At its meeting on December 19, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission agreed to reinstate and reactivate the deactivated Guardian lobbyist and campaign finance online disclosure system. The commission also agreed to terminate its contract with RFD & Associates, Inc., the contractor responsible for the Guardian 2.0 filing system, and to authorize the Office of Attorney General to pursue remedies for potential legal claims. Lobbyist renewal registrations and campaign finance reporting have been inactive or unable to be submitted online since the launch of Guardian 2.0 in beta earlier this fall. Contacting commission staff is recommended during this transition to ensure registration and reporting compliance at ethics@ethics.ok.gov.

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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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The Oklahoma Ethics Commission approved advancing two rulemaking amendments proposed at the November 13 meeting. Requested revisions to Rule 5.16 would allow a lobbyist principal to provide meals to either chamber of the Legislature during session, rather than only to a committee or subcommittee. Amendments to Rules 5.2 and 5.6, and a repeal of Rule 5.8, would potentially loosen gift restrictions to allow for expenditures on traditional business expenses, such as meals and events, while doing away with the requirement that gifts from lobbyists come only at infrequently occurring occasions of personal significance to the recipient. The commission will also consider issuing a guidance letter on Rule 5.14 to clarify only the actual cost of the food and beverage at an event to which all members of the Legislature are invited needs to be reported. The Ethics Commission will consider the drafted revisions, and public comment, at a hearing on December 19.

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 Oklahoma Ethics Commission has again delayed the launch of Guardian 2.0, the state’s next-generation online campaign finance and lobbyist reporting system. Until a new launch date is announced, the commission is assuring registrants that no filer will be penalized if affected by the system rollout delay. Reporting periods could be extended and late fees may be broadly waived. Registrants are being encouraged to work directly with commission staff during the transitionary period. In the interim, no filings or updates can be made in the old/legacy system.

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The Ethics Commission issued its first formal opinion on lobbying since being established in 2016.

Ethics Commission Opinion 2020-02 explains what duties on behalf of a principal are exclusive to lobbying.

Additionally, the order explains what duties are not exclusive to lobbying in order to clarify when the lobbyist’s duties require authorization by the fifth day of lobbying communication on behalf of the principal within a six-month reporting period.

For example, serving as the treasurer of a registered political action committee or administrator of a registered conduit are not duties exclusive to lobbying.

The opinion also provides examples of grassroots efforts that are not lobbying.