The Board of Supervisors passed amendments to the city’s lobbying law at a meeting on June 17, 2014. Ordinance 130374 expands the definition of “lobbyist” and requires random audits of lobbying reports.

The lobbying exemption for contractors and their attorneys will be limited to in-house officers and employees. Meeting the definition of a lobbyist will now depend on the number of compensated contacts with a covered official rather than the level of compensation received. Outside consultants communicating with public officials regarding contract bidding and negotiating will be subject to the registration and reporting requirements of lobbying.

The ordinance will be effective 30 days following Mayor Ed Lee’s signature.