March 21, 2012 • Written by Joe May

Today’s Lobbying News Roundup

Revolving doors, spending on lobbying in Minnesota, and a new ethics bill in Missouri in the news:

March 19, 2012 • Written by Jim Sedor

News You Can Use Digest – March 19, 2012

Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:

March 14, 2012 • Written by Joe May

Lobbyist Compliance and Other Resources Online

State and Federal Communications, Inc. is your compliance information source for campaign finance, lobbying compliance, procurement, and ethics laws.

March 14, 2012 • Written by Joe May

American League of Lobbyists Writes to President Obama

The organization connects the president’s anti-lobbyist position with an increase in unregistered lobbying.

March 13, 2012 • Written by Jonathan Spontarelli

Miami-Dade to Require Ethics Training for Lobbyists

Course to Cost $100 Every Two Years

March 12, 2012 • Written by Joe May

Today’s Campaign Finance and Lobbying News

Super PACs, the revolving door, and Facebook’s lobbying in the news:

March 12, 2012 • Written by Jim Sedor

News You Can Use – March 12, 2012

Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:

March 7, 2012 • Written by Joe May

How Is the Lobbying Oversight in Your State?

A new report offers ratings.

March 7, 2012 • Written by Allyson Smith

Ask the Experts – Reportable LDA Expenditures

Here is your chance to “Ask the Experts” at State and Federal Communications, Inc.

Federal Compliance Associate Rebecca South

Q. As an organization employing in-house lobbyists, what expenditures am I required to capture for inclusion in the aggregate dollar amount reported on my quarterly Federal LD-2 report?

A. There are a variety of expenditures that Federal registrants are required to track and report in an effort to provide a good faith estimate of their activity. These expenditures include:

Compensation, expenses and overhead associated with “registered” lobbyist employee activity. For Federal purposes, a “registered” lobbyist is an individual who meets the statutory definition of a lobbyist and is listed by name on the LD-2 report;

Compensation, expenses and overhead associated with any non-lobbyist employee who engaged in lobbying activity during the quarter (even though they do not meet the statutory definition of lobbyist). Their names are not listed on the report, but the value of their activity is included;

Dues paid to an association or membership organization during the quarter that are attributable to lobbying. This amount is typically a percentage of the overall payments made to the membership organization and is ascertained by speaking with the outside entity directly. Importantly, dues payments for lobbying activities should be included in the estimate for the quarter in which they are paid and cannot be apportioned over a longer period of time;

Retainers/fees incurred during the quarter to outside consultants/firms for lobbying activities. These fees are required to be included during the quarter in which they are incurred regardless of whether billing or payment has been made.

If we can be of assistance in helping to identify reportable expenditures, please let us know.

You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.