Beginning Monday, February 4, through five calendar days following sine die adjournment, several actions regarding campaign contributions by lobbyist principals are prohibited in Oklahoma.

A lobbyist or lobbyist principal must not make a campaign contribution to a member of the legislature or a candidate for state legislative office; promise to make a campaign contribution for a member of the legislature or candidate for state legislative office; or solicit a campaign contribution for a member of the legislature or candidate for state legislative office.

A member of the Legislature or a candidate for state legislative office must not intentionally solicit a campaign contribution from a lobbyist or lobbyist principal; or intentionally accept a campaign contribution from a lobbyist or lobbyist principal.

A contribution from a lobbyist or lobbyist principal to a member of the legislature or a candidate for legislative office that has not been deposited before February 4 must be returned to the contributor.

This statutory blackout period does not prevent a limited Political Action Committee (PAC) from making one or more contributions to a candidate committee up to the limits allowed under the ethics rules provided the PAC is not represented by a lobbyist.

The Alabama Code of Ethics Clarification and Reform Commission (Commission), a joint committee of the Alabama Legislature, met on August 28, 2018, to examine potential revisions to the ethics laws.

The meeting was timely as the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld former House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s conviction on 12 felony ethics charges the day before and requested the Legislature clarify provisions of the ethics law. The Commission is considering recommending altering the definition of principal to include a person with the authority to fire or direct the lobbyist.

Other changes discussed included a tiered penalty system for violations of the law and provisions allowing public officials to maintain certain business relationships during their time as a public official.

The Commission is scheduled to meet again on September 20, 2018.

Oklahoma lobbyist registration renewals are due by December 31, 2015. However, the renewal software is not yet available. Lobbyists will not be able to renew registrations until the software is ready. All registered lobbyists and liaisons will receive an email with instructions when the renewal feature is available.

At the time of renewal, each lobbyist will pay a $100 annual registration fee as well as a $100 fee for each lobbyist principal registered for 2016. If the principal is registered with the secretary of state, the Guardian System will identify when a principal has been registered multiple times to ensure only one $100 principal fee is charged regardless of the number of lobbyists who register the principal.

When a lobbyist principal is not registered with the Oklahoma Secretary of State, the system will initially charge a $100 fee for each principal regardless of whether the principal has previously been registered.

The ability to pay online at the time of registration will be provided for convenience. A lobbyist can choose to pay in person at the Ethics Commission office or by mailing in the fee.

The Philadelphia Board of Ethics issued an advisory alert announcing a delay in the availability of their online filing system for receipt of lobbyist and principal’s quarterly expense reports. The board’s online expense report function will not be available by April 30, the next date the reports are due.

However, because the quarterly expense reports, covering January 3 through March 31, remain due on April 30, the board intends to create an interim paper form expense reporting method. Lobbyists and principals will be able to fill out the interim form on the board’s website, which can then be downloaded and signed. The signed copy must be mailed or delivered to the board by the same April 30 deadline.

The board will advise all registered principals when the interim reporting method becomes available.

The current registration procedure is unaffected by the board’s announcement.