The Tallahassee Commission on Ethics introduced an ordinance to change lobbying rules including a repeal of quarterly compensation reporting and a requirement for lobbyists to begin registering individually rather than by firm.

The commission also adopted a 10-year ban on lobbying for certain felons and a fee resolution raising the current registration fee from $25 to $500.

Ordinance 22-O-20 is scheduled for a second reading and public hearing on September 7.

If passed, the new rules will become effective January 1, 2023.

Santa Ana city council unanimously passed the first reading of a new lobbyist registration ordinance, outlining who must register, when reports are required, and the penalties for failing to follow the rules laid out in the ordinance.

The ordinance defines a lobbyist as any individual, business entity or organization, including a non-profit organization, that receives or becomes entitled to receive five hundred dollars or more in consideration in a month to lobby.

Once an individual becomes a lobbyist, they are required to register with the city clerk within 15 days.

If the ordinance follows the typical path to become law, the bill will need to be voted on two more times before it officially passes.

The City of Aurora opened its Lobbyist Registration Portal.

The city’s Ordinance 2021-08 took effect August 1 and quarterly activity reports are now required.

The first report is due October 15.

The city’s website notes the City Clerk will accept complaints regarding compliance beginning January 16, 2022.

The City Clerk’s Office will focus on education and compliance in the regulation of lobbyists during the year the ordinance takes effect.

Lobbyists will not be subject to revocation, suspension nor sanctions for any violations in 2021.

The Board of County Commissioners have adopted Ordinance 21-73 adding additional requirements to the registration and reporting of lobbyists communication with the Miami-Dade County.

The new requirements include requiring lobbyists to disclose the specific issues they are lobbying, lobbyist registration to be amended within 15 days to ensure accuracy, and requiring lobbyist expenditure reports to be filed even if there were no expenditures.

The Boston Municipal Lobbying Compliance Commission recently adopted lobbying regulations to complement the city’s lobbyist registration and regulation ordinance.

Effective immediately, clients or lobbying entities required to file reports must itemize all expenditures exceeding $35 on any day during a covered reporting period.

Expenditures not exceeding $35 on any day must be reported but is not required to be itemized.

For the purposes of lobbying, expenditures are any expense incurred or paid separately by a lobbying entity or client during the reporting period in connection with each decision, legislation, legislative action or administrative action of a city employee that it sought to promote, oppose or influence and the total amount thereof incurred or paid separately by such lobbying entity or client during the reporting period.

Expenditures include operating expenses such as the cost of clerical and administrative staff salaries or wages, equipment, and facilities related to a lobbying entity or client engaging in lobbying activity and specific expenditures for lodging, meals, gifts, transportation, entertainment, advertising, public relations, printing, mailing, and telephone.

The regulation also provides a definition for compensation; a lobbyist registration exception for technical service experts; fee waiver requirements; and authorizes the commission’s power to initiate a formal investigation, hold hearings, issue decisions, and enforce penalties.

The Ohio Joint Legislative Ethics Committee published a reminder they will not accept cash, money orders, or physical checks for payment of 2021 lobbying registration fees.

The online payment portal, accessible via the lobbyist’s OLAC account was established in 2019.

Registrations fees for 2021 must be paid electronically by VISA, MasterCard, or ACH.

Lobbyists may begin renewing registrations for legislative, executive, and retirement system engagements in OLAC on December 1.

The renewal option closes January 15, 2021.

Any lobbyist who does not complete the renewal process by January 15 must file a new initial registration statement.

The registration statement requires a signature page.

North Carolina’s General Assembly has extended the legislative session to adjourn sine die on September 3.

This extension will allow for consideration of matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Registered lobbyists who make an expenditure on legislators and legislative employees will also be required to file monthly reports.

This is the case, as the General Assembly is still in session due to the extension.

Monthly reports are due 10 business days after the end of the month.

In addition, the August report will be due on September 15.

A monthly report for September will not be required as that activity may be incorporated in the Quarterly report due on October 21.

Due to the special legislative session being called for August 24, 2020, registered lobbyists will be required to file a monthly report.

Monthly reports must be filed on or before September 15, 2020, covering the month of August.

For questions concerning this matter, contact the Idaho Office of the Secretary of State at elections@sos.idaho.gov or call (208) 344-2852.

The second session of the 106^th Nebraska Legislature adjourned sine die on August 13 after 60 legislative days of a session interrupted by COVID-19.

Speaker Jim Scheer suspended the session in mid-March in response to growing safety concerns regarding the global pandemic. After calling lawmakers back into session for three days in late March for the limited purpose of approving emergency funding to combat the pandemic, he suspended the session again.

Senators reconvened July 20 and finished the final 17 days of session in a changed physical environment of plastic barriers and physical distancing guidelines to limit contact between senators, staff, and the media.

The delaying of the session affected lobbyist reporting due dates. Any lobbyists or principals who received or expended more than $5,000 for lobbying purposes during the session must file special reports on September 15, 2020. Additionally, the lobbyist statement of activity is due on September 27, which signifies 45 days after adjournment sine die of the session.

Lawmakers passed 285 bills during the session, including measures to expand access to broadband Internet in rural areas, improve oversight of the state’s Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers and provide a tax exclusion for military retirement benefit pay.

Scheer is among six senators who are leaving the Legislature due to term limits. The others are Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz, Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, Bellevue Sen. Sue Crawford, Omaha Sen. Sara Howard and Omaha Sen. Rick Kolowski.

Chambers, whose legislative career will stand as the longest in state history, was first elected to the Legislature in 1970. He left office in 2008 due to term limits but returned in 2012.

The first session of the 107^th Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 6, 2021.

On March 12, Gov. Janet Mills signed into law Legislative Document 1867 clarifying lobbyist reporting and registration requirements.

The bill requires lobbyists to file a separate report for expenditures totaling over $300 in a calendar month.

Expenditures include those made to or on behalf of covered officials by the lobbyist, lobbyist associate or lobbying firm without reimbursement from an employer.

Legislative Document 1867 also defines a lobbying firm as a partnership, corporation, limited liability company or unincorporated association that employs or contracts with more than one lobbyist or lobbyist associate.

Additionally, the firm receives or is entitled to receive compensation for engaging in lobbying either directly or through its employees.

The bill also expands the annual harassment training to include lobbyist associates.

Legislative Document 1867 is effective December 1, 2020.

On February 3, a bill was introduced in the New Jersey Assembly establishing the Local Governmental Process Activities Disclosure Act.

Assembly Bill 2432 extends the same disclosure, reporting, and other requirements that govern the activities of governmental affairs agents to their activities with respect to all local government levels.

If passed, this act takes effect immediately.

In an effort to increase transparency, Sen. Jeff Steinborn is sponsoring a bill that would require post-session lobbying reports.

Under Senate Bill 53, lobbyists or their employers would have to file an expenditure report within 14 days after each legislative session listing the legislation they supported or opposed.

The 2020 session of the 54^th Legislature is scheduled to begin on January 21 and adjourn on February 20.

If Steinborn’s bill passes, it will become effective on May 20.

The Office of the Secretary of State released a notice on December 17 that registration of lobbyists and lobbying entities will be delayed until January 6, 2020.

The delay is due to the programming required to implement the registration changes required by Senate Bill 1639, which passed during the veto session in November.

Senate Bill 1639 requires lobbying entities to report if they are registered or expect to be required to register to lobby a unit of local government.

Additionally, the lobbying entity must disclose the name of the unit of local government.

In 2018, the Baltimore City Council enacted the Transparency in Lobbying Act requiring lobbyists to file reports twice a year and affirmatively identify their clients when approaching city government officials.

The effective date of the act was contingent on a viable online reporting system being implemented.

The Baltimore City Ethics Board has implemented the online lobbying reporting system.

Lobbyist registrations and reports can now be filed electronically.

The next year-end report is due on or before January 31, 2020, covering all of the reporting period immediately preceding January 1 through December 31, 2019.

The ethics board has advised persons that previously filed paper registration statements to submit the year-end report on paper and not electronically.