Q. If I provide a gift to a covered official exceeding the gift limit in that jurisdiction, can the covered official reimburse my employer for the difference?

A. This is a situation you never, ever want to be in, but sometimes it happens. Fortunately, most of the states allow for the covered official to reimburse the donor in order to rectify the situation.

One of the circumstances precluding reimbursement is when too much time has elapsed between providing the excessive gift and reimbursement by the official. If too much time has passed, the state considers the gift to have been “accepted” by the official, and reimbursement is not an option.

Also, even if the official reimburses the overage, sometimes the lobbyist, the official, or both must nonetheless report the total value of the gift. From a disclosure standpoint, this makes a precarious situation even more suspect.

Some examples of these rules include the following:

• In Connecticut, the gift limit is $10. The official may not partially reimburse a more expensive gift to bring the final cost to the lobbyist below $10, because the overall value of the item is still over $10 [Advisory Opinion 1997-15].

• In the state of Washington, an official’s name cannot be removed from a filed lobbying report, regardless of whether the official has fully reimbursed the lobbyist for the reported expenditure. In addition, an official cannot partially reimburse a lobbyist for an expense to bring the total cost below the $50 reporting threshold. Even if a partial reimbursement occurs, both the lobbyist and the official must report the full amount. The only way an expenditure exceeding the threshold does not have to be reported is if the official fully reimburses the lobbyist prior to the lobbyist filing the lobbying report disclosing the expenditure.

• In New York, public officials and employees may completely reimburse the donor of a gift if the reimbursement is not removed or remote in time in order to comply with the gift ban [Advisory Opinion No. 97-03]. If an item, entertainment, or other benefit is received and payment of its market value is made prior to or simultaneously with receipt, there is no gift [Advisory Opinion No. 97-03].

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.

While not as strict as the bills originally proposed by the Governor, the newly passed rules represent a dramatic overhaul to Alabama ethics law. Under the new rules, PACs will be forbidden from making transfers of funds to other PACs with a few exceptions.

State lawmakers will be unable to hold a second public job, and one bill imposes a ban on “pass-through pork” whereby a legislator can appropriate funds to a specific agency or project without legislative approval. In the new year, lobbyists will be required to complete a training program, and the State Ethics Commission will have subpoena power.

Another bill signed by Governor Riley will forbid public employees from donating to political groups via payroll deduction. This law has been criticized as politically motivated by state Democrats.

The Alabama legislature concluded its special session late Thursday. The lawmakers passed versions of all seven bills proposed by Governor Bob Riley.

The new laws modify and strengthen state lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics rules. Among the highlights of the laws heading to the Governor’s desk is a requirement for those seeking a state grant or contract with the executive branch to register as lobbyists.

Under another pending bill, a lobbyist will be forbidden from giving an official a “thing of value” with certain exceptions, such as a meal costing $25 with a total limit of $125 per year. Governor Riley’s office has indicated each of the seven passed bills will be signed into law unless the staff reviewing them discovers mistakes or errors.

Photo of Alabama State Capitol by Jim Bowen on Wikipedia.

On December 15, 2010, the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office will roll-out a new electronic filing system for lobbyists and clients. The new electronic filing system is for 2011 new registrations and lobbying reports.

All 2010 cycle reports will be still be filed on paper.

The new electronic filing system may be accessed at: http://www.sos.ms.gov/elec/portal/msel/portal.aspx

Governor Bob Riley has called the Alabama state legislature into special session. The lawmakers are expected to convene on December 8, 2010 and take up the issue of ethics reform.

This year, the state was plagued by a scandal in which lobbyists and local businesspeople attempted to or actually did bribe legislators to vote for pro-gambling legislation. During the upcoming session, lawmakers are expected to pass reform reducing the amount a lobbyist may spend on an official without reporting it. Additional changes suggested by the Governor include a ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers of funds and requiring those who lobby the executive branch for contracts to register.

Photo of Governor Bob Riley by MSGT MARK OWEN, USAF on Wikipedia.

The Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board has hired Megan Tooker as its new executive director. Tooker was unanimously selected by the six-member board and will assume the role on January 1, 2011. Before joining the agency, she graduated from Drake law school and clerked for former state supreme court Justice Michael Streit.

The outgoing director, Charlie Smithson, is stepping down from the position to become the Iowa House’s new chief clerk. Smithson had been with the board since 1998 and was originally its legal counsel. The Ethics and Campaign Disclosure board administers and advises on state lobbying, campaign and ethics laws and, to a certain extent, local ethics rules.

State and Federal Communications Research Associate George Ticoras alerted me to a video from the American League of Lobbyists called “What is lobbying and why is it important?” I thought I would share it with you!

The video says: “On behalf of all Americans who have a stake in their government, the League addresses challenges that affect the rights of individuals and groups to make their views known about issues that affect our country. It provides a voice for lobbyists and works to ensure that those who engage in lobbying follow established ethics and rules.”

ALL President Dave Wenhold added:”Our mission is to enhance the development, professionalism, and high ethical standards for the advocates in the public policy arena.” Enjoy the video:

The enhancements to the system are aimed toward improving transparency and easing the public’s fear of “back room” politics.  It is no coincidence that the lobbying law changes come at the same time the state is strengthening ethics rules in other arenas.  The state recently passed new disclosure requirements for contacts with procurement officials.  Additionally, Illinois’ campaign finance laws will feature contribution limits in 2011 and quarterly PAC reporting.   The improvements to the state’s lobbying regulations are part of an overall climate of increasing disclosure around the United States.  Several other states, including Utah and Georgia, have made similar changes in state lobbying law this year.

The first change to the rules, which is already known by most people impacted by it, relates to the registration fee.  Illinois initially sought to increase this fee to $1,000 per lobbyist and per organization employing a lobbyist.  Thus, a company with two state-level lobbyists would have been charged $3,000 per year.   The ACLU sued for and was granted an injunction on this fee.  Essentially, the state agreed Illinois could not demonstrate the increase in cost was necessary to administer the Lobbyist Act.  Additionally, the ACLU had raised a First Amendment establishment clause argument because the bill granted exemptions to certain religious lobbying and thus “demonstrated a preference for religious speech over non-religious speech.”  Eventually, the state and the ACLU agreed to a fee of $300 and the suit was dropped.   Additionally, lobbyists are required to complete an online ethics training course within 30 days of registration.

Lobbyists will have to report more frequently in 2011 and beyond.  The lobbying dates used to be tied to whether the legislature was in session but are now semi-monthly, regardless.  In 2010, while the litigation on the Act was pending, reporting was done essentially as soon as the Secretary of State’s Index Department was able to receive them in the midst of the judicial and legislative melee.  Lobbyists filed a report on September 30 for the first half of 2010, and now must report second-half expenditures on January 15, 2011.  Starting in 2011, reports are due twice per month.  A report for the first 15 days is due on each 20^th, and a report covering the 16^th through the end of each month is due on the following 5^th.  While this is very cumbersome, it is at least consistent.  The smaller reporting periods should make the information to be reported very manageable.

One feature of Illinois’ lobbying seen in a few other states is the provision relating to notification of officials.  Previously, if an official were set to appear on a lobbyist’s report because that lobbyist made an expenditure on the official, the lobbyist was required to give the official notice of this fact 25 days before the report was due and again 30 days after the report was filed.  Under the new changes, the 30-day post-notification remains but the pre-notification is changed.  Now, lobbyists must give the official “contemporaneous written notification” of a reportable expenditure made on the official’s behalf.

Photo of Gov. Pat Quinn by Chris Eaves on Wikipedia.

Q. Can I hire a federal, state, or local official who just left office to represent our interests before his or her former colleagues?

A. While the answer depends on the jurisdiction, the trend is definitely to increase the restrictions on the ability of former elected officials and government employees to seek employment as lobbyists after leaving their government positions.

Most commonly, these restrictions take the form of a waiting period during which the former official is not permitted to influence actions over which he or she exerted some power or influence.  Ostensibly, the waiting period allows this power or influence to dissipate.  It also allows time for the specific issues the former official influenced to move through the system, under the theory that the former official’s influence will be lessened on issues he or she did not directly handle.

The revolving door restrictions placed upon officials in New Jersey are fairly typical.  In that state, former members of the legislature, the governor, and heads of principal departments of the executive branch are prohibited from registering as lobbyists for one year after leaving office.  Anyone knowingly or willfully violating the revolving door restrictions is subject to a penalty of up to $10,000 and can be barred from engaging in lobbying in the state for up to an additional five years.  The law assigns the Election Law Enforcement Commission the power to hold hearings regarding possible violations and assess the enumerated penalties if the violations are found to have occurred.

Most jurisdictions that have introduced ethics legislation in recent years have included revolving door provisions, as the Indiana General Assembly did this year with the passage of House Bill 1001.  Because of the increasing prevalence and importance of these laws, State and Federal Communications will be focusing on this issue and addressing it in our Executive Source on Lobbying Laws.

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.

Similar legislation was voted down last month. If the ordinance passes, anyone who lobbies the county board on behalf of someone else will be required to register annually and report on whose behalf he or she is lobbying. The call for lobbyist disclosure in Orange County comes after a county grand jury issued a report critical of the county supervisors for not having any lobbyist disclosure requirements. Several local political figures have implicitly threatened to have a lobbyist registration law placed on an upcoming ballot if the supervisors do not create it themselves.

Photo of Newport Center skyline and Santa Ana mountains by Brian 1078 on Wikipedia.

The state’s Public Services Commission approved new ethics rules last week by a 3-0 vote of the commissioners. These regulations prohibit a commission employee from soliciting or accepting a gift or campaign contribution from a lobbyist representing an industry regulated by the commission.

The new rules took effect immediately upon approval by the commissioners. The Public Services Commission regulates public utilities and telecommunications providers in Alabama.

Map of Alabama by JimIrwin on Wikipedia.

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board issued Advisory Opinion 413 clarifying the state’s lobbyist registration requirements.  The Board sought to answer whether a lobbyist is required to register multiple times when employed by an entity which consists of a parent company and a number of affiliates, including subsidiaries and joint ventures controlled by or under common ownership and control of the parent company.

Several of the affiliates have legislative and administrative interests in Minnesota, and lobbying is conducted on their behalf.  The Board concluded that a lobbyist must register on behalf of each association whose interests they promote, regardless of the mechanism used to retain or direct the efforts of the lobbyists.   The opinion continued that a lobbyist who represents an association such as a trade or business association is not required to register separately for each member of the association.

Photo of the Minnesota State Capitol by Mulad on Wikipedia.

Q. I am registered in numerous states.  What are some of the features I need to know regarding renewing my lobbyist registrations for 2011?   Do all my registrations automatically expire at the end of the year?  H-E-L-P!

A. These are all very good questions, as January 1, 2011 is quickly approaching.  The expirations on December 31 of this year are particularly thorny because they include not only those states having annual expirations, but most biennial expirations occur at the end of an even-numbered year.

As the states begin their 2011 legislative sessions, here are some things to keep in mind:

Annual registrations:  The majority of states have a registration term based on a calendar year.  If registered in any of the following states, your registration will expire on December 31, 2010.

Alabama	Mississippi
Alaska	Missouri
Arkansas	Nebraska
District of Columbia	New Hampshire
Florida [legislative and executive]	New Mexico
Georgia	North Carolina
Idaho [legislative and executive]	Ohio [executive]
Illinois	Oklahoma
Indiana [legislative and executive]	Rhode Island [legislative]
Iowa [legislative]	South Carolina
Kansas	Tennessee
Louisiana [legislative and executive]	Texas
Massachusetts

Biennial registrations:  The trick to keeping track of your registration expiration for biennial states is knowing whether the biennium ends on December 31^st of an even-numbered or odd-numbered year.

Those states with biennial registrations expiring on December 31, 2010, include:

California	Pennsylvania
Connecticut	Utah
Hawaii	Vermont
Montana	Washington
New York	West Virginia
Ohio [legislative]	Wisconsin

Legislative sessions:  In some states, registrations expire at the end of the regular legislative session.  These include Nevada [sessions are held in odd-numbered years] and South Dakota.  In Iowa, executive branch lobbyist registration is valid until the next regular session of the general assembly.

Non-calendar years:  In other states, registrations expire at the end of a year, but that year is defined as other than January 1 to December 31.  These states have the following registration terms:

Colorado [July 1 to July 15 of the subsequent year]	North Dakota [July 1 to June 30]
Kentucky executive [August 1 to July 31]	Virginia [May 1 to April 30]
Maine [December 1 to November 30]	Wyoming [May 1 to April 30]
Maryland [November 1 to October 31]

On-going registrations:  Once you register in the following states, your registration is on-going until you affirmatively terminate.  These include:

Delaware
Federal
Michigan
Minnesota
New Jersey [a fee is due annually on November 15]
Rhode Island executive

And then there is Arizona:  Just to keep you on your toes, Arizona has a biennial registration where lobbyists renew during November of odd-numbered years, and employers renew during November of even-numbered years.

Alabama Governor-elect Robert Bentley wasted no time in declaring ethics reform a top priority when he assumes office in 2011. Bentley stated his preference is to hold a special session of the state legislature within the regular session, scheduled to convene in February, because it would save the taxpayers money.

Bentley’s goals for the special session include increased frequency of reporting political contributions and online publishing of the contributions. The promises of sweeping ethics reform come on the heels of a scandal in which state senators and lobbyists have been charged with bribery and corruption in connection with pending gambling legislation.

This photo of Robert Bentley is is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license by Zwilson14.