A bill requiring lobbyists to report activity even when the Legislature is not in session has been introduced by Senator Sheila Leslie. Currently, a lobbyist need only report activity occurring while the legislative body is actually in session.

Nevada’s Legislature generally meets in the first half of odd-numbered years. Senate Bill 0206‘s additional reporting requirements necessitate lobbyists report all lobbying activities after the end of the third and fourth calendar quarter of each odd-numbered year and each calendar quarter of each even numbered year, whether or not any expenditures were made.

The bill also extends the definition of lobbyist to include one who lobbies where an interim committee holds meetings.

Governor Brian Sandoval signed Executive Order 2011-02 establishing a new ethics gift rule for the governor’s senior staff, cabinet, all division heads of cabinet agencies, and himself as governor.

The order prohibits gifts which might be intended to influence or reward an individual in the performance of his or her official business. The order also requires notification of the ethics requirements to vendors doing business with the state and those receiving state grants.

Photo of Governor Sandoval courtesy of Brian Sandoval on Wikipedia.

Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera said he will pursue a number of transparency measures in the 2011 legislative session. Among those to be introduced would be a requirement for all candidates for public office to report every financial contribution online within 72 hours of receipt, including the amount received and the donor.

Another measure would introduce a “cooling off” period before public officials could work as lobbyists. Specifically, an elected official or regulator would be prohibited from lobbying the governmental body where the individual served, or any agency they regulated or oversaw, for a period of two years.

The Nevada Legislative Ethics Commission has announced it will increase lobbyist registration fees for 2011. The fee has been set at $300 for paid lobbyists, triple the current amount. The fee for unpaid lobbyists will remain at $20.

According to the Lobbyist Registration Overview:

“The penalty for failure to file any monthly expenditure report(s) or to file late is $10 per day until the report(s) is submitted.”

If you have any questions, the Registration Office contact is (775) 684-6800.

Here is the overview from the Nevada Legislative Web site.

Photo by Ryan Jerz in Wikipedia.