PRINTER'S NO. 360
No. 351 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY RHOADES, BELL, MOWERY, SCHWARTZ, AFFLERBACH, DELP,
BRIGHTBILL, LAVALLE, KUKOVICH, PUNT AND HART,
FEBRUARY 5, 1997
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 5, 1997
AN ACT
1 Regulating lobbying; providing for further duties of the State
2 Ethics Commission; requiring the registration of lobbyists
3 and the submission of certain reports; providing penalties;
4 and making a repeal.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Lobbyist
9 Registration and Ethics Act.
10 Section 2. Definitions.
11 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
12 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
13 context clearly indicates otherwise:
14 "Commission." The State Ethics Commission.
15 "Communication." Any effort, whether personal, written, oral
16 or by electronic apparatus, made to influence or to cause others
17 to take actions to influence legislators or State officials to
18 act on legislation or regulatory action or to take a decisive
1 administrative action.
2 "Compensation." Any salary, including entire benefits
3 package, received or to be received from a person by one acting
4 as a lobbyist, whether in the form of a fee, salary,
5 forbearance, forgiveness or any other form of recompense, and
6 any combination thereof. Where compensation is to be reported by
7 or for a person whose lobbying is incidental to regular
8 employment of that person, it shall be sufficient to report a
9 prorated amount based on the value of the time devoted to
10 lobbying or lobbying-related activities.
11 "Economic consideration." A payment, distribution, transfer,
12 loan, advance, deposit, gift or other rendering of money,
13 property, services or anything else of pecuniary value, whether
14 tangible or intangible, received as part of one's professional
15 endeavors.
16 "Expenditure." Any advance, conveyance, deposit,
17 distribution, transfer of funds, loan, payment, pledge or
18 subscriptions of money or anything of value, and any contract,
19 agreement, promise or other obligation, whether or not legally
20 enforceable, to make expenditures.
21 "Expenses." The term shall include the salaries paid or
22 received by a lobbyist, the cost of a lobbyist maintaining
23 office facilities, professional research and support staffs
24 employed to monitor and affect legislation or regulatory
25 activities, and all communication costs of the lobbyist.
26 "Gift." A payment, subscription, advance, forbearance,
27 rendering or deposit of money, services or anything of value,
28 unless consideration of equal or greater value is received. The
29 term shall not include a political contribution otherwise
30 reported as required by law, a commercially reasonable loan made
19970S0351B0360 - 2 -
1 in the ordinary cause of business or a gift received from a
2 member of the person's immediate family or from a relative
3 within the third degree of consanguinity of the person or of the
4 person's spouse, or from the spouse of any relative.
5 "Immediate family." A person's spouse residing in the
6 person's household, a person's children, or a person's parent,
7 brother, sister or like relative-in-law.
8 "Lobbying." Any effort to influence legislative,
9 administrative or regulatory action or to practice any activity
10 that attempts to generate good will for the purpose of advancing
11 future legislative or regulatory initiatives.
12 "Lobbyist." Any person who engages in lobbying for economic
13 consideration or who receives no economic consideration but
14 expends $1,200 or more in any one year in lobbying. No minimum
15 threshold on expenditures shall be applied to those persons who
16 lobby for economic consideration.
17 "Person." Any individual, firm, association, corporation,
18 union, partnership, business trust, business entity or any other
19 legal entity.
20 "Principal." Any person who employs another person to
21 influence legislative, regulatory or administrative action for
22 economic consideration.
23 "Public official." Any elected or appointed official or
24 employee and their staffs involved in the creation or
25 enforcement of legislation or regulatory guidelines in the
26 executive or legislative branch of State government.
27 "Registrant." A principal or a lobbyist.
28 Section 3. Registration.
29 (a) General rule.--Registration shall be required of every
30 person who intends to engage in lobbying. Every person, before
19970S0351B0360 - 3 -
1 advocating the passage or defeat of any legislation or acting in
2 any capacity as a lobbyist, or one who hires the services of a
3 lobbyist, before engaging in any lobbying activity must register
4 with the commission. Registration shall be annual.
5 (b) Persons required.--The following persons shall register
6 with the commission:
7 (1) A lobbyist.
8 (2) A principal.
9 (3) Any person who expends more than $50 per year
10 lobbying, including efforts to persuade others to communicate
11 with an official, for the purpose of influencing legislative,
12 administrative or regulatory action.
13 (c) Information required.--
14 (1) Each principal required to register shall file with
15 the commission his name, permanent address, daytime telephone
16 number, the nature of his business and his primary lobbying
17 interests. Principals shall also file with their registration
18 statements which provide the name, registration number and
19 acronyms of any political action committees affiliated with
20 their organization. The principal shall also disclose the
21 name and permanent address of each individual who will, for
22 economic consideration, lobby on his behalf.
23 (2) Each lobbyist who is required to register with the
24 commission shall file his name, permanent address and daytime
25 telephone number, as well as the name, permanent address and
26 daytime telephone number of each client or employer.
27 (3) Each registrant shall identify the matters on which
28 the registrant expects to lobby. Each lobbyist shall register
29 and file separate reports for each client or employer
30 represented. When any information in the original
19970S0351B0360 - 4 -
1 registration statement changes, an amended registration form
2 must be filed with the commission within 14 calendar days
3 after the change occurs.
4 Section 4. Expense reports.
5 (a) General rule.--Each registrant shall, under oath, file
6 biannual expense reports with the commission at those times the
7 commission shall by regulation direct.
8 (b) Content of report.--
9 (1) Registrants shall disclose the total amount of
10 lobbying-related expenses, including salaries, compensation
11 and reimbursed expenses for the lobbyist and for technical
12 staffs and clerical staffs engaged in lobbying efforts. They
13 must describe the subject matter or issue being lobbied.
14 (2) Reports shall specify expenses assigned to
15 particular issues and fixed expenses assigned pro rata.
16 Expenses shall include salaries, benefits, commissions,
17 bonuses and wages, as well as expenditures for the following:
18 (i) Good will, gifts, entertainment and receptions.
19 (ii) Travel, lodging and food and beverages.
20 (iii) Fixed costs of office operation, such as rent,
21 utilities, furniture and equipment.
22 (iv) Consulting fees and retainers paid.
23 (v) Communications, public relations, research,
24 telephone, telegraph postage, mailing and advertising.
25 (3) If it is not possible to identify a specific issue
26 for a given expense, it shall be allocated to the "primary
27 lobbying interest" shown on the registration statement.
28 (c) Records retention.--Each registrant shall preserve all
29 accounts, bills, receipts, books, papers and documents necessary
30 to substantiate the activity reports required to be made by this
19970S0351B0360 - 5 -
1 section for a period of three years from the date of filing the
2 report containing such items. Upon request, these materials
3 shall be made available for inspection within a period of 48
4 hours.
5 Section 5. Contingent compensation prohibited.
6 No person shall compensate or incur an obligation to
7 compensate any person to engage in lobbying, and no person shall
8 engage or agree to engage in lobbying for compensation
9 contingent in whole or in part upon:
10 (1) the passage or defeat, or approval or veto, of any
11 legislation; or
12 (2) the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any formal action
13 by an agency.
14 Section 6. Administration and enforcement.
15 (a) General rule.--This act shall be administered by the
16 commission. The commission shall make available to the public
17 full and complete information revealing the identities,
18 activities and expenditures of registrants. Should the
19 commission suspect anyone to be in violation of this act, it
20 shall immediately commence an investigation. If probable cause
21 is found, the commission shall submit a complaint to the
22 Attorney General for prosecution.
23 (b) Rules and regulations.--The commission shall, in the
24 manner provided by law, promulgate the rules and regulations
25 necessary to carry out this act.
26 (c) Information and opinions.--The commission shall prepare
27 and publish a manual setting forth recommended uniform methods
28 or guidelines for accounting and reporting. The commission shall
29 freely provide advice and opinions to those who have questions
30 regarding compliance with this act. Any lobbyist or principal
19970S0351B0360 - 6 -
1 whose acts are based on the written advice or opinion of the
2 commission shall not be held liable for a violation of this act.
3 (d) Public inspection and copying.--The commission shall
4 make completed registration statements and disclosure reports
5 available for public inspection and provide copies of the
6 documents at a price which shall not exceed the actual cost of
7 copying. The commission shall prepare and publish an annual
8 report on lobbying activities in this Commonwealth.
9 (e) Retention of records.--All statements shall remain on
10 file with the commission for a five-year period.
11 (f) Random audits.--The commission shall initiate periodic
12 random audits of 20% of the registration statements and
13 disclosure reports.
14 Section 7. Penalties.
15 (a) Failure to register.--Failure to register with the
16 commission as required by this act constitutes a misdemeanor
17 punishable by a fine of $50 for each late day. This fine shall
18 be unlimited.
19 (b) Failure to report.--Failure to file any report or
20 statement required under this act, or filing a report containing
21 false or misleading information, constitutes a misdemeanor of
22 the third degree and may also result in a mandatory prohibition
23 from lobbying for two to five years as the commission shall
24 direct.
25 (c) Other violation.--Any other violations of this act
26 constitute a misdemeanor of the third degree and may also result
27 in a mandatory revocation of lobbying privilege for five years
28 as the commission shall direct.
29 Section 8. Repeal.
30 The act of September 30, 1961 (P.L.1778, No.712), known as
19970S0351B0360 - 7 -
1 the Lobbying Registration and Regulation Act, is repealed.
2 Section 9. Effective date.
3 This act shall take effect as follows:
4 (1) Section 6(b) and this section shall take effect
5 immediately.
6 (2) The remainder of this act shall take effect in one
7 year.
A6L46RZ/19970S0351B0360 - 8 -