What to report
All expenditures made by the lobbyist or his/her employer on government officials or employees in furtherance of lobbying activities must be reported. All sections of the Lobbyist Activity Report must be completed. If no expenditures were made during the reporting period, lobbyist must indicate "none" or "0."
Campaign contributions are reportable for candidates for state office. For more information, click here.
What not to report
Lobbyists need not report personal compensation, reimbursement for personal meals, lodging or travel or office support expenses paid to the lobbyist.
Record keeping
Lobbyists must keep receipts for all lobbying expenditures for two years from the date each Lobbyist Activity Report is filed. All lobbyists are subject to being audited by an independent CPA retained by the Ethics Commission. If a lobbyist is audited, she/he must submit receipts for each reported activity or expenditure. Lobbyists who share expenses must keep copies of original billings even if they were not the organizer of a reportable event.
Multiple employers
Lobbyists with more than one employer must report expenditures incurred on behalf of each employer by category. The Lobbyist Activity Report has columns for recording categories of expenses (meals and beverages; lodging; travel; gifts; other expenses) for up to six different employers. When a lobbyist represents more than six employers, additional Lobbyist Activity Reports must be used.
Expenditures that relate to a person on whom the lobbyist has spent money must be detailed and reported on Schedule A. This form must be completed in addition to the Lobbyist Activity Report and must be submitted with the Lobbyist Activity Report.
Expenditures for, or on behalf of, any public official or employee in any of the following categories must be reported on Schedule A: Meals and beverages; lodging; travel; gifts; other expenditures. The name of the official or employee, the date and subject of the lobbying activity, and the total amount of the expenditure must be detailed on Schedule A.
The total of all expenditures listed on Schedule A must be included on the “totals” lines reported on the Lobbyist Activity Report.
Group entertainment explained
The “Expenditures” section of the Lobbyist Activity Report contains a “Group Expenditures” category at category 5.G. If a lobbyist sponsored or contributed to any group event or shared expenses, he/she also must complete Schedule B for each event and submit it with his/her Lobbyist Activity Report.
The terms “Group Expenditures” or “Group Entertainment" refers to a specific group of Legislators invited to an event or function which is sponsored by one or more lobbyists.
The group entertainment category is only used to report those expenditures made for a dinner, party, or other function, to which all the members of one of the following specific groups have been invited:
(1) the Legislature
(2) either house of the Legislature
(3) a standing or select committee of either house
(4) a joint committee of both houses.
The total cost of a group entertainment event must be disclosed on Schedule B. Lobbyists must report the portion of the total expenditure attributable to public servants on Schedule B and on the Lobbyist Activity Report in category 5.G. This format requires the lobbyist to make a reasonable estimate as to the number of public officials or legislators present at the group function. Individual names of attendees of group events need not be reported. Only the number of attendees and the proportional cost incurred must be reported.