Lobbying by Nonprofit Entities

Currently, a lobbyist may be either a professional lobbyist or a volunteer lobbyist. A professional lobbyist must register with the secretary of state before conducting lobbying activities with one or more covered officials. For each month in which a professional lobbyist lobbies one or more covered officials, a professional lobbyist must complete and submit a disclosure statement to the secretary of state. The bill creates a new category of lobbyist for nonprofit lobbyists and exempts nonprofit lobbyists from the registration and disclosure statement requirements for professional lobbyists. A nonprofit lobbyist is a lobbyist who is exclusively employed by a single nonprofit entity and who lobbies as an incidental part of the lobbyist's duties with the nonprofit entity. A nonprofit entity may use a nonprofit lobbyist to lobby a maximum of 30 days during a state fiscal year, with a maximum of 20 of those days occurring when the general assembly is in session. A nonprofit entity that employs a nonprofit lobbyist must report to the secretary of state the following information within 72 hours of engaging in lobbying of one or more covered officials: The name of the nonprofit lobbyist; The full legal name of the nonprofit entity on whose behalf the nonprofit lobbyist lobbied; The date on which the nonprofit lobbyist engaged in lobbying; Any matter about which the nonprofit lobbyist lobbied for the reported day; and The bill number of the legislation about which each nonprofit lobbyist lobbied for the reported day and whether the nonprofit entity is supporting, opposing, requesting amendments, or monitoring the legislation. A nonprofit entity may submit a single form for more than one nonprofit lobbyist if more than one nonprofit lobbyist lobbied for the nonprofit entity on the same day. A lobbyist who was a nonprofit lobbyist but no longer qualifies as a nonprofit lobbyist or who is employed by a nonprofit entity that does not comply with the timing limitations, and who meets the requirements of a professional lobbyist, must register and file disclosure statements with the secretary of state beginning in the month in which the lobbyist first lobbied as a professional lobbyist and must comply with the regulations imposed on a professional lobbyist. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)