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.)