LD-1 lobbying registrations for new clients of lobbying firms must disclose the prior government service of each individual lobbyist for 20 years preceding the filing of the registration. (This is known as the “20-year look-back” provision). New individual lobbyists employed by an existing registrant will also need to disclose this look-back information on the entity’s next quarterly LD-2 report. Employees of the organization registered as lobbyists prior to January 1, 2008 are governed by a two-year look-back provision only.

New employee lobbyists must report their prior government service for the twenty years preceding the reporting period in which they are newly registered as lobbyists.

Prior government service is defined serving as a “covered executive or legislative branch official.” For purposes of disclosing prior government employment, all registrants and filers must use the LDA definition of “covered executive or legislative branch official.”

Covered executive branch officials under the LDA are:

1. The President
2. The Vice President
3. Officers and employees of the Executive Office of the President
4. Any official serving in an Executive Level I-V position
5. Any member of the uniformed services serving at grade 0-7 or above
6. “Schedule C” Employees

Covered legislative branch officials are:

1. A Member of Congress
2. An elected officer of either the House or the Senate
3. An employee, or any other individual functioning in the capacity of an employee who works for a Member, committee, leadership staff of either the Senate or House, a joint committee of Congress, a working group or caucus organized to provide services to Members, and
4. Any other legislative branch employee who, for at least 60 days, occupies a position for which the rate of basic pay is equal to or greater than 120 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay payable for GS-15 of the General Schedule

For more compliance information visit the Lobbying Compliance Center on Lobbyists.info.