Posts Tagged ‘LDA amendments’

Lobbying Disclosure Act Amendment Passes House

Monday, August 9th, 2010 by Vbhotla

Legislation has passed the House revising the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995  to establish further enforcement measures in order to “investigate and prosecute” underdisclosure or failure to disclose by entities lobbying the federal government.

The bill, H.R. 5751, originally titled “The Fee on Lobbyists Act,” was amended and passed as titled the “Lobbying Disclosure Enhancement Act.” Sponsored by Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio), the legislation passed the House by voice vote on Wednesday, July 28. Referred to the Senate, it is now awaiting action in the Senate Judiciary Committee. With both houses of the Congress on August recess, the bill will likely not see action in the immediate future.

The bill as now amended is significantly different than the original legislation. It does three things:

1. Establishes an “Enforcement Task Force” for purposes of “investigating and prosecuting” cases referred under the LDA to the DOJ.
2. Replaces the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia with the Attorney General for purposes of referral and enforcement.
3. Inserts the language “Section 6(b)(1) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605(b)(1)) is amended by striking `by case’ and all that follows through `public record’ and inserting `by case and name of the individual lobbyists or lobbying firms involved, any sentences imposed’.”

The original language about fee structures and increased enforcement, including a proposed $50 fee per LDA filing and fee structure for failure to disclose, is not in the final legislation.

View our reporting on the original bill here at Lobby Blog. View the text of the bill here at THOMAS.

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Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up

Friday, August 6th, 2010 by Vbhotla

The amendment to the Lobbying Disclosure Act catches the eyes of the fine folks over at OMB Watch. “Bill Would Create a Task Force for Enforcing the LDA.”

PMA Group President Paul Magliocchetti was indicted on 11 counts in a federal court on Thursday. According to Politico’s report on the indictment, Magliocchetti “sought to enrich both PMA and himself by increasing the firm’s influence, power and prestige — both among the firm’s base of current and potential clients as well as among the elected public officials to whom PMA and its lobbyists sought access.” A good round-up of stories on the charges is at Political Activity Law. The Department of Justice’s press release is here, “Lobbyist Indicted for Orchestrating Illegal Campaign Contribution Scheme.” Look for our story on the PMA Group in our free bi-weekly regulatory alert email, the Government Relations Alert, on Monday.

This spring’s Republican moratorium on earmarks leads to … wait for it … less earmarks! From The Hill,
“Self-imposed Republican moratorium leads to drop in 2011 earmark spending.”

Rep. Waters wants in on the ethics trial thing too! Well, more accurately, she at least wants her name cleared before November’s elections. Politico’s latest story is here, “Waters asks for release of allegations.”

State & Federal Communications’ Compliance Now newsletter is now available. State & Fed has also started an excellent blog, “Lobby Comply.”

Other political law and campaign finance newsletter updates:

  • Womble Carlyle’s Political GPS
  • Holtzman Vogel’s Political Law Update

    • Quote of the Week:

    “The [anti-special interest] rhetoric is BS… Every time the president talks about it, we get a client.” – unnamed “lobbyist,” Roll Call, 8/1/2010

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    BREAKING: LDA Amendment Passes House

    Thursday, July 29th, 2010 by Vbhotla

    The House has amended and passed Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy’s bill, H.R. 5751. Originally titled “The Fee on Lobbyists Act,” the bill is now titled “Lobbying Disclosure Enhancement Act.”

    The bill as now amended is significantly different than the original legislation. It does three things:

    1. Establishes an “Enforcement Task Force” for purposes of “investigating and prosecuting” cases referred under the LDA to the DOJ.

    2. Replaces the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia with the Attorney General for purposes of referral and enforcement.

    3. Inserts the language “Section 6(b)(1) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605(b)(1)) is amended by striking `by case’ and all that follows through `public record’ and inserting `by case and name of the individual lobbyists or lobbying firms involved, any sentences imposed’.”

    The bill passed the House by voice vote on Wednesday.

    The language about fee structures and increased enforcement is not in the final legislation.

    (h/t Eric Brown at Political Activity Law.)

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    Lobbying Fees Considered in House

    Monday, July 26th, 2010 by Vbhotla

    A bill introduced in the House Judiciary Committee would impose fees on lobbyists, based on their number of clients.

    Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio) introduced H.R. 5751, the “Fee on Lobbyists Act,” in response to what she views as improper influence by financial services lobbyists during the financial services debate. Her bill “would properly enforce the rules for federal lobbyists and special interest groups by funding the offices that are tasked with holding lobbyists accountable.”

    The text of the bill would “amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require registrants to pay an annual fee of $50, to impose a penalty of $500 for failure to file timely reports required by that Act, to provide for the use of the funds from such fees and penalties for reviewing and auditing filings by registrants, and for other purposes.”

    The fee would be broken down to be $25 per registration, per chamber. So the total fee would be $50 per registration (client). The same payment would be made yearly, upon filing the first quarter’s LD-2 report. (Provision is made for the eventuality that a registration and a first-quarter LD-2 report will coincide, with a fee waiver for that problem.)

    Failure to file as required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act would result in a $500 fine; failure to file properly on subsequent occasions would impose a $1,000 fine. The fines (and normal fees) will be used to conduct audits and quality control of filings. Other measures within the bill include: clean up of inconsistencies between the House and Senate databases, and mandated public disclosure of late or incorrect filers (name would be removed from the list following proper filing and payment of the fee).

    The bill, introduced on July 15, is currently in committee. Assuming passage, the bill provides for application of the fee structure to registrations filed at the end of the 60-day period after the bill’s enactment.

    The text of H.R. 5751 is available here at THOMAS. Rep. Kilroy’s press release is here: “Kilroy Works to Bring Sunshine to Washington’s Darkest Corners.”

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    Fee for Lobbyists Introduced in House

    Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 by Vbhotla

    The OMB Watch blog “The Fine Print”points out the introduction of H.R. 5751, the “Fee on Lobbyists Act,” by Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio).

    Rep. Kilroy’s press release links the introduction of the bill to what she views as improper influence by financial services lobbyists during the financial services debate. What does she propose to do about this problem? Her bill “would properly enforce the rules for federal lobbyists and special interest groups by funding the offices that are tasked with holding lobbyists accountable.”

    Meaning? Fees. Specifically, the text of the bill would “amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require registrants to pay an annual fee of $50, to impose a penalty of $500 for failure to file timely reports required by that Act, to provide for the use of the funds from such fees and penalties for reviewing and auditing filings by registrants, and for other purposes.”

    Translation: there will be a $25 fee per registration, per chamber (i.e., $25 to the Clerk of the House, and $25 to the Secretary of the Senate per registration; totaling $50 per year, per registration), and the same payment yearly, due upon filing the first quarter’s report.

    Another section: penalties for improper filing. Failure to file a report as required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act would result in a $500 fine; failure to file properly on subsequent occasions would impose a $1,000 fine.

    The fines would be given to the House and Senate in order to conduct audits and quality control of filings.

    According to Lobbyists.info’s Factors of Influence chart, Patton Boggs tops the list of “most clients,” with 299 registered.* So their fee for their total lobbying practice (assuming proper, timely filings) would be $14,950. Which is, for a firm that made almost $40-million last year in lobbying income, chump change.

    When does this take affect? Rep. Kilroy’s bill is currently in the Judiciary Committee. Assuming passage, the bill provides for application of the fee structure to registrations filed at the end of the 60-day period after the bill’s enactment.

    Also: Intends to clean up inconsistencies between the House and Senate databases; provides for mandated public disclosure of late or incorrect filers (name would be removed from the list following proper filing and payment of the fee).

    *current as of 4/29/2010

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