Posts Tagged ‘Mary Jo Kilroy’

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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Lobbying Disclosure: Kilroy Plays the Blame Game

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 by Vbhotla

In a recent press release, Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio) explained the purpose of her Lobbying Disclosure Enhancement Act, saying,

“When Americans on Main Street try to cheat or break the law; there are repercussions… [this bill] will go after the lobbyists who engage in shoddy practices and hide behind ignorance of the law.”

(View the release here).

However, what Kilroy is trying to fix is not as much a lobbying problem as it is a federal government problem.  Lobby disclosure may not be the most popular rule on K Street but it is still the law of the land and the vast majority of lobbyists willingly adhere to it.  The only reason that lobbyists continue to hide behind “ignorance” of the law is because the Department of Justice has neglected its side of the bargain.

The idea behind Kilroy’s bill is nothing new; in fact some lobbyists have spoken out in favor of greater disclosure, saying that having a system of lobbying laws but no enforcement makes a mockery of the entire system.  Following the law is the responsibility of each individual lobbyist. Enforcing the law is solely the responsibility of the Department of Justice. In short, Kilroy should be requiring the Department of Justice to change its “shoddy practices,” not lobbyists. But lobbyists are low-hanging fruit, since many citizens don’t understand the First Amendment political speech right of having a government relations representative.

Kilroy’s bill as originally introduced intended to place more impetus on the lobbyists themselves to ensure complete lobby filings, with fee structures and fines for underdisclosure.

Americans don’t speed down Main Street when a cop is sitting in the McDonald’s parking lot and lobbyists won’t be ignorant of the law if the federal government enforces its own regulations.

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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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