North Dakota Code 54-05.1-03 – Registration as a lobbyist – Fee – Filing of information – Public inspection – Certificate of registration
1. a. Before engaging in any of the activities listed in section 54-05.1-02, an individual shall register with the secretary of state and receive a certificate of registration and a distinctive lobbyist identification badge that must be prominently worn by the lobbyist when engaged in any of the activities listed in section 54-05.1-02 while on the capitol grounds. In lieu of wearing the official badge provided by the secretary of state, a lobbyist may wear a reasonable reproduction of the official badge that contains the name of the lobbyist and any of the following: the word lobbyist, the registration number of the lobbyist, or the organization name of the lobbyist in characters no smaller than one-quarter inch [6.35 millimeters]. If a lobbyist’s official badge is lost or destroyed, the lobbyist may obtain a duplicate badge by applying to the secretary of state and paying a fee of ten dollars.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 54-05.1-03
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Organization: includes a foreign or domestic association, business trust, corporation, enterprise, estate, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership, partnership, trust, or any legal or commercial entity. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
- year: means twelve consecutive months. See North Dakota Code 1-01-33
b. The registrant shall state in writing:
(1) The registrant’s full name and business address; and
(2) The name and address of any person upon whose behalf the registrant appears, any person in whose interest the registrant appears or works, the duration of the employment or appearances, and by whom the registrant is paid or is to be paid.
c. The registration period commences on July first and expires on June thirtieth of the following calendar year unless an earlier expiration date is requested by the registrant.
d. Each lobbyist shall file with the secretary of state, before the issuance of a certificate of registration, a written authorization to act as a lobbyist. The authorization must be signed by the official of the corporation, limited liability company, association, group, or organization employing the lobbyist and may be filed by facsimile transmission.
e. The secretary of state shall charge a fee of twenty-five dollars for registering each lobbyist and the first person represented by the lobbyist and an additional fee of fifteen dollars for each subsequent person represented by the lobbyist.
2. Each lobbyist shall file, on or before August first following the expiration of the registration period, with the secretary of state a detailed report. The report must include a statement as to each expenditure, if any, of sixty dollars or more expended on any single occasion on any individual, including the spouse or other family member of a member of the legislative assembly or the governor, in carrying out the lobbyist’s work or include a statement that no reportable expenditures were made during the reporting period. The statement of each expenditure must include a description of the nature of the expenditure, the amount of the expenditure, the date of the expenditure, and the name of the recipient of the expenditure. A state official or agency may not require reporting of lobbyist expenditures other than is required under this subsection. The secretary of state shall provide a prescribed form for reporting under this chapter. The secretary of state shall charge and collect fees for late filing of the detailed expenditure report as follows:
a. Within sixty days after the date provided in this subsection for filing the detailed expenditure report, twenty-five dollars; and
b. Thereafter, fifty dollars.
3. If a lobbyist fails to file a detailed expenditure report and pay any late fee by October first, the lobbyist’s registration is automatically revoked. The lobbyist’s registration may be reinstated if the lobbyist thereafter files the detailed expenditure report and pays any outstanding late fee.
4. All information required to be filed under this section with the secretary of state and that previously filed must be compiled by the secretary of state within forty days after the close of the period for which the information is filed and the files must be open and accessible for public inspection during the normal working hours.